Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, is blaming the ineffective moves of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for harming Canada's economy, in language unusually blunt in central banking circles. The Toronto Glove and Mail reports:

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is signalling frustration with the Obama administration's handling of the financial crisis, saying delays in shoring up the banking system in the United States have exacerbated the recession in Canada.

With remarkable frankness, Mr. Carney singled out the U.S. government for criticism in his quarterly economic report Thursday, placing much of the blame for Canada's economic woes on U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's abortive attempts to cleanse financial institutions of their toxic assets.

"Timely and credible action is required to address the impaired assets on bank balance sheets and to restore the normal flow of credit - a precondition for sustained economic recovery," the central bank said. "Progress on these measures has been slower than expected in the United States and other major financial centres."

Mr. Carney's criticism sets the stage for a tense meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven rich industrial countries Friday in Washington....