I would like to jump in on this. Comparing our attitude toward our currency to, say, that of the U.S. or Europe I think is worthwhile. Certainly the head of the European Central Bank was very clear that extreme currency fluctuation undermines the economy. The German currency went up 10% as opposed to our 40%, and already the central banker was saying he's deeply concerned at the rate of fluctuation. Currency is not a commodity. It's the very foundation of an economy.
I don't think the bank or the Department of Finance should start using it for political purposes or try to manipulate it beyond what the differences in markets are. But the difference between the Canadian economy and the U.S. economy did not change 25% this year or 40% over the last couple of years. The classical economists were saying no, it's the difference between productivity when the dollar was low.... All of a sudden they're silent.
So I think there is room for the bank to consider its role within the responsible margin to be more aggressive in dampening the wild fluctuations that make people think, why invest in Canada, I don't know what their currency is going to do next. I think there is room to leave the almost naive classical economic orthodoxy that says, we can't touch it, we can't touch it, and to act within the responsible range to have our currency move with more gravitas than a mining stock.