Do the Bank of Canada, Department of Finance really know what they’re doing?

William White, who served as deputy governor of the Bank of Canada from 1988 to 1994, was among the small number of economists who warned of the coming collapse of financial markets and the Great Recession of 2008-2009. White now chairs the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD and warns the global economy 'could now be in an even more dangerous situation than it was in 2007.'

It is fair to ask whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, pictured, or Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz really understand what is going on. We shouldn’t assume they do. Based on his speech to the World Economic Forum, Trudeau seems to be relying heavily on the power of positive thinking while our Finance minister says he is optimistic and has a plan.The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

Opinion

BY DAVID CRANE

January 25, 2016

TORONTO—There seems to be something terribly wrong with the way central bankers and policymakers look at the economy. The latest example is the Monetary Policy Report of the Bank of Canada, which, like many of its earlier iterations, once again downgrades the outlook for the economy while assuming...

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