Budget for Prime Minister's Office rising by $1M

OTTAWA — Talk, as it turns out, is not cheap.

The cost of running the Prime Minister's Office will jump by over $1
million this year mostly because of communications expenses.

The final number will be published in the government's official
accounting of expenses for 2009-2010, which will be released in the
fall.

But The Canadian Press has learned it will hit about $9.89 million dollars, compared to last year's $8.15 million on spending.

The PMO has hired another 20 people in the last year, including more
staff to handle regional and ethnic media, as well as direct government
communication, like the ad blitz on the economic action plan.

Control over whole-of-government messaging has also come to reside
within the PMO, keeping staffers busy approving requests for information
and interviews with every single government department.

The Prime Minister also took multiple trips abroad and hosted the G8
and G20 summits, which expanded the cost of running his shop.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said he believed the costs were essential.

There is more pressure in a 24-hour news cycle for ministers, MPs and
the government to respond, said Andrew MacDougall, but the explosion in
third language media has also added to demand.

"We've made the conscious effort to really step up our efforts and
frankly, in contrast with past communications shops, to be out there
more and be more helpful," he said.

Staff in the prime ministers' office are subject to a wage freeze as
part of the government-wide effort to face down its $54-billion deficit.


The office is also currently under strategic review for this year.

Over the last decade, the cost of running the PMO has fluctuated
between $6.7 million in 2000-2001 to a high of $13.8 million in
2005-2006.

That was also the year that former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
and current Prime Minister Stephen Harper shared the office.

There is no line item tally for 2006-2007.

The way expenses were tallied have also changed over the years,
making a direct comparison between previous governments difficult.

Starting in 2008-2009, government ministers were required to begin
individually disclosing their expenses under the new accountability act.


Prior to 2006-2007, there was a line item for "office of the prime
minister" under the expenses for the privy office, but those costs did
not reflect political staff costs.