Close X
Saturday, January 11, 2025
ADVT 
National

U.S. bank reform violates NAFTA, Finance Minister Joe Oliver says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 May, 2015 10:29 AM
    NEW YORK — Canada's finance minister says sweeping American bank reforms introduced in the aftermath of the financial crisis violate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
     
    In prepared remarks of a speech delivered Wednesday in New York City, Joe Oliver calls on the U.S. government to change the policy known as the "Volcker rule."
     
    The Volcker rule, adopted in 2010 but has yet to be fully implemented, aims to reduce high-risk trading bets by big banks.
     
    Unless special exemptions are made, however, Oliver said U.S. investors will be at a disadvantage because they won't be permitted to trade in Canadian government debt.
     
    "I believe — with strong legal basis — that this rule violates the terms of the NAFTA agreement," said Oliver's speech, delivered at an event hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
     
    "I hope the United States administration sees that changing the Volcker rule is in its own best interests and that of its biggest trading partner."
     
    In recent years, senior Canadian officials — including former finance minister Jim Flaherty and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney — warned the U.S. government about the Volcker rule's wide-reaching impacts.
     
    Oliver said Americans should have no concerns about Canada's credit standing since its rating is better than that of the U.S. government.
     
    A spokeswoman for Oliver's office said the minister has personally raised his concerns over the Volcker rule in past meetings with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    'Not Guilty, Your Honour,' Mike Duffy Says On Day 1 Of Senate Expenses Trial

    'Not Guilty, Your Honour,' Mike Duffy Says On Day 1 Of Senate Expenses Trial
    OTTAWA — The opening act of the year's most eagerly awaited political legal drama finally got underway Tuesday as suspended senator Mike Duffy formally pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery.

    'Not Guilty, Your Honour,' Mike Duffy Says On Day 1 Of Senate Expenses Trial

    New premier of P.E.I. puts job on the line as he calls election for May 4

    New premier of P.E.I. puts job on the line as he calls election for May 4
    WEST COVEHEAD, P.E.I. — Six weeks after becoming premier of Prince Edward Island, Wade MacLauchlan is putting his job on the line by calling an election on promises of greater political engagement and a better economic future.

    New premier of P.E.I. puts job on the line as he calls election for May 4

    Man Who Jumped Into Fraser River To Save Wife Found Dead Near Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal

    Man Who Jumped Into Fraser River To Save Wife Found Dead Near Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal
    VANCOUVER — Police say the body pulled from the water near a ferry terminal south of Vancouver is that of a 74-year-old man who fell into a nearby river.

    Man Who Jumped Into Fraser River To Save Wife Found Dead Near Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal

    B.C. Doctor, Geoffrey Harding, Stabbed To Death At His Bahamian Vacation Home

    B.C. Doctor, Geoffrey Harding, Stabbed To Death At His Bahamian Vacation Home
    CHETWYND, B.C. — A B.C. doctor who was stabbed to death in the Bahamas is being remembered as a family patriarch and a man who made many medical contributions in the province.

    B.C. Doctor, Geoffrey Harding, Stabbed To Death At His Bahamian Vacation Home

    Assault Charge Laid In Truno, Nova Scotia After Woman Allegedly Burned With Hot Pizza

    Assault Charge Laid In Truno, Nova Scotia After Woman Allegedly Burned With Hot Pizza
    TRURO, N.S. — A 29-year-old woman has been charged with assault with a weapon for allegedly smearing a hot pizza into the face of another woman early Sunday morning in Truro, N.S.

    Assault Charge Laid In Truno, Nova Scotia After Woman Allegedly Burned With Hot Pizza

    Japanese Reactor Radiation Detected On The Shores Of Vancouver Island But It's Not Dangerous: Expert

    Japanese Reactor Radiation Detected On The Shores Of Vancouver Island But It's Not Dangerous: Expert
    VICTORIA — Radiation from the leaking Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan has been detected on the shores of Vancouver Island.

    Japanese Reactor Radiation Detected On The Shores Of Vancouver Island But It's Not Dangerous: Expert