Budget watchdog says he’ll go to court if necessary to get info from feds

OTTAWA – There’s a showdown looming between the Parliamentary Budget Officer and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

Kevin Page has given officials in 56 departments and agencies until Wednesday to provide information about cuts and savings in the federal budget.

Today he told CTV’s Question Period he’ll take his fight for information to court if need be. But the Conservative cabinet minister in charge of the cuts wants Page to butt out.

Treasury Board President Tony Clement told CBC Radio’s The House this weekend that Page is operating outside his mandate — an argument he says he’s willing to make before the courts.

Clement says it’s the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s job to look at what the government spends money on — not what it doesn’t.

However, Page told CTV that sometimes what money isn’t being spent on is as important as what it is being spent on.