Julie Gordon
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada is adjusting the role of its fourth deputy governor in an effort to bring “fresh and Diversified Views,” seeking an outside candidate to help set monetary policy on a part-time basis.
The new Deputy Governor will join the Bank of Canada’s six-member Governing Council, which sets interest rates.
On Thursday, the central bank launched the process of finding a successor to Deputy Governor Timothy Lane, who announced his retirement in June 16. The Bank of Canada did not give a timetable for finding new employees.
A new deputy governor will be hired on a two-year contract, with a third option available, and will work 50-70 % of full-time working hours, the bank said. By contrast, Lane worked full-time at the central bank for over years.
The change comes as the central bank faces mounting public criticism after it misjudged inflation and was seen as too slow to respond to rapidly rising prices, forcing it to subsequently raise interest rates sharply to catch up .
“In the context of an increasingly complex and interconnected Canadian and global economic and financial system, it is critical that we continue to adapt and grow as an organization,” Governor Tiff Macklem said in a statement.
“This change provides an opportunity…to bring fresh and diverse perspectives to the Bank’s consensus-based policy decision-making framework.”
The bank said it conducted a review before posting the position to assess the current balance of responsibilities and the “need to continually encourage and ensure a diverse perspective”, thinking and experience when formulating policy. “
The new Deputy Governor will focus on the central bank’s monetary policy and financial stability mandate.
