Oh My CBC allowed me to comment about the very secretive Privy Council Office Amazing things never cease

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-privycouncil-brison-spending-1.3997151

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James Frank

With all this reckless spending we might have to open a new museum dedicated to what Canada used to be like when it was prosperous and responsible.

David Raymond Amos

@James Frank I sure wish some ethical journalist from somewhere in this wonderful old world would ask me what i know about the very unethical Privy Council Office before George H. W. Bush's dream of a "New World Order" becomes a reality no thanks to the mindless Yankee President Trump and his new buddy Prime Minister Trudeau "The Younger" and his many cohorts within the British Commonwealth, the UN and NATO etc.

David Raymond Amos

@David Raymond Amos I might as well mutter to myself and repeat what CBC says about the PCO which is after all what the title of this article is about.

As you read what I quote below would you believe anything the Liberal profess in their latest budget? More importantly would it be wonderful for my fellow taxpayers if the Crown Corp known as the CBC told the whole story?

"The budget for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Privy Council Office is set to rise by 20 per cent this year, making it one of the largest budgets for the office in a decade.

According to spending estimates tabled in the House of Commons Thursday, the budget for the Privy Council Office will jump to $144.9 million for the coming fiscal year from $120.7 million.

However, that pales in comparison to the $163.9 million the PCO actually ended up getting in spending authorities in the past year.

Each of the government's three supplementary spending estimates over the course of the year added to the PCO's budget. The projects ranged from information technology modernization and electoral reform to security upgrades, and included $10.8 million more "to enhance the Privy Council Office's capacity to support the prime minister and cabinet ministers in delivering the government's agenda."

David Raymond Amos

@David Raymond Amos Anybody remember. Harper first clerk of the PCO The Honourable Kevin G. Lynch, P.C., O.C., PH. D, LL.D Vice-Chair, BMO Financial Group who also serves on several corporate boards CN, Empire Company Limited and CNOOC Limited etc. Does anyone remember owns the lions share of CN now or what the Empire Company is and of course who bought Nexen)????

How about something I wrote 11 very long years ago?

http://davidamos.blogspot.ca/2006/05/harper-and-bankers.html

https://www.bmo.com/home/about/banking/corporate-information/executive-bios/kevin-lynch

"The Privy Council's budget is the highest since the 2006-07 fiscal year when former prime minister Stephen Harper first came to office and budgeted $146.7 million for the PCO. However, his government slashed the PCO's budget the following year to $127.3 million.

The Privy Council Office co-ordinates the actions of the government across departments and serves as the bureaucracy for the Prime Minister's Office."

David Raymond Amos

@David Raymond Amos Michael Wernick the latest top bureaucrat in our native land was already in place long before the writ was dropped for the 42nd Parliament. Trudeau "The Younger" just made it official once he secured his mandate tis all.

Checkout his bragging for yourself

http://www.clerk.gc.ca/eng/feature.asp?pageId=258

"In an eight-year tenure at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development from 2006 to 2014, Mr. Wernick assisted four Ministers in advancing the Government’s Aboriginal and Northern agendas.

Mr. Wernick has the unique distinction of having been deeply involved in the transition process and start up of three new governments, and attending the swearing in and first Cabinet meeting of three Prime Ministers (Martin in 2003, Harper in 2006, Trudeau in 2015).

Mr. Wernick has developed many of today’s public service leaders. Prior to becoming Clerk, fifteen members of his management teams had been promoted to or within the Deputy Minister community."

Everybody and his dog who understands Indian Affairs knows I crossed paths with Michael Wernick bigtime when he was Andy Scott's Deputy Minister. At least CTV and Wernickcannot deny why I ran against Scott in Fredericton at Xmass time 2005 N'esy Pas?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1azdNWbF3A

Trudeau's Privy Council Office budget the highest in a decade

Industry, the arts, veterans and Indigenous Canadians all slated to get more money

By Elizabeth Thompson, CBC News Posted: Feb 24, 2017 5:00 AM ET

 

Spending for the Privy Council Office, which serves the Prime Minister's Office, is slated to rise 20 per cent in the coming year. (Vincent Kessler/Reuters) 

 The budget for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Privy Council Office is set to rise by 20 per cent this year, making it one of the largest budgets for the office in a decade.

According to spending estimates tabled in the House of Commons Thursday, the budget for the Privy Council Office will jump to $144.9 million for the coming fiscal year from $120.7 million.

However, that pales in comparison to the $163.9 million the PCO actually ended up getting in spending authorities in the past year.

Each of the government's three supplementary spending estimates over the course of the year added to the PCO's budget. The projects ranged from information technology modernization and electoral reform to security upgrades, and included $10.8 million more "to enhance the Privy Council Office's capacity to support the prime minister and cabinet ministers in delivering the government's agenda."

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The Privy Council's budget is the highest since the 2006-07 fiscal year when former prime minister Stephen Harper first came to office and budgeted $146.7 million for the PCO. However, his government slashed the PCO's budget the following year to $127.3 million.

The Privy Council Office co-ordinates the actions of the government across departments and serves as the bureaucracy for the Prime Minister's Office.

The main estimates tabled by Treasury Board President Scott Brison detail how the government plans to spend $257.9 billion next year. However, the final amount a department receives in a year can be increased when Finance Minister Bill Morneau's annual budget is tabled or through supplementary spending estimates.

Treasury Board President Scott Brison tabled spending estimates Thursday calling for the government to spend $257.9 billion. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The main spending estimates tabled Tuesday call for $26.5 million in spending increases for the Privy Council. The new money will help create a youth secretariat "to increase youth engagement and to support the prime minister's role as minister of youth" as well as a results and delivery unit "to ensure the alignment and tracking of progress of the government's priorities and support the cabinet committee on agenda, results and communications."

Among the other projects, the increased money will also fund the PCO's role in the government's new appointments process and help PCO engage more with the provinces and territories.

Industry boost

However, among government departments, it is the Industry Department that is scheduled to get the biggest increase in its funding. The department's budget is to rise to $2.6 billion in the coming year, nearly double the $1.3 billion it received in the last main estimates and more than the $2.2 billion it ended up receiving over the course of the year.

Much of the new money is earmarked for programs announced in last year's budget such as the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund ($1 billion) or the Sustainable Development Technology Fund ($102.3 million).

The National Arts Centre, which is undergoing a renovation, is among the arts institutions scheduled to get more money in the coming year. (Diamond Schmitt Architects)

The Natural Resources Department, which thrived under the Conservative government, will see its spending drop 15.9 per cent to $1.3 billion from $1.6 billion in last year's estimates. For example, spending on the Statutory Atlantic Offshore Accords will drop by $334.7 million, and there will be a $27.9-million decrease for the ecoEnergy for biofuels incentive or a $23.9-million drop in money for defining the outer limits of Canada's continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean.

New priorities

In many ways, the main estimates tabled Tuesday reflect the priorities of Trudeau's government after a year in office.

Funding for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency is up 90 per cent from the amount it started with in the last main estimates. Funding for the Office of Infrastructure of Canada, which will oversee the government's ambitious infrastructure program, is rising 81.2 per cent to $7 billion.

National museums, a number of which have needed significant work in recent years, will be getting more money. The National Museum of Science and Technology, which has been closed after a mould problem was detected, is getting a 141 per cent increase in funding to $144.5 million. The National Arts Centre, which is also under renovation, is to get $5 million — 79 per cent higher than the $2.8 million it started out with last year.

Spending on the Canada Council for the Arts is set to rise 41 per cent to $257.3 million. Spending at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development — now called Indigenous and Northern Affairs — is slated to rise 34 per cent to $10 billion, much of it to fulfil the promises made in the last budget for improvements in everything from water quality to education and housing.

Veterans funding increase

The government is also moving to make good on its promises to veterans with a 29.3 per cent increase in funding to $4.7 billion for Veterans Affairs Canada. The amount for disability awards and allowances is more than doubling — going to $1.5 billion from $659.9 million last year.

"VAC's budget fluctuates each year due to the demand-driven nature of its programs which are based on veterans' needs and entitlements," the government wrote.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is getting a 29.3 per cent increase in funding compared with the budget it started out with last year. (Cathy Alex/CBC)

"In other words, a veteran who is entitled to a benefit is paid that benefit, whether 10 veterans come forward or 10,000."

In some cases, changes in budgets are tied to particular events. For example, Statistics Canada will see its budget drop 37.3 per cent because the census has largely been completed.

Some organizations, like Via Rail and Marine Atlantic, have yet to hear exactly how much money they will be getting over the coming year. Their estimates are down 42.3 per cent and 45.4 per cent respectively because millions of dollars of their funding expires March 31 and has not yet been renewed.

Elizabeth Thompson can be reached at elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca

Main Estimates 2017/18. Click on each column to sort by that category.