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OTTAWA - The impartiality of the Bank of Canada governor's office has taken a hit because of what can only be described as a lack of judgment by its current occupant, Mark Carney, to accept an invitation to stay for nearly a week last summer at the Nova Scotia house of Liberal MP and finance critic Scott Brison.

The stayover, first reported by The Globe and Mail Saturday and confirmed Monday by the Bank of Canada, happened while Brison and many other Liberals were actively trying to recruit Carney to run for the Liberal leadership.

Though Carney would ultimately reject those entreaties - he has since announced he'll quit his Bank of Canada governor's job early to take over as the governor of the Bank of England next summer - his summer vacation has put partisan politics into a position which must remain purer than snow when it comes to politics.