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OTTAWA — The federal Conservative government continues to stonewall the parliamentary budget officer in its quest to obtain information on the impacts on federal programs and services of the $5.2-billion in spending cuts announced in the 2012 budget.

The same day the Harper government faced accusations from a departing Conservative caucus member that it lacks accountability and transparency, the PBO said it still can’t obtain data from most government departments on the long-term impacts of deep budget cuts.

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In a report released Thursday, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer says it’s unable to fulfil NDP Leader Tom Mulcair’s request to analyze the ongoing consequences of billion of dollars in spending reductions announced in last year’s budget because the government refuses to provide the necessary information.

The information obtained by the PBO shows that “unprecedented” productivity improvements are necessary if the government is to achieve its planned spending cuts without negative impacts to federal programs and services.