This is one for the books, Mr. Editor. Literally. In the Canadian province of New Brunswick the Progressive Conservative Government there brought in legislation that requires the government of the day to provide voters with a fiscal update of public finances 60 days before an election, and further that all political parties contesting the election tabulate and publish a costing of their promises in advance of polling day. Wow. This particular piece of legislation is entitled the Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act.

Failure to comply has some immediate financial consequences — aside from what conclusions the electorate might draw and act upon. If parties do not comply they stand to lose their taxpayer-funded operating allowances. They have rules there governing campaign finance. We don’t, although it wasn’t that long ago that there was a debate on the Hill on the issue of party funding when MPs were invited to talk about doing something. But so far, nada.

Still, something may be brewing: there is the opportunity that some good may come out of the fall-out from the $350,000.00 fiasco. You will also recall a very good suggestion in a recent letter to the editor from a former MP, notwithstanding his assertion that we seem to be in the midst of some sort of silly season when it comes to politics.

Silly or not, and I do not think it is, I kind of like holding political parties and their politicians to account at all times and on all issues. This is what a parliamentary democracy should be all about. Now as for legislation which requires them to actually work out what their promises will cost (and cost us, the taxpayers), this strikes me as something worth thinking about, possibly even talking about, maybe even implementing.

Don’t hold your breath though. This Act has actually backfired on the party which introduced it. They are facing an election next month and what the law has done is force the government to produce an update that has served to remind voters that they have failed to live up to one of their major promises — a balanced budget.

It hasn’t happened. Yet they have put the best possible face on their shortcomings: “fiscal update shows improved deficit and reduced spending”. Good one.

That’s but one half of the political spin. The other? Imagine how much worse it would be if the other guys had been in charge!

Hey, now, that all sounds very familiar — proving yet again there rarely is anything new under The Sun when it cones to politics. But to their credit, the New Brunswick PCs haven’t talked about repealing the legislation; at least not publicly and not yet as far as I am aware.

A Fiscal Accountability and Transparency Act has a certain appeal. Elections are fought and lost on promises that are rarely if ever costed. They should be to enable voters to make an informed choice.

You might think that the government of the day will have a distinct advantage. They will have actual and better access to the books to make their calculations. But opposition parties should not necessarily be shut out. A fully functioning Public Accounts Committee (PAC), of which the Opposition spokesman for Finance is chair, is meant to provide a working window into Government finances. Yet another reason why this committee of the House should be far more active than it has been to date.

You might think this all pretty far fetched — and I would not blame you for thinking so, Mr. Editor — such is the apparent appetite (or lack of) for getting on with parliamentary and electoral reform.

But let’s not be too hasty in our criticism. There may be some hope. You will recall the recent debate on the Hill on the report of the multi-partisan Elections Committee and their recommendation that an Electoral Commission be established to tackle and get on with much-needed electoral reform.

Not much has been heard or seen since. It will be more than just interesting to see whether the Government follows through on this recommendation of the Legislature. It was unanimous by the way and the Governor’s prior consent is not required to get started.