The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Nov. 30, edition that economist David Rosenberg says the level of household debt is straining the finances of Canadians to the point that it will be impossible for the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates at current levels for long. The Post's Shantae Campbell writes that Mr. Rosenberg said in an interview on Nov. 28, "People think that it's the government debt crisis, (but) no, there is a crisis on Canadian household balance sheets." The president of Rosenberg Research said household financial strain had hit a critical level, estimating that household debt-to-income ratio to be over 170 per cent. Such high ratios, according to Mr. Rosenberg, are unsustainable given the Bank of Canada's current overnight rate of 5 per cent. In May, when the BOC's overnight rate was 4.5 per cent, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Canada's elevated household debt levels posed a considerable risk to the economy, making it particularly susceptible to a global economic downturn. Mr. Rosenberg contends that the current high rates are unsustainable for the majority of Canadians. He said the BOC needs to lower rates significantly to avert a severe recession.