The federal government’s carbon tax is adding nearly half a percentage point to inflation, says Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem. Macklem had testified before the House Finance Committee committee on March 3, where he was asked by Conservative MP Philip Lawrence what the impact of the carbon tax was on the rate of inflation. Macklem did not have that number available at the time but provided a written reply to the committee in a letter dated March 11. “I committed to reply to the question of the impact of the carbon pollution charge on the rate of inflation,” Macklem wrote. “According to the Bank’s calculations, if the charge were to be removed from the three main fuel components of the consumer price index (gasoline, natural gas and fuel oil) it would reduce the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage points.” Macklem wrote that if the charge had come into effect at the …