Mr. Chair, there are some very important differences between this situation and the global financial crisis that began in 2008. For one thing, the global financial crisis was a shock that originated within the financial system, although not the Canadian financial system but the global one. This made it difficult for the financial system as a whole to continue to operate and support the economy.
We learned a lot of lessons from the global financial crisis. As I said in my opening remarks, even though the Canadian financial system did very well in the global financial crisis, we very much strengthened the capital liquidity and risk management requirements that we impose on our banks so that we'd be better prepared for this shock, which is one that has come from outside the financial system rather than inside.
It's always our responsibility, given to us by Parliament, to look out for the interests of the depositors, the policyholders, other creditors to the banks and insurers. We are keenly aware of the need to learn the lessons of history, and that has helped us much better prepare the system.
The other thing that I think is very important in this regard is the work that other federal agencies have been doing to support the system. One lesson that we learned from the global financial crisis was the importance of the central bank to be able to provide liquidity to the banking system when there's a disruption of this type. The response of the Bank of Canada has been exemplary and very important in getting us through the first acute phase of this crisis, and draws very much on the lessons that we all learned in 2008.
