The Occupy movement has been supported by individuals such as Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein, and even Mark Carney, who until recently, was the governor of the Bank of Canada. This begs the question as to why is the Bank of Canada not being used by our government to determine Canada’s socio-economic policies? Established in 1935, the Bank of Canada was set up so that we would have control over our own monetary policy.
Crucial to our governmental debt problems is the fact that all levels of government have borrowed from private banks and other private entities since 1975. The interest alone on these debts is enormous with governments across Canada paying billions of dollars in interest. As these debts increase, so does the annual burden on tax payers subjecting us to huge government deficits. However, this interest expense is not necessary.
Through our publicly owned Bank of Canada, the federal government has the power to borrow large sums of money, essentially interest-free, and to make such funds available not only for its own use, but for provincial and municipal expenditures as well. Such borrowing helped Canada to survive the Great Depression, as well as finance its participation in World War II. Continuance of this practice until about 1975 played a key role in creating Canada's post-war prosperity and its much needed social programs.
Our federal government has the mandate to revive the powers of the Bank of Canada to gradually replace interest-bearing debt carried by governments with interest-free debt. This change in monetary policy along with changes in tax policy, would make available each year the billions of dollars urgently needed to fund social programs, health care, education, the environment and much more.
The continued practice by our governments of borrowing from private banks is just another example of how our tax dollars are used to subsidize the privileged 1%. Subsequently, the Council of Canadians, which is the largest citizens’ advocacy group in Canada, calls for the renaissance of the Bank of Canada. So should we.
Sandra Nelken
Nelson