About those speeches Governor Carney gave …

In light of the revelations that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney stayed over for nearly a week last summer at the Nova Scotia home of Liberal MP Scott Brison, some, including us, are looking at two speeches he gave last year in a slightly different light.

First, there was the speech in August to the annual convention of the Canadian Auto Workers, titled “Globalisation, Financial Stability and Employment”. Among other things, Carney argued that the high value of the Canadian dollar was not responsible for any slowdown in manufacturing.

Second, there was a speech he gave in Calgary that followed up on that theme titled “Dutch Disease”. Though he did not mention NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair by name, it was impossible at the time not to view this a response to Mulcair’s claim that “Dutch Disease” was hurting Canada’s economy. Carney, in this speech, rejected that view.

Jeremy Harrison, the spokesperson for Governor Carney, has this to say to those who would view those speeches now in a political or partisan light:

Governor Carney was invited in November 2011 to address the CAW’s Constitutional and Bargaining Convention in August 2012. The Governor was invited in his joint capacity as Governor of the Bank of Canada and as Chair of the Financial Stability Board. He was invited to address the proposed theme of: “Efforts at the Bank & FSB to stabilize private banking and the implications of that work for conditions in the “real” economy where CAW members are employed.” In his speech, the Governor directly addressed the topics requested. Governor Carney, in his positions as Governor, and as Chair of the FSB, receives many invitations to address a range of audiences, from business audiences, to academics, to industry and labour groups. The Bank and the FSB consider it important to speak to and hear from all of these groups, to improve our understanding of developments in the Canadian and global economies, and to engage in constructive dialogue on the G20’s financial sector reform agenda.

Governor Carney was invited in 2011 to be the marquee speaker at the 2012 Spruce Meadows Changing Fortunes Roundtable. He was asked to speak about the global and Canadian economies. Given the importance of developments in the commodities sector to both the global and Canadian economies, and their implications for inflation and hence monetary policy in Canada, and given the ongoing discussion in Canada about the implications of global demand for commodities on the dynamics of the Canadian economy, the Governor decided to address this issue in his speech. The speech discussed the Bank’s longer-term research and economic modelling work on the dynamics behind commodity price movements. The Governor last spoke to the Spruce Meadows Roundtable in 2010. Previous Governors have also addressed the Roundtable.

 

2 thoughts on “About those speeches Governor Carney gave …”

  1. From your story, featured on NNW:
    http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2012/12/20121217-162042.html
    “… My sources on Bay Street shrug at my concerns, noting that Carney’s dances with Liberals do not seem to have had any effect on his job of setting the country’s monetary policy.

    But that is Bay Street’s view. Main Street’s view is another thing. …”

    I would venture to say that the general public forms its opinions on the basis of a few headlines or a 15-second clip on the evening news. Consequently, Main Street’s view is, generally speaking, filtered through the jaundiced — OK, OK, let’s say highly critical — eye of the media. That constant censorious scrutiny, at times based on unfounded rumours and gossip, contributes to the erosion of the public’s trust in our institutions and all the people who work in them.

    I can understand some healthy skepticism and questioning of public figures but I wonder if we haven’t exceeded a certain limit: we seem to have reached the point where everyone is suspect, anyone who is successful must of necessity be working solely in his own self-interest.

    I prefer to take Mark Carney at his word: even if he was asked to dance he decided to sit the dance out. That should be the end of it.

  2. And the point is?

    It seems if the governor is not just mouthing the PM’s “talking points”, he must be a closet pinko liberal plant. I wonder why he would want to leave for the Bank of England?

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