Dear editor,
Recently, Clff Boldt sent an alarmist letter to the papers warning that, under legislation enacted in Ottawa, Canada could become another Cyprus.
Readers might remember that the government of Cyprus proposed to meet its international debt obligations by confiscating a percentage of all bank accounts. This plan had to be shelved under enormous public reaction.
Now Mr. Boldt is claiming that Harper has enacted changes to the Bank Act that could see the same thing happen here.
Mr. Boldt, through his previous letters to the editor, has revealed himself as no fan of the Conservative government. This is a position he is entitled to but he is not entitled to mislead the public in such an alarmist way.
The changes enacted allow the chartered banks to convert bonds they have sold into share equity to maintain solvency in emergency situations.
It has nothing to do with deposits in either chequing accounts or savings accounts. Such deposits under Canadian banking practices must be listed as liabilities on the banks’ books and cannot be treated as bank assets.
Furthermore, deposits are covered by federally backed deposit insurance up to a certain amount and if Mr. Boldt were correct that the legislation allowed the government to confiscate your deposits what would it gain?
It would have to return such monies under the insurance coverage.
Delbert Doll,
Courtenay
