In the latter part of the 1990s, Canadians had begun to invest in these productivity-enhancing technologies. After a pause at the beginning of this decade, such investments seem to have resumed. These efforts are particularly important, especially in light of the serious demographic challenges we will face over the next few years. That is my second point: our workforce is aging.
The conduct of monetary policy will continue to focus on maintaining overall macroeconomic stability and low inflation. We have achieved this largely due to a combination of very strict financial discipline and sound monetary policies by the Bank conducted within the framework of fiscal and monetary policy programmes agreed between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank.