Canada: The Plan Is Financial Collapse

by David Solway

Historian Michael Bliss, in Writing History, asks the Lord if Canada will ever resolve its dilemmas. “Yes, my son, God replies, “they surely will. But not in my lifetime.” That’s about it. The latest financial manipulations of the Liberal administration are a sure sign of the political apparatus driving the country into receivership. Not even the Lord who enjoys pride of place in the Preamble to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms can affect the result.

As I have argued with regard to government actions in Cyprus in 2013 and Argentina in 2021, in Canada today, I believe there is a threat of a similar fiscal tactic, that is, a raid on private funds, targeting individuals’ supposedly secure bank accounts. The precedent is there with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland freezing the bank accounts of the 2022 Truckers’ Convoy and of many of those who donated to its cause. The answer is that a government blitz against citizens’ bank accounts could definitely happen here, and I suspect there is a good chance this may well be Ottawa’s last resort to manage a crisis — or to give the impression of doing so.

Prior moves suggesting the invasion of citizens’ private resources are already being considered. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada’s financial institutions must “think about Canada first” and direct capital into homegrown industries and government-backed infrastructure projects. In other words, Ottawa is now openly asking pension funds to act as instruments of federal policy rather than focusing solely on the financial interests of contributors and retirees.

The Financial Post has also sounded the warning. We learn that large Canadian institutional investors known as the Maple 8 have earned world-class returns “through a diverse blend of investment strategies,” a model that shelters the funds from government influence. “The funds aren’t there to fire up the economy or pursue the political cause of the day — they are there to invest for their beneficiaries.” Mark Wiseman, former chief executive of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), compares the retirement savings of millions of Canadians to “the monies in their bank accounts and RRSPs.” The government scheme is equivalent to a raid on citizens’ bank accounts, which I have stressed is very much on the horizon.

Ottawa has already indicated that it wanted major pensions to invest more in Canada, a longstanding ambition of Justin Trudeau’s administration, with the approval of dozens of major industries and business leaders. The fact is that Ottawa may no longer ask but tell pensions where to invest their money, undermining risk-return calibrations and exposing pension funds to potential financial losses.

Institutions that carry dual mandates, like the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, intend to maximize both returns for beneficiaries and contributions to Quebec’s economic development. The problem is that institutional investors subject to such mandates, like the Caisse, tend to underperform those that aren’t. Indeed, single-issue platforms are free to invest outside Canada, an initiative that leads to substantial profits.