NDP says another interest hike is bad news for Canadians already feeling the squeeze

NDP Finance critic Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona) made the following statement in response to the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement:

“Canadians have been staring down difficult economic times for years now and it is taking a toll. Mortgage payments, rent, utilities and groceries are all more difficult to afford than they were just a few years ago. The unrelenting pace of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada is only making it harder.
While the federal government, Pierre Poilievre and the central bank itself downplay the role of outsized corporate profit making, New Democrats know that corporate greed is a big part of the inflationary story.
As recently as last month, the International Monetary Fund reported that corporate profits now account for nearly half of all euro area inflation. In Canada, many economists have indicated that major corporations are fuelling the cost-of-living crisis, as they use inflation as an excuse to jack up their prices. Higher interest rates are not going to solve this problem. The government needs to tackle corporate greed with an excess profit tax to keep the ultra wealthy in check -- watching the Bank of Canada pass the buck isn't leadership.
Despite multiple and consistent calls from the NDP to implement a windfall tax to make ultra-rich CEOs using inflation as an excuse to rack profits pay their fair share, the Liberals have consistently refused. And that’s even after the Competition Bureau confirmed that grocery giants have seen profits rise substantially. Instead of helping workers drowning in debt, the Liberals would rather protect big grocer profits.
Canadians need leaders who will stand up to large corporations and make them pay their fair share. While the Liberals failed to show such leadership, Pierre Poilievre and his Conservative party have demonstrated no willingness to take on big corporations’ greed.
The NDP will continue to push for a windfall tax on corporations that profit from inflation and for stronger competition laws so Canadians can trust they're not being gouged by big corporate grocery stores at the cash register.

The NDP will keep fighting to stack the deck on the side of workers, not the ultra-wealthy.”