We seem to be caught in the middle. As of this weekend, we found that both extreme right-wing MP Pierre Poilievre and left-wing guru Linda McQuaig are attacking Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem. Having been, for many years, a strong supporter of Linda McQuaig, I am still trying to buy into her condemnation of the bank’s recent adjustments in the Bank of Canada borrowing rate.
Linda accuses the central bank of playing fast and loose with the economic security of Canadians. It is her contention that the bank is recklessly taking us in the direction of recession.
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Linda is exaggerating a bit. There is also a strong suspicion on my part that Tiff Macklem is well aware of the dangers in his actions. He is trying to walk the line between easing the inflationary pressures and precipitating a recession. With the United States already technically in recession, can Canada be far behind? It is when you recall that Macklem told us that some raising of interest rates might be necessary and why it might be necessary. He then told us that it was necessary and when he would raise rates. He did what he said he would do and basically it was the small nudge that some sectors of our economy really needed.
And it is only when you consider Pierre Poilievre’s criticisms of Macklem that you realize that the conservative leadership candidate is using specious arguments to defame the governor. He appears to think that Macklem wants to have his own cryptocurrency. As it was explained to him, as though he was a slow child, the bank will consider an official cryptocurrency, if and when the government requests it.
The problem is that as a far-right dilettante, Poilievre needs to get his own act together and learn something about economics. What many of the rest of us know today is that the Bank of Canada does not just print money or cause inflation. Inflation is caused by the ability to create need, the availability and cost of what we want to purchase and by greed and by war and that asshole in the Kremlin who thinks he is some kind of Tsar. And Mr. Poilievre does not seem to understand why right-wing Reaganomics and Thatcherism never worked.
Mr. Poilievre only proves that what we do not understand, we distrust.
-30-
Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: