Bank of Canada defended by Chrystia Freeland ahead of rate hike
BNN Bloomberg
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the Bank of Canada’s independence after the main left-leaning opposition party joined the Conservatives in criticizing its record.
“Canada is a country of peace, order and good government,” Freeland told reporters Tuesday on her way into a cabinet meeting. “Institutional stability very much includes the independence of the Bank of Canada. Our government respects very much the independence of the Bank of Canada.”
On the weekend, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh told CTV News that Governor Tiff Macklem’s increases to interest rates are without merit. He urged the Liberal government to do more to cushion the blow of inflation.
Freeland acknowledged the increasingly difficult circumstances Canadians face. Her comments, made a day before Macklem is expected to deliver a fifth-straight outsized interest-rate hike, show monetary policy decisions have become increasingly politicized.
