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To counter that uncertainty and bolster consumer and business confidence, the Bank of Canada moved aggressively to provide monetary stimulus. Between last September and January 2002, we lowered interest rates by 200 basis points, bringing the total reduction since January 2001 to 375 basis points.

Donald Gow had a great interest in public administration and in budgetary reform in the federal government.1 He was one in a long line of Queen's professors who have focused on various budgetary matters at the federal level.

To counter that uncertainty and bolster consumer and business confidence, the Bank of Canada moved aggressively to provide monetary stimulus. Between last September and January 2002, we lowered interest rates by 200 basis points, bringing the total reduction since January 2001 to 375 basis points.

The level of production in the Canadian economy should return to full capacity in the second half of 2003. We also said that inflation should be at the Bank's 2 per cent target by about the end of next year.

Globalization - the trend towards greater economic integration around the world - has brought important benefits to us all. It has boosted world trade, opened up access to sources of global finance, and facilitated the diffusion of far-reaching technological advances in transportation, communications, and information processing.

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 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.

One of the main benefits of the targets is that they help the economy to run more smoothly when there are surprises in the level of demand for Canadian goods and services.

The main economic concern of the past year was the slowdown that occurred not just here in Canada, but in most major economies. Compounding the economic concerns were the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.