Poilievre To Stop Bank Of Canada From Pursuing Central Bank Digital Currency

“A Pierre Poilievre government will keep the Bank of Canada out of retail banking by banning its proposed Central Bank Digital Currency,” says the CPC leadership frontrunner.

The Bank of Canada is facing increased scrutiny from Canadians, after years of enabling Justin Trudeau’s reckless spending, and repeated failed predictions on inflation.

With the policies of Trudeau & the Bank of Canada generating surging inflation that is robbing Canadians of our purchasing power, Conservative leadership race frontrunner Pierre Poilievre has been making the link between those policies and the increasing financial barriers Canadians are facing.

In response, the political and media establishment have gone after Poilievre, acting as if nobody should ever ‘dare’ to question the Bank of Canada.

Of course, in a free country, we are allowed to question all of our institutions, and we should regularly do so in order to ensure there is accountability.

That’s why it’s great to see Poilievre’s latest announcement, where he is making clear that the Bank of Canada will be banned from pursuing a Central Bank Digital Currency, and will face an independent audit:

“Justin Trudeau has threatened the Bank of Canada’s independence with a half-trillion dollars of deficits that required the central bank to print money and cause inflation,” said Poilievre. “Money-printing deficits have sent more dollars bidding up the price of goods. Inflationary taxes have made it more expensive for businesses to produce those goods. The more Liberals spend, the more things cost. That is JustinFlation. I will end it, by restoring central bank independence, mandating an independent audit of all the money printing, and stopping the risky Central Bank Digital Currency.”

The danger of Central Bank Digital Currencies

Poilievre’s announcement should be cheered by all who value freedom and sound money.

Central Bank Digital Currencies – which are digital tokens pegged to the value of fiat currency – are potentially quite dangerous.

While they are similar to private digital currencies, the fact that a CBDC is fully centralized and would be controlled by a single institution raises significant privacy concerns. All transactions could be monitored by the state, unlike decentralized private digital currencies.

As noted by the Wall Street Journal, “More centralized approaches, which can include a single database to record transactions, could enable more widespread surveillance, leading to abuse. They could also make governments more enticing targets for hackers. Decentralized concepts that often rely on distributed ledgers such as blockchains may improve privacy but slow payment processing. Any system carries the risk of technological glitches.”

Ensuring the Bank of Canada is stopped from implementing a CBDC is the right move.

Poilievre also said he would ensure the Auditor General has the power to audit the Bank of Canada, as proposed in legislation put forth by Andrew Scheer:

“The Auditor General must investigate whether the Trudeau government interfered with the Bank of Canada’s independence, by using $400 billion of newly-printed money to fund its deficits. We need answers on why inflation is now triple the Bank’s 2% target.”

“I am running for Prime Minister to put people back in control of their lives by making Canada the world’s freest nation,” said Poilievre. “That includes taking control of money away from politicians and bankers and giving it back to the people.”

You can watch Poilievre’s announcement below:

Poilievre is taking a strong stand in defense of sound money and accountability, two things that must be at the core of any functioning democracy.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – Twitter

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