Thank you, Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome on this Friday afternoon. Please stay safe, everyone.
First of all, I wanted to give a quick shout-out. This morning the finance minister announced the appointment of Tiff Macklem as the incoming Bank of Canada governor. I think that's a fantastic choice. We have someone with a lot of years of experience in the Department of Finance. I read in an article this morning that he was known as “the fixer” during the 2008-09 financial recession. I can see this transition being a seamless one at this very unique and critical time in our financial history and the world's financial history.
I also wish to point out that Governor Poloz has done a fantastic job for Canadians and for our economy in fulfilling the mandate of the Bank of Canada, for example with the inflation targeting of 2%. He was appointed by the former prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. Mr. Harper appointed Mr. Poloz and had faith in him. Mr. Poloz was there at critical junctures of our economy, and I applaud him and his leadership during the crisis we're in.
Switching gears very quickly, I will move over to the City of Winnipeg. We know the FCM. We know that cities out there—I live in Vaughan—are facing some financial pressures. What would you like to see happen in terms of getting some relief for cities, with the caveat that we know that spring construction season is going to be largely behind us? Getting those shovels in the ground, if we can do it quickly, is going to be a great solution.
What would you advocate for and ask for to give cities relief, both long-term and short-term?