Comments from the Bank of Canada Governor:
- CAD stronger than assumed despite low oil prices
- BOC will keep providing stimulus
- We are still more than 700K jobs below pre-pandemic
- Peak job losses in 2009 recession were about 425K
- Purchases of longer-term bonds are more effective
- The very rapid phase of the reopening phase is over
- We expect 4th quarter growth to be just barely positive
- The pandemic is reducing investment and is likely to cause long-lasting damage to jobs
- We've marked down growth potential to 1% out to 2023
- It's possible that spending could be stronger than expected if consumers unwind savings
- We see the risks are forecasts to be roughly balanced but we're particularly focused on downside risks
There is nothing surprising in the initial comments. He will take questions next.
