Ottawa set to toughen mortgage rules

OTTAWA — Jim Flaherty is fond of promoting the Conservative government’s “stay-the-course” approach to preparing annual budgets. That may be a bit of an understatement this time around. The Finance Minister has promised only minor adjustments in Thursday’s budget, given the precariousness of the global economy and the inevitable impact that it is having on Canada’s growth — thanks, in large part, to a still-struggling recovery south of the border.

The outlook for Canada’s economy is becoming increasingly tentative, and that is putting key reforms— from erasing government deficits to heftier pension payments — out of reach for now. Finance ministers across the country share the same roadblocks to growth as their federal counterparts. Attempts to clear those away have been set back by economic problems beyond their control.

Canada’s banking regulator is mulling a further tightening of mortgage rules. A spokesman for the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions told industry newsletter Canadian Mortgage Trends that it’s considering new rules that would limit banks from issuing any mortgages at all with amortizations of more than 25 years.

MEECH LAKE, Que. — Canada’s finance ministers continued talks Monday on the future of the country’s pension program and the impact of the struggling global economy on the health of provinces and territories. Financial leaders from across the country filed into this lakeside resort near Ottawa for the second day of their annual talks, with some expressing guarded optimism that initial progress could be made on strengthening the Canada Pension Program.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he’s not worried by the recent wave of businesses spinning off real estate assets into tax-preferred trusts. Canadian Tire, the country’s largest sporting goods retailer, said May 9 it will create a $3.5 billion real estate income trust, or REIT, in an initial public offering this fall, becoming the eighth company to either sell or propose such an IPO this year.

It’s pretty hard if you haven’t had experience in government and real work on the policy side. You don’t want a great orthopedic surgeon doing your brain surgery Stephen Harper’s government will examine a broad pool of candidates to replace Mark Carney as Bank of Canada Governor, and won’t let a tight timeframe deter it from looking beyond internal candidates such as Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, according to a person with knowledge of the process.

OTTAWA — Failure to prevent the U.S. fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts would affect Canadian growth and create uncertainty, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday, adding that he had just spoken to U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about the issue. “The reality is there’s more work to be done. We are in the middle of December. I think there’s a desire by the Americans to get to a resolution, but we’re in for a bit of a bumpy road and we need to fasten our seat belts,” Flaherty told reporters.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned on Monday the government could tighten mortgage rules further if needed after a report showed the country’s household debt levels have soared