QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Canada's Inflation Rate
September 27, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Senator Gold, as Canadians are looking at yet another hike in interest rates between now and the end of October, in an attempt to get skyrocketing “JustinFlation” under some sort of control, your government continues to defend the Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, despite his abysmal performance.
I’m sure you are going to give me the talking points about how we need to respect our institutions and the independence of the Bank of Canada. But considering that we have a Prime Minister who has acknowledged that he doesn’t spend his time thinking about monetary policy, and we have a Minister of Finance who — in this chamber less than a year ago — said, in response to my question, that inflation isn’t a real concern, and considering that the Bank of Canada also recently weighed in on social media in support for the partisan agenda of this current Trudeau government, don’t you think, government leader, that if you don’t fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada, at the bare minimum you should ask for his resignation?
I’m not going to give you talking points, honourable senator. It’s an important question about how any government and, indeed, this institution relates to its independent institutions. It is hard not to resist the observation that all of the premises buried in your question sounded very much like talking points that we have heard in the other place.
The fact remains that for more than three decades, the Bank of Canada has pursued an independent monetary policy, and that’s the appropriate way in which this should be handled in a democratic society. It is also the case, as every credible economist and every credible observer knows, that the inflation that we are suffering in Canada — and we are suffering, people are suffering, there is no question about that — is not created simply by Justin Trudeau and this government. It is a complicated function of worldwide phenomena.
If we are to be a serious chamber of sober second thought, as opposed to simply a place for snappy — the alliteration now escapes me. If we are going to be serious, as we are supposed to be serious, then I will continue to answer factually, as I am endeavouring to do in this case.
Senator Gold, how far is your government willing to go to continue to allow “JustinFlation” and soaring interest rates to skyrocket? Government leader, these are not talking points. Your talking points might be talking points, but I’m talking on behalf of Canadians who are actually out there dealing with egg prices, milk prices, grocery store prices and trying to feed their families.
At the end of the day, the question I have for you is a very simple one: When are we going to take our responsibility very seriously and hold somebody in this Parliament to account for this dismal performance? If it is not the Governor of the Bank of Canada, maybe it’s the Prime Minister, or maybe it’s the Minister of Finance. Whom do you hold responsible for this mess?
Thank you for your question. In law, we had an expression called res ipsa loquitur. That is probably the best answer that I could give to your question.
This government is very engaged in helping Canadians get through this very difficult time. It is taking real, tangible and concrete steps grounded in real-world people’s needs and in real-world approaches to issues that in many cases transcend our borders.
We have enhanced the Canada workers benefit at a cost of $1.7 billion in new support for workers this year. It puts up to $2,400 into the pockets of low-income families. That’s real help for Canadians, and that’s the government acting responsibly.
There was a 10% increase in Old Age Security for seniors over 75; a $500 payment this year for nearly 1 million Canadian households that are struggling with the cost of housing; child care costs cut by 50%; dental care for Canadians who are earning less than $90,000; the indexation of benefits for the Canada Child Benefit, GST credit, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement; and the federal minimum wage increased to $15 an hour.
These are concrete examples of this government acting responsibly — not looking for scapegoats for political purposes.
