I would like to start by saying how much we at the Bank of Canada appreciate the opportunity to come here twice a year, following the release of our semi-annual Monetary Policy Report. We are very aware of the need to keep Members of Parliament and, indeed, all Canadians informed about what we're doing and why.
If oil prices have now at least peaked - and, better yet, if they decline at least modestly over the next year and a half, as suggested by expectations reflected in futures markets - the upward impetus to overall inflation from oil prices will dissipate or even reverse.