Speeches and appearances

Today, we released our October Monetary Policy Report, in which we discuss economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy.

Given the extent of uncertainty in the world today, we are all naturally preoccupied with near-term issues and prospects. That's understandable. But, at the same time, it's critical that we look past the short-term to the longer-term trends and potential of our economy.

The question before us sounds straightforward: "Should Canada adopt the U.S. dollar?" But the issues are complicated. I will not pretend that I can cover all the nuances of this topic in my allotted time. So I am running the risk that I may oversimplify matters.

Indeed, a strong research environment has long been a hallmark of the Bank. We also want to encourage research relevant to our business, especially with respect to monetary policy and financial system stability, at universities all across Canada.

What I propose to do on this panel today is to talk about stabilization policy and policy co-operation from the viewpoint of an industrial country that has a floating exchange rate and both an explicit inflation target for monetary policy and a clear objective for fiscal policy.