Lapdog or watchdog?

So, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is probably in a tizzy now that Kevin Page is winding down his five-year term as parliamentary budget officer (PBO).

For the record, Mackenzie had appointed John Lorn McDougall, a sitting Liberal member of Parliament (MP) – and crony – as AG in August 1878 because the outgoing AG was considered too friendly to the Conservatives. In addition, Mackenzie separated that office from the civil service to create Canada’s first independent AG reporting to Parliament. In other words, Mackenzie would score points with the voters by creating a truly independent watchdog and satisfy the party by filling it with a friend.

As things turned out, McDougall became the “appointee from hell” for Mackenzie’s government – just as Page has been for Harper. McDougall had his own ideas, just as Page does in the PBO’s role. Within a few months of McDougall’s appointment, Mackenzie’s government was turfed out. McDougall survived and went on to be a pain in several prime ministerial posteriors.

In the 2006 election campaign, Harper, then Opposition leader, promised a new PBO who would ensure MPs understood the true costs of things and who would prevent future governments from the kind of subterfuge the evil Grits had been committing.

Once in office, Harper decided he didn’t want this new PBO to be too independent. The new PBO would take orders from the chief librarian.

Instead of hiring from outside the system, as is the custom with the AG, Harper chose an unknown career civil servant from the Department of Finance Canada who liked to coach Little League to be the first PBO.

The folks in the PMO probably thought their boss had made the perfect choice: do enough to make the voters think you delivered on an election promise and fill the job with someone used to dutifully following orders. It worked with other appointments, so why wouldn’t it work here?

As we know, that functionary had other ideas, just as McDougall did, and got busy delivering what the voters originally were promised. The Tories have tried everything to demonize their own appointee, to no avail. Now, they’re testing the idea of making the AG’s office more of a “sounding board.”

Trudeau tried much the same thing after hitting the saturation point with Henderson. In 1976, Trudeau introduced legislation to water down the AG’s powers but quickly withdrew it when the voters objected.

When Henderson’s term ended, Trudeau replaced him with James Macdonnell, who seemed to be non-confrontational -at least, in public. But behind the scenes, Macdonnell threatened to quit if the AG didn’t receive wider powers. Trudeau caved.

Today, the independence of the AG is entrenched. Nobody messes with the person holding that office.

Will Harper learn from the two Liberal attempts to turn the watchdog into a lapdog?

Probably. But first he has an angry caucus to appease.

The chief librarian of Parliament has been tasked with finding a suitable replacement for Page. You can be sure the librarian will look for the most malleable, milquetoast candidate possible. Right now, members of the Conservative caucus probably feel Gumby wouldn’t be malleable enough to be the next PBO. It’s clear they want the PBO’s wings clipped.

Meantime, the Opposition is busy making sure Page is remembered as a saint; they will be quick to alert the voters of any attempt to cut the powers of the AG’s office. How does one replace a folk hero with a schlub?

If Harper is smart, he will bow to New Democratic Party demands that he extend Page’s tenure until a successor is found. That way, Harper can wait for things to cool down.

But, ultimately, Harper probably knows it is really up to the watchdog to decide how much of a lapdog he or she will be. The power of the PBO will increase over time, just as the AG’s office has.IE

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