Gabor
, ZINNER
Direct Line: Direct Fax: gabot4Linnerc Assistant:
C:CI
B a r r i s t e r
S o l i c i t o r
8.
Direct Line: e-
OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER
April Dear Mr. Re: Call for a six month moratorium on Despite your best intentions your government's current approach to providing Canadians relief from the pandemic is insufficient, unsustainable With the exception o f those providing essential services Canadians must during the lockdown period t o heed the call o f self-preservation responsibilit The vast majority o f Canadians are therefore presently unable to earn sustain Too many live from pay cheque to For most Canadians, a sizeable portion, i f not the lions' share of consists of rent, mortgage debt, credit card debt, bank debt and other The bulk of monthly mortgage and bank loan instalments is interest. Only portion is applied to reducing the principal The interest paid to lenders is profit. Economists recognize that interest is of renting money. It is profit earned by lenders who rent their money Landlords who make housing available to tenants In all of these instances, those who have the resources, or capital, charge the use of the capital made available to those who
Suite 11 7 5 , 3 2 4 - 8 ' h A v e n u e S W, C a l g a r y , A l b e r t o C a n a d a TEL: ( 4 0 3 ) 2 6 9 - 2 4 2 5 F A X :
Otherwise put, "the haves" earn a profit from the "have nots" by allowing use of their Considering that the vast majority of Canadians are renters or home mortgage debt the large majority are, comparatively speaking, "have nots". haves" are the banks, mortgage companies, landlords and bank operated companie The "have nots" need to work to sustain themselves and to thereby pay the profit demanded for the use of the necessities of life, like housing In normal times we accept this as the natural order of life in a free capitalist society and a certain balance is maintained despite the fact that there increasing number o f "have nots" with many who falter or who fall crack However, the Covid- I 9 has now thrown everything out o f balance desperation for the "have nots" who comprise the Although the "have nots" are now prohibited from working there is no on capital continuing The banks, in a display o f public spiritedness, offer to defer the mortgage and bank loan instalments, inclusive of interest, while the its However, under most credit agreements the borrower has to pay interest not paid when due, that is deferred The banks and mortgage companies have not offered to waive interest, on interest paid late, commonly known as compounded interest, which increase the burden for most Tn essence, while working Canadians are not allowed to work, capital is work extra hard - and without interruption. Yes, the collection o f the deferred. but it is accruing profit uninterrupted just
2
In the absence of effective remedial governmental measures by means of the government has at its disposal the rich will get richer and the poor will If things get too far out of balance the social and economic order The recently introduced government income subsidies, while commendable, sufficiently address the problem. They amount to giving us back our own increasing the deficit by borrowing from future generations and/or Canadian dollar by printing more of it. Moreover, it is There is a better and Instead o f buying us with our own money, all the while increasing provincial deficits, or perhaps in addition to doing so, government should pass prohibiting the charging and collection of all interest during the period and postponing certain Commercial and residential rents should also be reduced by an amount equal interest that landlords have to pay on loans taken in connection with properti The period of lockdown has eliminated the calendar of the working "have purposes of productive work for reasons not of In the interest of fairness, to balance the equation, or to level the playing work time should also be eliminated from the calendar Restated, please ask parliament to enact legislation to stop the interest clock interest obligations and the interest component of commercial and while the world is at a This would allow for a fair sharing of the burden of society's inability to interruption of work would then apply equally to workers and It may be argued that this would create hardship for banks and lenders their working capital from other lenders and institutions. However, a on interest payments would relieve these lenders and landlords obligations to their lenders. Hence, the ban would be neutral, other than profit in the form
3
This would offer real and meaningful relief eliminating much anxiety for It would also lessen the burden on the public treasury without causing for the owners of capital. They would only be exposed to an interruption capital working while other Canadians are unable to work. No money be taken Sincerely
Gabor Barrister
4