Press releases

Professor John Chant of Simon Fraser University has been chosen to fill the visiting economist position of Special Adviser in the Bank of Canada for a one-year term beginning in September 2001.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 4 1/2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is correspondingly lowered, and the Bank Rate is reduced by one-quarter of one percentage point to 4 3/4 per cent.

The appointment of Mark Jewett as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to the Bank of Canada has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Bank. Mr. Jewett will work in close collaboration with the Governing Council of the Bank on all management and financial stability matters. He will join the Bank on 25 June 2001.

The Bank of Canada today released the document Renewal of the Inflation-Control Target: Background Information, which provides additional details on the target arrangements and on how the Bank plans to implement them in order to increase the predictability of inflation over the longer term. This release follows the announcement yesterday by the Government of Canada and the Bank that the inflation-control target is being renewed for a period of five years to the end of 2006.

The objective of Canada's monetary policy is to support and advance national economic well-being by contributing to sustained economic growth, rising levels of employment and improved living standards. The best contribution monetary policy can make to securing this outcome is to preserve confidence in the value of money by providing individuals and businesses with the certainty of a stable, low-inflation environment for their economic decisions.

The Bank of Canada today released its thirteenth semi-annual Monetary Policy Report in which it discusses economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy. The Monetary Policy Report is published every May and November.

n a speech today to The Vancouver Board of Trade, Governor David Dodge said that the Bank of Canada contributes to the economic well-being of Canadians by preserving confidence in the value of money and by promoting the safety and soundness of Canada's financial system.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering the Bank Rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 5 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate* is correspondingly lowered, and the Bank's target for the overnight rate is reduced to 4 3/4 per cent.

As an open economy, Canada has a strong interest in promoting a sound and robust international economic environment, Governor David Dodge said today, in a speech to the Montreal Society of Financial Analysts. He stressed that sound macroeconomic policies and robust and efficient financial systems are of paramount importance in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering the Bank Rate by one-half of one percentage point to 5 1/4 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is correspondingly lowered, and the Bank's target for the overnight rate is reduced to 5 per cent.