Ontario Premier Urges Bank of Canada to Halt Interest Rate Hikes Amid Inflation Concerns
Ontario Premier Doug Ford advocates for a halt on national interest rate hikes, expressing concern for struggling Canadian families and businesses. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has publicly urged the Bank of Canada to halt plans to increase the national interest rate, expressing concern over financial burdens for Canadian families struggling to meet basic financial obligations. Ford stated that additional interest rate increases would merely extend the burden that households and businesses have been burdened with due to prior increases. This comes ahead of the central bank's upcoming announcement on interest rates, which is expected to remain unchanged. Prior to this, Ford had previously expressed his disapproval in a similar letter to the Bank's Governor Tiff Macklem, advocating for federal and provincial governments to collaborate on infrastructure projects rather than increasing rates. He also emphasized the need to tackle inflation and support national supply chains, citing the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and escalating turmoil in the Middle East as factors that have exacerbated vulnerabilities in our supply chains.
Publicado : Hace 2 años por Ezra B en Finance
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has once again publicly urged the Bank of Canada to halt further plans to increase the national interest rate, expressing his concern for the countless Canadian families struggling to satisfy their basic financial obligations.
In an unstinting communication directed to Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, publicly available on the formerly-called Twitter platform, Ford posits that additional hikes in interest rates merely extend the burden that countless households and businesses have been saddled with due to prior rates increases.
The Premier’s admonition precedes the central bank’s impending announcement on interest rates scheduled for Wednesday. The prevalent prognosis is that the key interest rate, which currently stands at a historical maximum of five per cent since 2001, will remain unchanged.
The Bank of Canada, focused on taming the economic turbulence and curtailing inflation to achieve their two per cent target, has ratcheted up the key interest rate ten times since March 2022.
As of the latest announcement on September 6, the policy interest rate perseveres at five per cent. Additionally, the nation’s inflation rate descended to 3.8 per cent for the month, a marginal relief after peaking at four per cent in August.
Prior to the decision, Premier Ford had already expressed his disapproval in a similar letter to the Governor, championing the collaboration of federal and provincial governments to finance and construct key infrastructure projects, rather than increasing rates yet again.
Echoing his concerns, Ford, in another correspondence to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, emphasized the need to tackle inflation head-on and buttress the national supply chains. The Premier cited the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and escalating turmoil in the Middle East as factors that have highlighted the vulnerabilities in our supply chains.
Ford described the dire consequences of these disruptions, “When everyday essentials like groceries, fuel, and building supplies are hindered in their delivery to markets, it’s inevitably the hardworking ordinary individuals who end up shouldering the burden, whether it’s at the supermarket, the gas station, or with their mortage and rent payments.”
The quarterly monetary policy report from the Bank of Canada, set to be released on Wednesday, carries the anticipation of updated projections for inflation and the state of local and global economies.
Temas: Markets, Inflation, Canada, Bank of Canada