The unemployment rate has jumped in Canada for a year, from 6.4 % to 6.9 %. But is this the case?
Who tells you that the Boss of Statistics Canada does not handle data to harm the Carney government?
Who tells you that the unemployment rate is not lower, for example at 5.5 %, which would mean that Canada is growing rather than slowing down, information that is likely to change economic decisions?
Is the chief statistician of Statistics Canada a hidden agent of Pierre Hairyvre? Quickly, it must be replaced by a faithful capable of flouting his principles and his professionalism to embellish the figures …
I throw this completely unjustified doubt about the very credible Statistical Canada Agency to illustrate how essential the independence of the organization is, such as the competence and integrity of its employees.
To illustrate, above all, the immense damage that Donald Trump is causing by changing the management of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the fallacious motive that the recent – uninviable – employment figures are handled for political purposes.
The 1is August, Trump dismissed the director of BLS, Erika Mcentarfer, saying that she had rigged the employment figures to harm her. And on Monday, August 11, Trump said that he would replace her with conservative economist Ej Antoni, a sympathizer of the conspiratorial libertarian Steve Bannon.
“Our economy is booming, and EJ will ensure that the figures published are honest and exact,” Trump said on Truth Social.
What a foolish gesture! The new one shocks all economists and other data users, on the left and on the right. She casts doubt on the possible reliability of fundamental BLS data. This agency publishes data on employment and wages, but also on inflation, which is a lighthouse for the fixing of interest rates.
A journalist just asked Trump’s puppet, Karoline Leavitt: “If the employment data is not reliable, should the Americans trust inflation data? »»
In short, how will the authorities-from the United States and elsewhere-be able to make decisions if the data from the main economy of the planet is not reliable, if we doubt it?
The BLS had a spotless reputation until then. The appointment of its director, Erika MCENTARFER, had been confirmed by the Senate by 86 votes to 8. Even the vice-president JD VANCE had supported his candidacy, according to the Associated Press agency.
Admittedly, Trump’s new candidate, EJ Antoni, holds a doctorate in economics from the Northern Illinois University. He spent most of his career in right -wing reflection groups, including the Heritage Foundation.
But its expertise is not linked to employment or inflation, but to taxation. Above all, right -wing economists cited by the New York Times clearly criticize his skills and his integrity.
“Either he has demonstrated a total misunderstanding of economic data and principles, or he has a desire to deal with his audience with contempt and deceive him,” said Kyle Pomerleau, economist of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative reflection group.
In a word published on X, the economist Dave Hebert is hardly more tender towards him. “I have participated in several programs with him so far and I have been impressed by two things: his inability to understand the basic economic principles and the speed with which he joined the Maga Movement”, wrote Mr. Hebert, economist of the American Institute for Economic Research, a conservative institute.
He says he hopes that “the Senate will block this appointment”.
Little by little, Trump is putting in his hand all the levers of the state, even those whose independence is crucial for the credibility of the system and the proper functioning of the economy.
In addition to the BLS, the American central bank – the federal reserve – tastes its medicine. Again, Trump undermines the credibility of his manager – Jerome Powell – because he does not have the same reading of the economic data as him.
Like many others, the director of the Central Bank considers it inappropriate to lower interest rates – for the moment at least – taking into account persistent inflation and high inflation prospects attributable to customs duties. Powell must engage in a balancingist game to master inflation while supporting employment and the economy.
This position irritates Trump to the highest point because the maintenance of higher interest rate harms the short -term economic growth and blackens its balance sheet.
Trump does everything to humiliate Powell, repeats that he is a stupid, a delay, an incompetent. He even threatens to bring him a “major prosecution” in connection with the repair of the bank’s buildings.
To win the last battle, Trump has just appointed his economic advisor Stephen Miran, who does not believe that customs duties are inflationist among the seven governors of the federal reserve.
If Miran is confirmed by the Senate as a permanent member of the Central Bank, it will become eligible for the replacement of Jerome Powell as a big boss when the latter’s mandate was expired in May 2026. OUF!
Miran, remember, is this economist who explained the Trump clan roadmap shortly before his election in a long text entitled “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System1 ».
Miran is in particular in favor of a structured devaluation of the US dollar, a devaluation which, according to economists, would cause an increase in long -term American interest rates, thus harming the financing of the huge American debt.
It is impossible that influential republicans do not doubt Trump’s economic gestures, BLS or elsewhere. But will they finally dare to oppose Trump in the Senate to prevent his questionable appointments and decisions? Otherwise, which will prevent the United States from pouring into the dictatorship?
1. Consult the document “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System” (in English)