Mr. Speaker, in a globalized world, we must look at what other countries do.
I would like to mention the six points our finance minister presented to the IMF. Among these was the suggestion that all western countries, countries with a strong economy, should recognize that the world economy is at risk and should lower their interest rates to stimulate growth within their economies and to encourage imports from Asian countries or from other countries that had problems because of the Asian crisis.
We worked together with other countries that have a strong economy. That is not a lack of independence. On the contrary, working in co-operation with our allies is a sign of independence.
I must repeat. When we took office in 1993, our interest rates were a lot higher than those in the United States. Thanks to our low inflation policy and our tax programs, we have managed to eliminate the deficit. Our interest rates have gone down and were really lower than American interest rates six months ago.
Because of the changes occurring worldwide, we have had to adjust our interest rates little by little, sometimes by increasing them and sometimes by lowering them.
Today, we can see the results of our independent monetary policy in terms of economic growth and jobs.