Admitting Poilievre is right

Vincent J. Curtis

17 June 22

RE: Freeland can do more to fight inflation.  Spectator editorial 17 June 22.

The Spectator finally admitted that inflation is too much money chasing too few goods.  In its editorial of May 13, (Poilievre’s inflation disinformation) the Spectator maintained that this was Poilievre “disinformation.”  The Spectator having admitted that Poilievre was right, it must also admit the Governor of the Bank of Canada acted politically during the pandemic.  He deserves to be fired for that, and for the mistaken monetary policy he pursued in consequence.  The mandate of the Bank is to keep prices stable while achieving full employment.  Preventing inflation is the Bank’s job.

The Canadian bond market is used to buying $20 billion to $30 billion a year of federal bonds.  If in 2020 the Bank had tried to sell $200 billion in bonds, the market would have choked and interest rates skyrocketed.  That would have been a sure sign that the Trudeau government’s handling of the COVID crisis was seriously flawed.  Instead, the Bank printed the money.  Likewise, $115 billion in 2021.

Printing the money instead of borrowing it was like taking novocaine, it numbed the pain, but now Canada is paying the price in painful inflation.  The Governor of the Bank ought to have known this, but pursued a monetary policy that led to inflation anyway.

The Governor shielded the Trudeau government from the consequences of its folly until after the 2021 election, and now Canadians pay a price until 2025.

This political act of the Governor is, and deserves to be, a firing offence to an opposition party.

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