QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Budget 2025
December 3, 2025
Senator Moreau, as you will be aware, the copies of the budget distributed during lock-up on budget day didn’t include multiple annexes, including Annex 5 on legislative measures. That meant that senators and their staff were not able to review these various measures prior to the tabling of the budget. Not only were documents missing during the lockup, but copies of the budget were not distributed to senators’ offices after its tabling.
It has been a month, and I am aware of multiple senators — including me, a member of the National Finance Committee — who have still not been able to obtain a full copy of the budget. Why is the government not distributing copies of the budget to all parliamentarians? Why would it leave senators out?
My understanding is that the objective of cost reduction is behind the idea of why copies have not been distributed as they were in the past.
That being said, I have received a number of requests from colleagues who would like to have a written copy of the budget. I have asked, and as soon as I have extra copies — if I receive any — I will be glad to provide you with one.
Thank you, Senator Moreau. I am aware that an online version is available, however, copies of the budget were distributed to members of Parliament but not to senators. It used to be standard practice for copies to be delivered to all senators’ offices upon tabling. Other than what you have just said, do you have any other reason why that would no longer be the practice? Can we reinstate it going forward?
I will certainly ask that this very good practice be reinstated. As I mentioned earlier, I am not aware of any other reason why hard copies of the budget have not been distributed as they were in the past.
