Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Annette Ryan as Canada’s new Parliamentary Budget Officer, following approval by both the House of Commons and the Senate.
Ryan, a senior public servant with more than three decades of experience in fiscal policy, taxation and economic analysis, formally assumed the role on April 22.
She most recently served in a senior leadership position at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, where she was Deputy Director, Partnerships, Policy and Analysis, and Chief Financial Officer.
According to a statement, Ryan new role will be to provide independent, non-partisan analysis to lawmakers on federal finances, government spending estimates and broader economic trends, a role aimed at strengthening parliamentary oversight and fiscal transparency.
Her appointment comes at a time when governments are under increasing scrutiny over public spending and economic management, with the office playing a key role in informing debate in Parliament.
Carney said Ryan’s experience would help ensure legislators have "the information they need to hold the government accountable and safeguard Canada’s public finances".
She succeeds interim budget officer Jason Jacques, whom the prime minister thanked for his service.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer, created under the Parliament of Canada Act in 2006, is appointed for a term of up to seven years and serves as an independent officer of Parliament tasked with assessing the government’s fiscal performance.