Roundup: Tiff Macklem goes to committee

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Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem appeared before the Commons’ finance committee yesterday, and reiterated that a decision on a rate cut is getting close, which should be good news to (most) everyone—most especially the government. There were a couple of other interesting things he said, which is that we’re not beholden to matching the US’ rate, but at the same time, we can’t diverge too much, or we would face currency devaluation.

The Conservatives have been clipping his appearance at the Senate’s banking committee the day before, claiming that he said that the federal budget and its deficit are fuelling inflation, which isn’t what he said. He said that the budget won’t have any impact on inflation, because any increased spending is balanced out by higher revenues—but they clipped the part about revenues off, because deceit is their current modus operandi.

https://twitter.com/jasrajshallan/status/1786033120690544860

And because of where the discourse is at, Macklem had to once again point out that the carbon levy is not having an impact on inflation, and that if you “axed” it, there would be a small one-time drop in inflation that would disappear the next year (because inflation is a year-over-year measure), and it wouldn’t really change much—a message that Conservatives don’t like to hear, or who like to fudge, because it messes with their narrative that said levy had driven people into poverty (which is not true). But seriously, how many times does he need to say this?

Ukraine Dispatch:

Guided bombs hit close to a sports complex in Kharkiv, injuring eight children. The tally is that Russia fired more than 300 missiles, around 300 drones, and over 3200 guided bombs against Ukraine in April. Russia has massed its forces, and they are making a concerted push along all of the front lines in Donetsk, though Ukraine is holding them off for the time being, though they are forced to be judicious with their ammunition until more can arrive. Here is a look at the state of minefields in Ukraine, where they are now one of the most mined countries in the world.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau announced the creation of a new independent commission for the modern treaty implementation with Indigenous nations.
  • Environmental groups are decrying the proposed changes to the impact assessment legislation in order to meet the Supreme Court’s guidance.
  • The 2022 report on Canada’s emission is out, and while emission did increase a little after the pandemic, there is still a chance of meeting our 2030 targets.
  • The Canadian Press looked into those “Happy march holiday season” tweets from Veterans Affairs and how they came about.
  • Here is a debunking of Poilievre’s claims about BC’s drug decriminalisation pilot project, and the opioid deaths it’s trying to deal with.
  • Poilievre has called on people to protest at MPs’ offices today against the carbon levy, prompting the Sergeant-at-Arms to warn MPs about safety precautions.
  • After days of pushback, the Alberta government plans to amend their sweeping municipal powers legislation (but won’t offer specifics).
  • A major planned carbon capture project in Alberta has been abandoned, largely for financial reasons, raising questions about the province’s emissions reduction plan.
  • Maclean’s interviews Naheed Nenshi about his bid for Alberta NDP leader.
  • Matt Gurney laments the seeming inability of government and its various arms and branches to communicate with one another, particularly around national security.

Odds and ends:

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