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bill curry

John Manley is back. The former Liberal deputy prime minister and finance minister left government in 2003, but returned to the federal scene in 2007 as a surprise appointee of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to lead a task force on Afghanistan.

Now he is returning to the world of Ottawa public policy as president and CEO of the Council of Chief Executives, speaking on behalf of more than 150 Canadian CEOs.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail this week, Mr. Manley expressed doubt about the Conservative government's fiscal projections and said a GST hike may be needed to balance the books unless economic growth comes in stronger than expected.

But Mr. Manley also had strong praise for the economic instincts of Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty rejects the PBO's analysis that the government's current plans will not balance the budget over time. Mr. Manley told The Globe the PBO is a voice that should not be dismissed.

"I think Kevin Page has shown a remarkable ability to forecast," he said. "I'm sure it's annoying to my former department, but then, he came out of my former department. I'd be paying a lot of attention to him because I think there's science and there's modeling and there's all of that, but there's also instinct. And so far, he's shown himself to have that talent for getting the right number. So I'd be paying close attention to him."

(File photo: Chris Wattie/Reuters)



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