Mike Moffatt explains his concerns about Mark Carney and the Liberals.
Mike Moffatt explains his concerns about Mark Carney and the Liberals.
The problems for Mr. Carney and the bank now reach beyond recent monetary policy decisions. A month before Mr. Carney had announced that he would not run for the Liberal leadership – famously retorting: “Why don’t I become a circus clown?” – he gave a speech in Calgary critical of Tom Mulcair’s position that Canada is suffering from Dutch Disease. He called Mr. Mulcair’s position “overly simplistic and, in the end, wrong.” It is unusual, though not unheard of, for the Governor of the Bank of Canada to weigh in on policy debates. His remarks were in all likelihood an independent attempt to stifle a stale talking point that had turned into a political football. That some will now almost certainly go back and parse his comments in an attempt to uncover even the slightest taint of partisanship is a major problem for the bank.
If the allegations are untrue, Mr. Carney must refute them as quickly as possible in order to protect the bank’s reputation. If not, the bank must distance itself from Mr. Carney as quickly as possible and request his immediate resignation.
According to the iPoliitcs morning brief, Mr. Carney feels “stung” by the criticism he has taken and he and the Bank will be addressing these accusations today.