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Canada’s budget watchdog is studying the “prodigious” growth of federal lending through Crown corporations and other agencies, now totalling more than $200 billion, with little scrutiny from public servants or Parliament.

The Parliamentary Budget Office recently flagged the magnitude and growth of these loans or “non-budgetary spending” over the past six years and now plans to examine the issue in an upcoming report, said assistant parliamentary budget officer Mostafa Askari.

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For the PBO, the big issue is transparency and due process in managing these transactions, particularly whether MPs and Senators are fully aware of the magnitude of such funding.

Parliament votes on “non-budgetary” expenditures, but they don’t get the same rigorous examination of other spending that Parliament reviews every year. These expenditures are approved by Parliament, but they don’t expire at the end of the year like spending on programs and services delivered by departments.