Poilievre has emerged as a vocal critic of Canada’s central bank. He tried to link decades of high inflation to the quantitative easing policy of the COVID era, recently accusing the institution of being “financially illiterate”. Poilievre said if elected, he would extend the power of the auditor general to include the Bank of Canada and push for a review of its pandemic policies. “Justin Trinto threatened the independence of the Bank of Canada with deficits of half a trillion dollars that required the central bank to print money and cause inflation,” Puliyev said. “This is Justinflation,” he said, using his name for inflation rates under the “liberal government.” central bank “.

State support encryption similar to nationalization, says the Poilievre campaign

Poilievre is a big supporter of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. He has suggested that Canadians can be “exempted” from inflation by throwing money at these investments, and he does not want the Bank of Canada to offer a competitive product. Bitcoin has been volatile in recent months as central banks raised interest rates to tackle pandemic-induced inflation, making speculative investment less attractive. The price of bitcoin has dropped about 40 percent from its November 2021 high. In this environment, the central bank has studied the viability of creating its own digital currency – digital tokens, similar to cryptocurrencies, that will be linked to the value of the Canadian dollar. Central banks around the world are worried that the explosive growth of bitcoin could destabilize the existing financial system. An ad for bitcoin appears on a street in Hong Kong on February 17, 2022. (Kin Cheung / AP Photo)
In response, some banks are proposing government-backed digital currencies issued and controlled by the country’s monetary authority – a product that could offer the convenience of encryption with the full fidelity and support of the issuing government. The European Union and China have already stated that digital currencies will be issued in their respective jurisdictions. Carolyn Rogers, the top deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, told lawmakers in the Communities Finance Committee on Monday that the central bank was in the “development stage” of its digital currency, although the decision on whether to proceed would ultimately be up to to the government. “We think our job is to be ready, to get the job done sooner, so if we decide that a digital central bank currency is something that would benefit Canadians, we should be ready to offer it,” Rogers said. LISTEN The Front Burner podcast examines the dynamics behind the Poilievre campaign: Front Burner35: 28 Inside a Conservative leadership rally Pierre Poilievre He is still early in the race for the Conservative leadership, but candidate Pierre Poilievre seems to have momentum. It gathers large crowds in rallies across the country with promises to make Canada “the freest country on Earth.” Front Burner producer Ali Janez introduces you to some of the people who attended an event in Toronto last week, and CBC Politics senior reporter Kathryn Cullen provides a framework around these crowds and how Poilievre’s populism is compared. with previous candidates. 35:28
Speaking to reporters outside the Bank of Canada’s headquarters in Ottawa on Thursday, Poilievre said a digital currency would turn the central bank into a competitor to commercial banks, as Canadians could park their deposits at the state institution. According to a policy background provided to journalists, the Poilievre campaign is concerned that a push to “nationalize” deposits would lead to “politicized banking”. The background suggests that a central bank accepting deposits would be similar to a state-owned bank, and politicians could “bless voters” and “start making campaign promises of more generous deposit rates or other benefits.”

Poilievre wants the FBI to control the central bank

Poilievre also said that if elected, he would pass Conservative MP Andrew Scheer’s bill, which would authorize the Auditor General to audit the Bank of Canada. The central bank is currently exempt from this type of supervision. However, the Bank of Canada is already audited by two separate external companies – currently KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – each year. At least one expert, Kevin Page, a former parliamentary budget official, said the auditor general did not have the capacity to control the central bank. Historically, the Bank of Canada has been an institution without political influence, so it could use monetary policy instruments to pursue price stability or an inflation target. While the government at the time could not direct this independent Parliamentary official to consider a specific matter, Poilievre said the AG “should investigate whether the Trinto government interfered in the independence of the Bank of Canada” during the pandemic “using “$ 400 billion of newly printed money to finance its deficits.” As many other central banks did during the Great Recession of 2008-09, the Bank of Canada has embraced quantitative easing over the past two years to boost lending and spending in a period of financial panic. This policy expired in October 2021.