Finance committee  There's no question; programs like that play a role in adding to that momentum and perhaps in cushioning the downside when uncertainty was at its peak. We think the main variable at work now is uncertainty. Companies that are putting their real money on the line want to be very

Finance committee  This is an excellent question. That's basically why we have a 2% target for inflation. Usually, that provides us with fiscal room to adjust the interest rate according to the shocks. When inflation persistently remains above that percentage, the next risk is increased. The situat

Finance committee  If I have grasped the meaning of what you were saying, if the interest rate remains steady, the stress on pensions will increase. Is that what you're asking?

Finance committee  You are right, since the pension rates are used as a guide for those interest rates, usually over a five or ten-year period. It depends. We see that the bond rates are increasing slightly. That's a symptom of the natural growth. Mother Nature is behind that. With another forecas

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  We, of course, have no direct impact on the fiscal situations themselves. They are variable, and it's important for us to take that into account when constructing the forecast. We take government policy however it has been laid out and plug it in to our models. If it changes, the

Finance committee  No, it wouldn't. For us it would be something to add into our analysis of the macroeconomy. We're looking at the bigger picture there, and what it means for economic growth. A substantial fiscal shock in one part of the country can of course affect that projection one way or the

Finance committee  Well, the story you tell is exactly right. In fact, there are really strong cross-sectoral and cross-country linkages of the sort you describe. Spending in one province immediately affects many others. We'll see the aggregate numbers and say it must be because of that. It's not s

Finance committee  If you're asking if a pipeline investment would have impacts across Canada, the answer is yes.

Finance committee  It's pretty far away from monetary policy and inflation. But in respect of consumer well-being and confidence, what we've seen through this cycle is an increase in savings rates. It's clear that consumers' households have responded to that uncertain environment in a way you might

Finance committee  Anecdotally, we know there are pockets of problems; it is very hard for us to put our finger on how general it is. Companies are describing themselves as more or less at the limit of their ability to stretch capacity in response to growing demand in the U.S. That could have two s

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Chair. It's a pleasure to be here. I appreciate the opportunity for Tiff and me to be here to share with you some of the highlights from our recent economic outlook. The bank, of course, aims to communicate openly and effectively so that Canadians know how w

Finance committee  Yes, of course. I would call the member's attention to a background paper which we published on our website last week. It's a four- or five-page piece which summarizes this, so I'll attempt to bring out the highlights for you now. The methodology is not very complex. It's that i

Finance committee  In fact, we don't expect that shortfall to be made up in the near term. Our forecast is based on us having gone down into this deeper level. That wedge will persist, but through time, the growth rate of our exports will converge on the growth rate of the U.S. economy. That will l

Finance committee  Yes, household debt is at a historically very high level, so we believe that under current conditions and under our forecast it is sustainable and that it will in fact gradually unwind to more sustainable levels as employment growth spreads and the rest of the economy gets firing