Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Finance Minister reportedly said that in order to avoid the cost of living problem worse, there is a need to strike a balance between helping Canadians suffering from the effects of inflation and pursuing a policy of fiscal restraint.
Freeland, who also serves as deputy prime minister reportedly said in an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, that she was open to further action on affordability issues adding that measures were already underway by allocating worth $8.9 billion to help alleviate the impact on Canadians.
With the Bank of Canada’s mandate to maintain Canada’s inflation target, which is two percent (within a one to three percent range) per year, Freeland said it was the bank’s responsibility to deal with inflation and she respected its independence.
She argued in a speech earlier this month, that affordability concerns can become better by following previously announced programs including boosts to benefits for low-income workers, increasing other inflation-indexed benefits, and implementing the government’s child-care and dental programs
In her interview airing Sunday, Freeland reiterated that that money from those programs was already on its way to Canadians.
The federal government has been criticized concerning inflation by both the opposition Conservatives and the New Democrats, while the Liberals have a supply-and-confidence agreement with the NDP to keep the minority government afloat on key votes.
A positive tone was maintained by Freeland about Canada’s ability to combat global economic uncertainty, especially when compared with other G7 countries.
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