Canada’s current inflation rate of 6.9 percent would have been lower if the federal government had spent less on pandemic stimulus or stopped stimulating the economy earlier, says Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem.
Macklem appeared before the House of Commons finance committee yesterday, where he faced questions from all parties about his thoughts on rising interest rates, inflation projections, and how both could have been eased if different actions had been taken.
“A unique event happened in terms of the government’s fiscal position over the last two-and-a-half years, which is they have borrowed an additional $500 billion, ballooned the deficit from $725 billion to $1.2 trillion,” said Conservative MP Marty Morantz on Nov. 23….