David Cameron tells the Canadian Parliament that “in the last few years they got every major decision right”. 

Stephen Harper, the Conservative Prime Minister, purrs with satisfaction as he listens attentively.

Cameron says Canada was perceptively paying down the debt and putting things to right before the global meltdown happened.

“not a single Canadian bank fell or faltered during the global banking crisis”

He says Canada was fixing the roof while the sun was still shining!

I can’t believe my ears. He is recycling bits of old speeches, hoping the Canadians won’t notice!

In fact, Canada has a tightly regulated banking sector. Always has. But things could easily have gone pear-shaped.

To get the deficit wiped out in three short years, the former Liberal Prime Minister (1993-2003) Jean Chrétien ordered across the board cuts but exempted the tax collectors, Canada Revenue, whose budget he cleverly boosted.

The Times Financial Editor, Patrick Hosking, wrote in June 2010, that Chrétien

described how he had stood up to the big Canadian banks when they pushed for deregulation and so prevented them from making the mistakes that were later to sink some of their rivals on Wall Street and in London.

“They called me a communist for that, because I said no.”

Mr Chrétien said that bankers needed curbing. “The problem with capitalism is the capitalists. They don’t know when to stop. They want more and more.” 

Cameron misses that out of his speech.

Pity. It would have added context.