Today, financial markets are functioning well. We also cut our policy interest rate to its effective lower bound and provided extraordinary forward guidance indicating that interest rates will be very low for a long time. This commitment has been reinforced with large-scale purchases of Government of Canada bonds. This quantitative easing program is working to reduce the cost of borrowing for households and businesses.
Credit is flowing, and the financial system is acting as an important shock absorber during this crisis. As bold as these policy responses have been, a full recovery from the pandemic will take a long time, and many risks remain. How well all of us—individual Canadians, businesses, the health care system and governments—manage these risks will be a key factor in everyone’s well-being.