Hawnwatch Day 1:

Edmonton Centre Conservative Party Candidate Laurie Hawn claims government not responsible for interest rates.

Page A16 today's Edmonton Journal Laurie Hawn on low interest rates:

"They've taken advantage of it as any government would... they have nothing to do with interest rates."

So I thought I'd go to the memoirs of the last person to sit as Canadian finance minister for the entirety of three consecutive parliaments, the Hon. Donald Flemming. He stated in response to a question that the government does not set interest rates directly (this before the Bank of Canada act was amended in light of the Coyne Affair) But, he goes on to make this cogent point on Page 75 of volume two of his memoir, "So Very Near," an exacting account of the political life of a finance minister:

Governments as borrowers can help to control interest rates by reducing the demand, that is to say, by avoiding deficits and diminsihing expenditure. This is a simple lesson, which politicians dislike to learn and fear to teach and the public is often reluctant to grasp.

So yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus, apparently he's running for the Conservative Party and either doesn't think that massive deficits will crowd out other Canadian borrowers or thinks that they're willing to buy economic fiction.

Behold the cornucopia!

Also Steve Smith has been cut off until he continues blogging... Er, not by me... not that there's anything wrong with that.