National

Liberals could ask Bank of Canada to stop hiking interest rates: NDP

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Sep, 2023 02:00 PM

The New Democrats say the federal government should follow the lead of British Columbia's premier and ask the Bank of Canada to stop raising interest rates.

Premier David Eby wrote to Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem last week and asked him not to hike rates again as Canadians struggle to pay for food and rent.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh applauded that move and today says the Liberals should be reconsidering the central bank's mandate to ensure it puts people first.

In response to a request for more details on the suggested changes, Singh's director of communications says the Liberals could ask the central bank to halt rate hikes as part of regular discussions between the governor and federal finance minister.

While the federal government and the Bank of Canada set the central bank's mandate, its operations — including interest-rate decisions — are independent.

The central bank announced today it is holding its key interest rate at five per cent as signs of a weakening economy grow.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Union wants national transit safety task force

A task force should consider whether de-escalation training, harsher penalties, increased mental health funding, better housing supports and greater police presence could help prevent violence on transit. The call for a task force came after a number of violent attacks targeting workers and riders on the Toronto Transit Commission.

Union wants national transit safety task force

U.S., Canada unveil details of new Nexus scheme

The biggest change, to take effect in the spring, will allow U.S. border agents to interview Nexus applicants at select Canadian airports before boarding a U.S.-bound flight. That will happen only after applicants take part in a separate, appointment-only interview with Canadian agents at a Nexus airport enrolment centre.

U.S., Canada unveil details of new Nexus scheme

What methods does Ottawa want RCMP to stop using?

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino directed Commissioner Brenda Lucki to bar Mounties from using the method in a mandate letter last year. The fact that he also asked RCMP to stop using two other tools — tear gas and rubber bullets — has received less public attention.

What methods does Ottawa want RCMP to stop using?

66 more potential graves at former B.C. school

In addition to the reflections found in a technical survey, she said interviews with survivors and searches through archival records revealed that babies born as a result of child sexual assault at the mission were disposed of by incineration. Spearing said their work found "a minimum" of 28 children died at the mission, many of them buried in unmarked graves around the site.

66 more potential graves at former B.C. school

Famed Canadian skating coach guilty of sex assault

Richard Gauthier was on trial on three charges in connection with crimes he committed in the 1980s involving a teenage male skater whom he trained. Gauthier, 61, was found guilty on two charges, in a ruling rendered in Montreal by Quebec court Judge Josée Bélanger. He was acquitted of a third count of indecent assault against the victim, whose identity is covered by a publication ban.

Famed Canadian skating coach guilty of sex assault

'Take action,' drivers urged man on bridge: police

Police say drivers on the Alex Fraser Bridge outside Vancouver honked and yelled at a man in a mental health crisis standing outside the safety rail, with some encouraging him to "take action." According to a police statement, some drivers walked up the bridge deck, interfered with the negotiations, and videoed or photographed the man.