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Over the years, both Canada and France have had to make decisions about the framework guiding monetary policy. The authorities in the two countries have made choices that reflect the differences in our economies.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is unchanged, and the Bank Rate remains at 2 1/4 per cent.

In a speech to the Canadian Society of New York, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said today that Canada's monetary policy framework, based on an explicit inflation-control target and a flexible exchange rate, "has contributed importantly to putting the Canadian economy back on the right path to longer-term prosperity."

The Canadian economy has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. And it has emerged as a low-inflation economy, with declining levels of public and foreign debt and a private sector that is more cost-conscious, productive, and efficient, thanks to restructuring and investments in new technology.

The immediate impact and the fallout from last September's events introduced new layers of uncertainty into the economic picture, compounding the effects of a deepening global economic slowdown that had become more evident during the summer.