Once upon a time, he told me, he toiled in obscurity in the federal public service. 

That was then. 

Now, he's one of the most controversial public servants on The Hill, and he's anything but obscure anymore. 

Kevin Page is Canada's first ever Parliamentary Budget Officer. The position was created by the Harper government to offer Parliament (as opposed to the government) what's supposed to be less partisan, more neutral fiscal updates on the financial health of the country.

Rather quickly, however, Page has found himself caught in a partisan storm. On the one hand, he's been in conflict with MP's from all parties. On the other hand, his superiors in the civil service are upset with him. 

Some MP's (and not just from the government side) are mad at Page because they think he's working outside his mandate. For example, opposition politicians want him to help them hold the government to account. 

Page, however, sees his job more akin to the Congressional Budget Office in the United States, offering a level of oversight more like the Auditor-General. 

He also thinks he can make public any report his office does, even those requested by MP's who may have their own ideas about when those reports should be made public. 

Page got into the most hot water when he released a report on the costs of the Afghanistan war, right in the middle of an election campaign. It was the first time the war's costs had been assessed and made public, and caused considerable discomfort for the Harper government.

Watch the clip below if you want to know what Page thinks of that controversy. And join us at 8 and/or 11 p.m. tonight for more on Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer.