Besides the financial reports that registered political parties must provide to Elections Canada (See under "Government Department and Agency Reports" below), public documents on political parties' financing issues are rare. Here is a sampling; more recent versions may be obtained directly from the parties:

Constituency Fundraising Manual. Liberal Party of Canada. Ottawa: Liberal Party of Canada, 1982. 35 p.
Report of the Leadership Expenses Committee. By Margo Brousseau and Dan Hays. Ottawa: Liberal Party of Canada, 1990. 1 vol.
Guide to Direct Canvass Fundraising. Liberal Party of Canada. 1980. 16 p.

Besides the opposition parties' budget and economic policy-related remarks in Parliament, written statements on government finance issues are usually found in campaign platforms and media releases during elections. Some published documents:

Mandate for Change: The Alberta Liberal Plan for Legislative and Budgetary Reform. By Laurence Decore. Edmonton: The Party, 1993. 15 p.
Tax Reform: A Liberal Approach. Liberal Party of Canada, 1987. 23 p.
The Taxpayers' Budget: The Reform Party's Plan to Balance the Federal Budget and Provide Social and Economic Security for the 21st Century. Calgary: The Reform Party, 1995. 57 p.

Government Publications: (Royal Commission reports, task force reports, government department and agency reports, policy papers, Parliamentary documents, law and court reports)

Royal Commissions, Commissions of Inquiry and Related Reports:

Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing. Pierre Lortie, Chair.
Reforming Electoral Democracy: Final Report. Ottawa: The Commission, 1991. 4 vols.
Research Papers. Ottawa: The Commission, 1991. 7 vols.
Research Studies. Toronto: Dundurn Press, The Commission, & Canada Communication Group-Publishing, Supply and Services Canada, 1989. 23 vols.

Achieving a National Purpose: Improving Territorial Formula Financing and Strengthening Canada's Territories. Final Report of the Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing. Al O'Brien, Chair. Submitted to Min. of Finance. Ottawa: The Panel, 2006. 147 p.

Every federal department and agency must report annually on its budget estimates, plans and priorities, and its actual performance. Since 2003 they must also report on the travel and hospitality expenses of their senior staff, contracts over $10,000 and reclassified positions. Every three years, since 1997, they have also been required to prepare a sustainable development strategy. All of these reports are available on the federal department and agency web sites. (See the Canada site for links.) The following are the main departments/agencies that provide key budget, government finance and party financing information:

Auditor General of Canada. http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca

Provincial/Territorial and Municipal Equivalents. Each province and territory has a Finance Minister, Receiver General and Elections Office with similar documents produced: Budgets, Public Accounts, Election Finance reports, etc. The provinces (and some large cities) also have an Auditor General. (Note: The Auditor General of Canada reports on the Territories as well as the federal government.) See Finding & Evaluating for links to their web sites and tips to finding the documents they published. Municipal budget statistics are published annually by the provincial department responsible for local government. These reports are usually called "Municipal Statistics" or "Annual Report of Municipal Statistics". Annual financial reports will also be produced by towns and cities, e.g "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Finance", Toronto: Treasury Dept., 1920's - .

Research Reports are also occasionally produced or commissioned by these government bodies. Some examples:

Besides the budget itself, government's most important policy statement, others are occasionally published on finance issues. For example:

Towards Replacing the Goods and Services Tax. Ottawa: Dept. of Finance Canada, 1996. 95 p.

Committee Reports: Standing parliamentary committees exist on important topics of ongoing concern such as the environment, aboriginal affairs, finance, etc. They are independent of the related ministries and include members of both the governing party and others. Their studies and reports can be very useful research material.

There have been several Standing Committees in both the House of Commons and Senate concerned with government finance issues.
Committee web sites on the Parliamentary Internet site include information on the committee, its members, meeting schedule, contact information, its studies, reports, news releases, a list of the witnesses who appeared before the committee, and the transcripts of the meetings, called "Evidence". You can also sign up for email notification of any new committee information to appear on the site.

Key Finance-Related House of Commons Standing Committees:
Finance Committee. The committee's web site http://www.parl.gc.ca/FINA-e links to an excellent Frequently Asked Questions page under "About this Committee". This committee's main purpose is to hold the government to account on public finance issues; it considers and reports on the government's budgetary policies. Its members, elected MPs, represent the public in this work. The committee holds pre-budget consultations, examines the budget after it is tabled, and examines the Estimates of the Finance Department and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Public Accounts. Reviews and reports on the Public Accounts of Canada and the Auditor General's reports and Estimates.
Government Operations and Estimates. Created to provide more scrutiny of government operations. Although each standing committee is assigned to review the Estimates of the departments with related areas of interest, this committee reviews the expenditure plans (Estimates) of all departments, agencies, commissions, Crown corporations, programs, and private foundations that receive majority federal funding. Sample report: Meaningful Scrutiny: Practical Improvements to the Estimates Process. Sept. 2003. 50,54 p.
Procedure and House Affairs. Responsibilities include matters relating to electoral legislation. Sample report: The Business of Supply: Completing the Circle of Control 64th Report, 1997.
Liaison. (Not a standing committee, but permanent) Allocates funds to House standing committees.

Key Finance-Related Senate Standing Committees:
National Finance. ("Committee on Finance" 1919-1967) Examines the Auditor General's report, Estimates and spending bills.
Banking, Trade and Commerce. Since 1867 reviews legislation on financial institutions, budgetary and commercial matters: taxation, customs and excise, etc.
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. Considers the internal financial matters of the Senate: committee budgets, sets spending guidelines and policies etc.

Sub-committees may exist to examine specific issues and Special Committees can be created at any time as well. For example: Special Committee on Election Expenses, 1970-71, and the Special Committee on Electoral Reform, 1992-93 (to review the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing). Check the House of Commons and Senate Journals and Debates Indexes for the time period relevant to your research to see if any other parliamentary committees examined public finance or political finance issues at that time.

NOTE: Advocacy groups, individuals and government bodies can submit briefs to many committees informing them of the impact of proposed legislation or commenting on the issue under study. These may be found as part of the committee Evidence, on the group's or committee's web site, or in library catalogues by authoring body.

Members' Office and Travel Expenses. Annual reports detailing each Member of Parliament's expenses are available on the Parliamentary Internet site from 2001 on. (Select A-Z Index.)

Bills. "Ways and Means" bills are based on the budget speech and give the government authority to bring in a new tax or increase an existing one. "Appropriation" or "Supply" bills are based on the Estimates as adopted by the House, authorizing the government to pay the amounts set out in the Estimates for the purposes specified. See LEGISinfo for details on these and other bills introduced since 2001.

Other Parliamentary Documents: Use the main Part 4: Finding & Evaluating Government Information and Part 5: Selected Primary Sources to see how to search the Debates, Parliamentary Journals, etc. for bills, questions asked in Parliament, etc., and "What was Said", above, for tips on finding budget-related speeches, debates and hearings.

Major Acts dealing with government finance, electoral and political financing are available at the Justice Canada site at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en. Collections of the relevant legislation are usually available at the government site most involved. For example:

Elections Canada: Electoral Law, Policy and Research. This Elections Canada page pulls together the recent changes on political financing laws, major legal cases, and links to the Parliamentary site for additional information.

Compendium of Election Administration in Canada. Elections Canada, for the Conference of Canadian Election Officials. 1999 - . A comprehensive report of Canadian federal and provincial/territorial election legislation. (Chapter on election financing summarizes the rules in each province on contributions, election expenses, disclosure, reimbursement of expenses, allowances, tax deductions for contributions, election advertising, broadcasting time, and restrictions on opinion polls.)

Dept. of Finance Canada Legislation. This page on the Dept. of Finance site links to draft legislation in the works (bills, ways and means motions, draft regulations, explanatory notes, etc.), current legislation, and Acts or amended Acts from previous sessions of Parliament.

Legislative Summaries of relevant bills are available from the Library of Parliament for most major bills. Current ones are listed by subject on the Parliamentary Site's Virtual Library, Library of Parliament Research Publications page, (titles begin with: "Bill"...). E.g. Bill C-2: The Federal Accountability Act. LS-522E, 2006. 80 p. Legislative Summaries of bills from previous Parliaments back to 2001 are accessible through LEGISinfo. Earlier ones can be found by searching AMICUS.

Tax Court of Canada. http://www.tcc-cci.gc.ca/main_e.htm

James Johnson Macdonell Fonds. National Archives. (Includes diary and other personal papers of this Auditor General of Canada 1973-1980, and his related work.)

Office of the Auditor General Collection. Library and Archives Canada.

See the main Part 5: Primary Sources - Recorded Images for tips on finding more photos, political cartoons, etc.

Each of the major political parties' web sites cover economic and government finance issues to some extent. The finance critic in the opposition parties should be especially active in providing the party's views, either in blogs, the party web site, or other media. (Note: A list of the Current Opposition Party Critics with their areas of responsibility and contact information is available on the Parliamentary web site.)

The registered federal parties must file their financial statements with Elections Canada and these are available at the Elections Canada web site shortly after filed (see "What was Written - Government Dept. and Agency Reports" above) and most provinces have similar legislation. For current information on party finances and what's happening with party fundraising, contact the riding association or party headquarters. Contact information for registered federal parties is available on the Elections Canada web site.

The budget documents, Estimates, Auditor General Reports and their equivalents in provincial and municipal governments allow MPs and the public to see what the government is doing and whether it is working as it should. These documents are accessible to the public on the web sites of each department and agency to enhance accountability, but do nothing if no one reads them. Read, ask questions, get involved...

Budgets are a government's most important policy statement. Consider contributing, as an individual or group, to pre-budget consultations, whether municipal, provincial or federal. If you cannot do so directly, assist or help inform those who are.

Dept. of Finance, Elections Canada, Auditor General, etc. Links to their web sites are in the Finding & Evaluating portion of this guide.

Advocacy, Interest Groups, etc.: Every interest group, social policy organization, professional association or collection of individuals has an interest in the budget decisions of governments. Besides the research organizations listed in the Finding Information section, the following are some of the most active advocacy groups that allow you to learn more about the issues, and get involved:

Canadian Taxpayers Federation. http://www.taxpayer.com