By Adrita Rahman

April 14, 2024

Information about the federal government’s fiscal priorities is only useful if Canadians can understand it. But we do not have this country’s most important budget document: a citizens budget. And we need it now.

Whenever we notice an unauthorized transaction on our credit card bill, like a $200 charge for hockey tickets that we swore we did not buy, we call our banks immediately. Many, like me, also review monthly statements and maintain a budget to manage our finances. It’s because we care about where our hard-earned money goes. But do Canadians actually know where their tax dollars are spent? Does the budget reflect their needs and priorities?

On the 16th of April, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland will present Budget 2024 in the House of Commons. Once the budget and its supporting documents are available for public access, many Canadians will not know what to make of it, including my friend Mia. Unlike me, Mia hated economics in school and studied art history. But that lack of economic specialization should not hold her back from fully understanding the budget. And a citizens budget would be the best way to fill that translation gap.

A citizens budget is a simpler, shorter, less technical version of the official fiscal budget, made by the government for its people. It presents the government’s spending program in simple, accessible language so that people know where their tax dollars are going and why. It allows citizens to engage and have their voices heard actively. While Canada prides itself on robust institutions and democratic values, it is also among the minority of developed countries that do not have a formal citizens budget. Countries including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, Ghana, India, Kenya, Brazil, Thailand, Honduras and others have realized the significance of citizens budgets and have incorporated them in their respective fiscal and communications planning.

Who can benefit from having a citizens budget? Both the government and the people. A citizens budget can serve as a tool to foster public trust in government institutions. When the government provides citizens with transparent and accessible information about their tax dollars, it can help ease suspicions of corruption, mismanagement, and favoritism and foster confidence in institutions.

It can also create a shared responsibility in government decisions, which then can help strengthen the social contract between the governed and those who govern. A citizens budget can enhance the government’s legitimacy and accountability

For citizens, having a citizens budget can empower individuals and communities to advocate for their interests. This, in turn, can lead to a more effective allocation of public resources, making both the citizens and the government better off with greater utility, excuse my economics lingo.

In a vast and diverse country like Canada, there is a wide variety of needs and priorities of citizens that vary widely from coast to coast to coast. It is very important not only to have access to information, but also to clearly understand where citizens’ dollars are being utilized, to realize the government’s key spending areas, and to be informed about how taxes are levied.

A citizens budget is a simpler, shorter, less technical version of the official fiscal budget, made by the government for its people. It presents the government’s spending program in simple, accessible language so that people know where their tax dollars are going and why.

In the absence of clear information about government priorities and spending allocations, citizens and policymakers alike are left ill-equipped to tackle complex social issues effectively. Citizens who may not know that they are eligible for programs or tax credits contained in a federal budget may miss out if they need help understanding the budgetary information completely. This may exacerbate inequality and systemic injustice.

When the government is not there to decode its long, jargon-filled budgetary documents for its people, civil societies and media often step in to fill the gap. This might lead to useful information being lost in translation or might fail to fully represent what the government had intended when it developed the budget. And this is a risk that is no longer worth taking. There might always be a role for scrutiny and oversight. Publishing a citizens budget along with a traditional budget will allow citizens to find more detailed information. We must remember that a citizens budget is intended to complement, and not replace, the fiscal budget.

According to a Nanos poll published in March, 63 percent of Canadians want to see the federal government reduce spending in this year’s budget. Canadians are not happy with the accountability and transparency of the Canadian government’s spending practices and it shows according to the latest Open Budget Survey (OBS). The OBS is a unique, independent, fact-based biannual research instrument that measures global governance and accountability.. In the 2021 OBS (the 2023 OBS will be published in May), Canada received a failing grade in public participation, scoring 26 out of 100.

The survey results show that Canada performed worst in the implementation and audit stages, scoring 0 out of 100. It did somewhat better in budget formulation, scoring 20, and performed the best in legislative approvals, scoring 89. Let’s say you are among those who do not care about these scores or grades. If that is the case, you should know that not having citizens budget can also be seen as a lack of transparency. And democracy and transparency go hand in hand.

Over the decades, the Canadian federal budget has only gotten much lengthier. In 1980, the budget fit on 53 pages, in 1990, it was 167, in 2000 it was 338, in 2010, it was 424 and by 2021 it has upswelled to 726 pages. The fiscal statement, too, has been pushed, from appearing at the top of the budget to now being buried in an annex. Having a citizens budget is needed now more than ever, when people have less time on hand, less patience, even less attention span to sift through 700 pages of the federal budget, let alone to understand it.

Let’s help our country get a great score on the 2025 OBS survey. More importantly, let’s help Canada practice greater financial transparency and encourage greater public participation in budgetary decision-making. Let’s value and celebrate institutional accountability.

Adrita Rahman is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. Adrita is passionate about using evidence and data to inform and shape health and environmental policies that address the needs and rights of marginalized and vulnerable groups.