Thank you, Governor, for being here this morning.
I want to preface my question with two personal anecdotes. Before being elected to Parliament, I was head of the Economic Club of Canada. Last year we were looking at expanding on the international scene and went to Hong Kong. What struck me when I was there was the real interest in Canada among both private sector and public sector policy-makers. What was Canada's secret? Why was Canada doing so well in the financial sector? That was a real source of interest in Hong Kong. It was really striking.
As well, when I was going door to door during the campaign, the dominant issue among people was the economy. They were very impressed that our economy in Canada was doing so well vis-à-vis those of other countries around the world.
We have just heard from the Minister of Finance, who is in close consultation with his G-8 counterparts around the world. In fact, he just penned an article that appeared in a number of papers globally this week. As part of the response to the global economic turmoil, we have recognized the need for global international cooperation. These initiatives have been proceeding at a good pace in recent years, through Basel III and the Financial Stability Board. I know you're very familiar with these fora and initiatives.
Could you give us an update on these initiatives and why it's important not to lose sight of the objective of maintaining global financial stability?