The federal finance minister said last week that quantitative easing is “not on the table” but some believe that he should not have made the comment as it encroaches on the Bank of Canada’s territory. Joe Oliver was responding to a question about the weakness in the economy but Ian Lee, an economics professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business says that it is BoC governor Stephen Poloz who makes the call on such issues.
Lee told the Ottawa citizen that although the governor is not technically bound by what the government says, in reality issues like this could put him in an untenable position: "The governor of the Bank of Canada has two choices: either he resigns or he bows down to the government because they are elected and they have the electoral legitimacy which of course an appointee does not have.” There’s no suggestion that there is a rift between the two in this matter.
Lee told the Ottawa citizen that although the governor is not technically bound by what the government says, in reality issues like this could put him in an untenable position: "The governor of the Bank of Canada has two choices: either he resigns or he bows down to the government because they are elected and they have the electoral legitimacy which of course an appointee does not have.” There’s no suggestion that there is a rift between the two in this matter.
