Anti-Inflation Act

The Anti-Inflation Act was a Canadian Act of Parliament that was passed in 1975 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government to slow down the rapidly increasing price and wage inflation.[1] Among its many controls, it limited pay increases for federal public employees and those in companies with more than 500 employees to 10% in the first year, 8% the next, and 6% thereafter.[2] The price and wage controls were enforced until 1978, and the Act was repealed in 1979. A similar program aimed only at the public sector was introduced in 1982.

Prior to 1975, the Bank of Canada had warned the government about the dangers of the current inflation which was roughly 10% a year. In response, the government brought in the Anti-Inflation Act which created the Anti-Inflation Board to set wages and prices.

Trudeau had mocked the idea in the 1974 election, and the Act proved highly contentious, and there was much debate over whether the Parliament of Canada had overstepped its powers in enacting the law. Consequently, the government put a reference question to the Supreme Court of Canada, and in 1976, the Court passed down its opinion in the Anti-Inflation Reference, which declared the law constitutional.

See also

References
  1. Anti-Inflation Act, SC 1975, c. 75.
  2. "Wage and Price Controls"
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