OTTAWA – The Governor of the Bank of Canada is pushing for COVID-19 vaccines to be sent to developing countries.
Tev McClem argues that the pandemic is not only the biggest health risk the world faces, but also the biggest economic risk.
In a speech Thursday, McClem said governments and the private sector must work together to make vaccines accessible to all.
The global financial system must provide a way out of this pandemic
He balances the most urgent short-term imperatives with the foundations for long-term prosperity.
McClem warns that political leaders who focus too much on dealing with the immediate volatility of their economies risk holding back the medium and long-term adjustments that are critical to productivity and economic performance.
In his speech to the American Council on Foreign Relations, McClem stressed that this balanced approach is even more important today, as central banks prepare to end economic stimulus programs – which could lead to escalating pressures on the global financial system.
“We need a clear, long-term goal that everyone is committed to achieving, and a framework for addressing short-term challenges in a way that does not distract us from this ultimate destination,” McClem said in the statement. Speech.
“What we need is a system that allows – or even facilitates – the coming transitions, whether it is to end extraordinary monetary policy measures, to achieve carbon neutrality, or perhaps, to ensure the digitization of the international monetary system.”
The Bank of Canada has already begun easing one of the major stimulus packages put in place at the start of the pandemic, by reducing its weekly purchases of federal bonds. This quantitative easing program aims to lower interest rates on various loans, from mortgages to business loans, but could soon move to a stage where it no longer has a catalytic effect and is only used to preserve what is already there.
De même, le taux d’intérêt directeur de la banque centrale est resté à 0.25% depuis le début de la pandémie, ce que la banque centrale considère comme sa valeur plancher, où il devrait rester jusqu’au de second’ semestre Next year. The Bank of Canada expects the economy to recover enough to support higher interest rates.