Mr. Speaker, the member has things slightly mixed up, as usual. The Deputy Prime Minister has said that the finance minister does not intervene in the day to day operations of the Bank of Canada.
What we need to do is look over the medium term in terms of fiscal or monetary policy.
With respect to the prime rate and mortgage rates, despite the recent increases mortgage rates remain between 165 and 200 basis points below their January 1995 peak levels. The prime rate remains 225 basis points below its lowest point of April 1995.