Yves Giroux, career public servant, nominated to be new budget watchdog

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Yves Giroux, a career public servant, as the new parliamentary budget officer.

The budget watchdog is an independent officer of Parliament whose appointment must be confirmed by the Senate and House of Commons.

Giroux, a graduate of the University of Montreal, has spent more than 20 years in the public service and has been involved in the budget process in a variety of jobs.

Since 2015, he has been a senior official with the Canada Revenue Agency.

He replaces Jean-Denis Frechette, whose five-year appointment is ending.

New legislation has extended the budget officer’s term to seven years, and Trudeau says Giroux is a good fit for the job.

“Mr. Giroux’s senior leadership experience and knowledge of the federal budget process have made him a key expert in the field,” Trudeau said in a statement.

“I am confident he will do a thorough job providing the independent, easy to understand information Parliamentarians need to make decisions about our country’s future.”

The parliamentary budget officer provides independent, non-partisan analysis on the state of government and estimates and looks at economic trends.

The office also responds to requests from political parties or ordinary MPs to estimate the financial cost of any election campaign proposal that the party or member is considering making.