Thank you and good morning, Mr. Chair.
Of course Canada's efforts in working with like-minded partners are unprecedented in magnitude and breadth, as well as the common sense of purpose and coordination across international partners.
These sanctions have aimed to target the heart of Russia's financial system, institutions, major Russian banks, Russia's access to the SWIFT system, as well as oligarchs who have supported the Putin regime or benefited from Russia's invasion of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. As we know, many companies have divested or ceased their operations in Russia, so we do believe that sanctions are having an impact on Russia.
We expect the longer-term impact to be fairly significant. Some estimates are that Russia's economy will shrink by about 8% to 10% by the end of 2022. As well, we are seeing a rise in inflation, with some estimates as high as 20%, with a reduction in real wages.