Buckdog

"The federal government is planning to provide more help to Canadian banks because they continue to cope with unfavourable credit conditions, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday. [...] Speculation of further government action has been mounting in recent days. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has hinted Ottawa could double the size of its mortgage purchase program, while providing other assistance to banks and private pension funds. The federal government has already agreed to buy as much as $25 billion in residential mortgages from Canadian banks so they can keep lending to consumers. So far, it has purchased about $12 billion of those loans. Ottawa also agreed last month to provide guarantees on more than $200 billion of bank debt."
The Star

Pity the poor banks. Sigh. With interest rates so low, how can they possibly gouge Canadians sufficiently to scrape together billions of quarterly profits??

Well .... Stephen Harper to the rescue ... with your tax dollars!!

Harper is taking the same direction as the Republican administration in Washington. The Bush government has given $250 BILLION to American banks to stimulate the US economy. HOWEVER the banks are NOT lending out any of that money because .. well ... they were not required to give guarantees that they would! American banks are hoarding the tax money they have been given or are buying out other smaller banks!

Canadian banks are losing money from their American branches ... ("Bank of Montreal's midwestern U.S. branch network reported loan losses of $131-million in the quarter, compared with $129-million in the previous quarter, and $13-million a year ago.) According to Harper, Canadian tax dollars will simply have to be used to help out the 'poor' Canadian banking system!

The Canadian people were stupid enough to give Harper sufficient power to ensure that corporate welfare remains alive and well in Canada.


More Buckdog concerning what good corporate citizens the Banks are!