Feb 15 (Reuters) - A Senate committee on Wednesday
called for greater parliamentary oversight of the Bank of Canada
and more transparency from the central bank as it battles to
restore credibility lost during last year's fight to contain
inflation.
The Bank of Canada has come under a rare attack from
critics, including opposition Conservative leader Pierre
Poilievre, for misjudging inflation, which led to renewed calls
for it to release minutes and be more open about its
decision-making process.
Last week, Bank of Canada finally released minutes from the
policy-setting meeting and concluded that the central bank hiked
rates last month rather than leaving them unchanged because of
labor market tightness and stronger-than-expected growth.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Senate committee on
banking, commerce and the economy said the tightening of
monetary policy was justified, while noting that rising interest
rates had begun to slow economic growth and could worsen housing
issues.
"The Bank of Canada should be more transparent and
periodically make public its assessment of the effect of its
interventions on inflation and on the evolution of key economic
indicators," the report said.
The central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters
request for comment on the Senate committee report.
On Jan. 25, the Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate
to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first
major central bank to say it would likely hold off on further
increases for now.
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by
Akriti Sharma; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
