National

Political pressure to stop rate hikes now coming from premiers, as BoC decision nears

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Sep, 2023 09:53 AM

Two premiers have sent letters to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem urging the central bank to halt rate hikes ahead of its next rate decision tomorrow.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent a letter on Sunday saying families and businesses cannot afford the "crushing impact of further rate hikes," echoing a letter British Columbia Premier David Eby sent on Thursday.

Yesterday, I wrote to the Governor of the Bank of Canada echoing Premier @Dave_Eby’s call to stop raising interest rates. Ontario families and businesses are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford the crushing costs brought about by repeated interest rate hikes. pic.twitter.com/cdVE9IQzmH
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) September 4, 2023

Yesterday, I wrote to the Bank of Canada to urge them not to increase interest rates. This is not an academic debate - increased rates hurt many people in our province. pic.twitter.com/uCZmVDsxJ2
— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) September 1, 2023

With interest rates soaring, people in BC are being pushed to brink.

Today, I urged the Bank of Canada to not increase rates again in September.

The Bank’s role is to guide monetary policy, my role is to ensure BC voices are heard on decisions that impact them. pic.twitter.com/3BYtTk60zk
— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) August 31, 2023

Associate professor and founding director of McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy, Christopher Ragan says it's "unfortunate" that the premiers felt that sending these letters was useful.

Ragan says it brings a political element to monetary policy decisions, which are supposed to be taken independent of government.

The Bank of Canada is an independent institution that receives its mandate from the federal government and is responsible for maintaining a two per cent inflation target.

The central bank is set to make its interest rate decision tomorrow and is widely expected to hold its key rate steady as the economy begins to buckle under the weight of higher interest rates.

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