In the wake of criticism of the new Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) from strange bedfellows on Parliament hill, business leaders and CEOs on the COMPAS business panel were asked for their views. The Parliamentary Budget Officer earns a performance score of 57%, a typical score received by middling politicians who are neither abhorred nor esteemed.

The PBO has been criticized for devoting significant resources to making overall economic forecasts. On balance, members of the COMPAS business panel do not see immense value in general economic forecasts given the independent forecasts of the C.D. Howe Institute and various financial institutions even while panelists do tend to agree that the Department of Finance’s predictions cannot always be trusted.

Among the various actual or potential sector studies, panelists are most keen for an independent opinion on the effects on the Canadian economy of either Canadian or U.S. cap-and-trade policies. They see much less value in a study of the financial requirements of Canada’s First Nations schools. In practice, the PBO has undertaken such a study while it does appear to have invested in analysis of the economic effects of cap-and-trade policies.

These are the key findings from this past week’s Internet survey of CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. The weekly business survey is undertaken for Canadian Business magazine under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP.

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