Canada's gold reserve sell-off makes sense

The country's holdings in the precious metal peaked in 1965 at 1,023 tonnes or about 32.9 million ounces, according to the World Gold Council. But in recent years, gold has lost its lustre for the federal government, which on Thursday announced it was left with 77 ounces in official reserves -- less than a quarter the size of a gold bar.

Lee said countries previously measured their wealth by the amount of gold they had, and currencies were fixed to the price of gold. Those days are long gone.

Today the world relies on much more efficient floating exchange rates to balance the value of currencies, and wealth is measured in productivity, said Lee.

"The idea that that's the productive wealth of Canada, in the number of yellow bricks it owns, is just so preposterous."

Canada's gold reserve sell-off makes sense