First, the Bank of Canada's objective regarding inflation is to have a stable performance of the macroeconomy and a fairly substantial growth rate in jobs as well as in all the other important factors of economic performance.
In 2008, the economy's growth rate will be weaker than it was last year. In our report on monetary policy, the reference scenario shows a 1.8% growth rate for 2008. In 2007, it was 2.6% and in 2006, it was close to 3%.
There are two main reasons why growth will slow down. First, there will be a period of weak growth in the United States because of the residential crisis there. As I mentioned, net exports will make a negative contribution in 2008 because of the slowdown in the American economy. 2008 will be a year of slower growth, but according to our forecast for January, the growth rate is positive, but not as strong as it was in the past because of the disturbance in the United States as well as the situation on the credit market and on the world financial markets that are also impacting negatively on the Canadian economy.