Finance committee  No. Everything—and perhaps correctly—in fiscal monetary policy is being aimed at short-term stimulus to the economy. It's understandable. We're still in a major crisis. Until that's resolved, I'm afraid short-term considerations are going to dominate. However, it is a concern t

Finance committee  I wrote a paper last summer for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, which I'm representing today, that talked about innovation. We've had programs to stimulate productivity and innovation in this country for decades. We have government programs all over the place. They just haven't

Finance committee  When it comes to interest rates, there are no guarantees. I said I think central banks have made it clear they will not be raising interest rates under any circumstance this year, but as you get into next year and the following year, that's where already we're seeing inflationary

Finance committee  As an economist and lifelong employee of Statistics Canada, I don't have any idea as to how bills should be presented in Parliament. I'm going to pass on that one, thanks.

Finance committee  It's not all floating. As I mentioned, the PBO study found that an increase in interest rates in one year would have an impact of $4.5 billion, but over five years, it would be $12.8 billion, and that's because it takes time for that longer-term debt to roll over. It wouldn't be

Finance committee  That's been one of the features of this recession: the widening of inequality. What's happening in asset markets.... We saw the inequality widen in the labour market because lower-wage workers were obviously the most affected, but what we're seeing in asset prices only reinforces

Finance committee  As mentioned, a lot depends on the course of inflation and especially interest rates. At near-zero interest rates, almost any amount of debt is affordable and sustainable. The minute interest rates start rising very quickly, this country could find itself in a difficult position.

Finance committee  That's been a feature of the economy since 2008. We've seen this huge quantitative easing. This huge stimulus in monetary policy seems to have disproportionately gone into financial assets—the bond market, the stock market. Now we're seeing, in the commodity market, that commodit

Finance committee  Thank you, and thanks for having me back. Because I've addressed this committee before, I'm going to follow up on previous discussions I've had with you. I'm going to focus pretty much exclusively on inflation and interest rates. As Mr. Macdonald said, it's low inflation and low

Finance committee  I'm not sure I follow the premise. Pay it back with interest? Are you talking about the contribution to the equity of AIIB??

Finance committee  Okay, I see where the interest comes from in this, yes.

Finance committee  As I say, there may be public relations concerns as well. I think they are very small. Maybe we want to antagonize the U.S. administration more than it is. Who knows what the goals are?

Finance committee  I'm sorry, could you repeat the first part of that? I didn't hear you.

Finance committee  I think I used the word “cronyism”. It's perhaps a stronger word than Mr. Robinson likes to use, but he's a lawyer, so he's probably more careful with his language than I am. I think it's just making sure that they have a seat at the table when the contracts for infrastructure p

Finance committee  No, not at all. That could very well be in Canada's interest. I think I made the point that the people at risk here are the people in Asia, who ultimately will be paying for these projects and supposedly will be the beneficiaries. I was listening to the testimony yesterday, and