The Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) is an economics-oriented publishing and education centre based in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada.
Organization
COMER was co-founded by
William Krehm and John Hotson in the 1980s as a think tank out of concern for the "
debt-based monetary system
Credit theories of money, also called debt theories of money, are monetary economic theories concerning the relationship between credit and money. Proponents of these theories, such as Alfred Mitchell-Innes, sometimes emphasize that money and ...
" described as unsustainable. COMER says it studies the destabilization that current economic and monetary policies have caused, and are causing, for the citizens of Canada and other countries. COMER argues for a mixed economy, and changes in monetary policy through what it argues is the mandate under the ''
Bank of Canada Act
The ''Bank of Canada Act'' (the Act) is a statute that sets out the governance structure and powers of the Bank of Canada, which was created in 1934 as Canada's central bank.
Prior to 1934, Canada had no central bank and fragmented control of t ...
''. Ann Emmett is the chair of the organization.
Lawsuit against Bank of Canada
In 2011, COMER brought a lawsuit against the Canadian Government.
COMER claimed that the Bank of Canada is mandated under the Bank of Canada Act to provide debt-free support for public projects undertaken by federal, provincial and city governments, as it did from its foundation in 1935 to 1974.
In order for them to join the
Bank for International Settlements
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".
The BIS carries out its work th ...
(BIS), Canada has had to stop this policy. COMER argues that this move meant that Canada had unconstitutionally given up control over its ability to set its independent monetary policy to "secret" deliberations and control of the private foreign bankers at the BIS.
The organization is represented by
Rocco Galati.
On August 9, 2013, COMER's claim was struck without leave to amend by Prothonotary Kevin R. Aalto. No costs were awarded.
In 2014, on appeal, Judge Russell of the Federal court ruled that the claim should be struck in its entirety. He did grant leave to amend the claim.
This ruling was appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal by COMER over the ruling itself and cross appealed by the Crown over the granting of leave to amend the claim.
On January 26, 2015, the Federal Court of Appeal heard the appeals, and dismissed the appeal and cross-appeal without costs. COMER was given 60 days to file an amended statement of claim.
COMER filed an amended statement of claim on March 26, 2015. On April 24 the Crown filed for an order striking the claim and dismissing the action. Arguments for and against the Crown motion were heard by Justice Russell on October 14, 2015. On February 8 in his ruling Justice Russell struck COMER's amended claim in its entirety and refused leave to amend the claim. Costs were awarded to the Crown. In his ruling, Justice Russell stated "their response convinces me that, for reasons given, they have no scintilla of a cause of action that this Court can or should hear."
On March 3, 2016, COMER filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal.
On December 7, 2016, the Federal Court of appeal heard this latest appeal, and dismissed it with costs.
On February 1, 2017 COMER filed an application for leave to appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada.
On May 4, 2017 the Supreme Court dismissed COMER's application for leave to appeal.
See also
*
American Monetary Institute
{{Notability, date=April 2022
The American Monetary Institute is a non-profit charitable trust established by Stephen Zarlenga in 1996 for the "independent study of monetary history, theory and reform."
Aims
The institute is dedicated to moneta ...
*
Chicago plan
The Chicago plan was a monetary and banking reform program suggested in the wake of the Great Depression by a group of University of Chicago economists including Henry Simons, Garfield Cox, Aaron Director, Paul Douglas, Albert G. Hart, Fra ...
*
The Chicago Plan Revisited
The Chicago plan was a monetary and banking reform program suggested in the wake of the Great Depression by a group of University of Chicago economists including Henry Simons, Garfield Cox, Aaron Director, Paul Douglas, Albert G. Hart, Frank ...
*
A Program for Monetary Reform
References
{{Reflist
External links
COMER website
Political advocacy groups in Canada
Monetary reformers
Monetary reform