Date of publication: 28 Mar 2022 • 19 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading • 234 Comments The candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre. Photo by ALEX FILIPE / POSTMEDIA
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Pierre Poilievre promises to “unlock” the possibilities of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum if he becomes prime minister and makes Canada “the Blockchain capital of the world”.
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Speaking in London, Poilievre, who is vying to become the next Conservative federal leader, said he intended to simplify and streamline rules and taxes to make it easier for Canadians to decide to use cryptocurrencies instead of traditional forms of money. He insisted on the importance of decentralizing power to central banks. “A Poilievre government would welcome this new, decentralized, bottom-up economy and allow people to take control of their money from bankers and politicians. “It would broaden the options and reduce the cost of financial products and create thousands of jobs for engineers, programmers, coders and other entrepreneurs,” he said in a statement. If elected prime minister, Poilievre would not only keep cryptocurrencies legal in Canada, but also work with the provinces on a voluntary basis “to align rules and definitions in all jurisdictions to make it easier for blockchain companies to operate in all Canadian jurisdictions at the same time without a spider web of contradictory rules “.
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His announcement Monday was music to the ears of industry people hoping to see a national and more cohesive framework in all 10 provinces of Canada in order to attract investors and new talent. “I think it is very positive. I like the approach that follows. “I think it highlights some of the issues that have occurred in Canada domestically but also internationally in other jurisdictions,” Eric Richmond, CEO of Tetra Trust Company, Canada’s first licensed digital asset trustee, told National Post. “The fact that what is called blockchain and crypto has now come up and caught the attention of someone like Pierre now to make changes and create legislation that suits this new economy, I think is very exciting.”
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Alberta has already announced its intention to become a Canadian cryptocurrency hub. But different securities regulators in the provinces are making it harder for businesses to thrive or attract new talent, said Brian Mosoff, CEO of Toronto-based Ether Capital. “It was very cloudy and it was time for the country to understand how we would coordinate in all the contexts of all the provinces, so that these businesses could flourish here, otherwise they would just go to other jurisdictions and leave,” he said. Mosof. Poilievre, who until recently was the Conservatives’ economic critic, once again accused the Bank of Canada of creating “$ 400 billion in cash from the air” since the beginning of the pandemic and suggested that alternative payment methods could be fight inflation.
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While in London, Poilievre used bitcoin to buy shawarma at a local restaurant, while he lamented on social media that the store owner had “overtaken” the federal government to “beat inflation”. He added in his press release that “the government is destroying the Canadian dollar, so Canadians should be free to use other money.” Geneviève Tellier, a professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in fiscal policy and public finance, said that while Poilievre’s tone was heavily replaced by the financial sector, she did not propose a radical change to replace the traditional currency. “It does not revolutionize anything. It does not abolish the Bank of Canada. So there is a difference between the message and its strong rhetoric against the established… and what we read in fine print. “He understands that cryptocurrency will not necessarily replace the Canadian dollar, unlike what we understand when we read the titles.”
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An industry source, who declined to be named in the story, suggested that the “biggest, fastest way” to bring about change would be to force the big banks to start embedding cryptocurrencies. At this time, cryptocurrencies are unable to open bank accounts in Canadian banks, forcing them to resort to credit unions. This is more expensive and ultimately stifles innovation, according to the source. “They are treated like cannabis five, 10 years ago. “Banks have taken the position that anyone involved in any business related to encryption is very dangerous,” the source said.
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But Tellier added that there could be a risk that Poilievre could face the financial sector, which tends to be more politically conservative. He said he could “shoot himself in the foot” if he targeted them in his anti-establishment message. Whatever the political direction of the federal government, Mosov said that “the asset class is here to stay and grow.” “Humanity is increasingly heading for globalization, interconnectedness, Internet-based disruption. You saw Uber disrupting the taxi industry, Airbnb disrupting the hotel industry, and now you see blockchain and cryptocurrencies disrupting or challenging central bank digital currencies. “There is a big story that we are actually just scratching the surface,” he said. “Bitcoin and ethereum are important assets, but there is still a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built. The question is: where in the world will this happen?
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