The Canadian Bankers Association Chief Executive Officer Nancy Hughes Anthony stated on June 8, 2010 that the G-20 policy proposals are "too onerous" and "could potentially choke the banking industry (Deslongchamps & Quinn, 2010). What is very interesting about all of this rancor is that it appears that Canada's interests are getting sacrificed to benefit Europe. Exactly what is "Canadian" about the bank of Canada or "Federal" about the American Federal Reserve? The author one time heard a joke about the Federal Reserve. When asked what was federal about it, the punch line was that it was about as federal as FedEx. While this joke may seem funny, it does make clear a big fact about central banks: they are private institutions that reflect the agenda of larger, non-state actors such as the G-20 that have become bodies that make defacto decisions that affect their member nations (of which Canada is a part). In essence, national governments are finding that their choices are increasingly circumscribed by decisions made at G-20 conferences by boards of governors and groupings of officials that no one from Canada voted upon.

The policy issues and questions are staggering. While no one questions that the world economy is interconnected, the nature of the connections are disturbing. The G-20 website states that "The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy." Ironically enough the first G-20 meeting in 1999 was hosted in Berlin by Canadian as well as German finance ministers ("What is the G-20." )

So, to summarize, while Rosenberg's analysis was spot on in his observations, his...

Rather than directing his criticism to Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, the criticism needed to be directed at the upcoming G-20 summit and impact of its policies upon Canada. In this age of globalization, the economies in developing countries are not the only ones affected by market forces out of their control. The citizens of developed countries such as Canada are finding that their standards of living and the cost of borrowing money are being affected by events half a world and another continent away. Unless we understand this, we will continue to be in the dark as to the dynamics of the economy of the world we live in.
Works Cited

Deslongchamps, Alexandre, & Quinn, Greg. (2010, June 10). Canada's carney says bank rules won't hurt recovery. Bloomberg Businessweek, Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-10/canada-s-carney-says-bank-rules-won-t-hurt-recovery-update2-.html

Fournier, Chris. (2010, July 5). Loonie weakens for second day on reduced rate-rise expectations. Bloomberg Businessweek, Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-05/loonie-weakens-for-second-day-on-reduced-rate-rise-expectations.html.

Rosenberg, David. (2010, May 30). Memo to mr. carney: hold your fire on rate hikes.

Globe and Mail, Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/features/experts-podium/memo-to-mr-carney-hold-your-fire-on-rate-hikes/article1586386/.

What is the G-20. Retrieved from http://www.g20.org/about_what_is_g20.aspx