in our current conduct of monetary policy we follow rules but also take discretion. a regime that provides well - defined and unambiguous objectives would bring us more “ constrained discretion ”. the discussions today and tomorrow will focus on the conditions that we have to meet before formally launching inflation targeting. here in albania we are aware that essential requirements have to be fulfilled for obtaining a successful it regime. some of these preconditions do not depend on bank of albania, such as the fiscal stance. other preconditions do not only depend on bank of albania, such as structural reforms or deepening of the financial system. during these two days i hope to find out on which of the listed preconditions for albania we share the same views, and where our views differ. next to this open discussion on the conditions for a successful monetary policy regime, there is another important reason for our gathering here. by means of this forum the central bank adds to transparency and contributes to the enhancement of the cooperation within the region. i refer here to the region in a broad sense. bank of albania finds good relations with neighboring countries extremely important. coordinated efforts to meet conditions and requirements that are set internationally are paramount for albania and the balkan region to attain the deserved place on the european map. they will bring economic and social prosperity to the albanian people and other people in the region. albania is a relatively small country and for that reason we have to remain modest. but at the same time i can honestly say that i am proud, extremely proud, that the central bank of albania can help in opening the way to a further and hopefully rapid convergence of albania with europe and other, more developed countries. better communication lines between bank of albania, regional central banks and international organizations will pave the way for a further development of commercial banks and other institutions. ultimately a solid bridge will be built between albania and the outside world, entailing a soundly developed financial system, a sustainable economic rate of growth and higher welfare levels for albania. in order to have productive discussions i wish to emphasize the open character of our meeting here. the forum is deliberately called an open forum. i will appreciate any comments that can contribute to the further institutional building of the central bank of albania up to the highest international standards. only a discussion free in spirit – or as we say in albanian “ i hapur ” – can bring us closer to each other at the same high levels. now coming to the end of this speech, i

remarks by tiff macklem governor of the bank of canada calgary chamber of commerce september 7, 2023 calgary, alberta economic progress report : target in sight, but we ’ re not there yet introduction good afternoon. it ’ s a pleasure to be here. i want to thank the calgary chamber of commerce and the bank of canada ’ s calgary office for setting up such an impressive event. i look forward to meeting with and hearing from many of you while i ’ m in alberta. monetary policy is working to bring inflation down — and we are encouraged by the progress we ’ ve made so far. consumer price index ( cpi ) inflation was 3. 3 % in july, roughly in line with what we expected in our july monetary policy report. our 2 % target is now in sight. but we are not there yet and we are concerned progress has slowed. monetary policy still has work to do to restore price stability for canadians, and we are committed to staying the course. in my time with you here, i will begin by discussing our recent monetary policy decisions. then i want to dig into the inflation data to give you a sense of what we ’ re seeing and what we ’ re looking for on the path to price stability. i also want to outline the progress we ’ ve seen in rebalancing demand and supply in the economy. how these evolve will be critical to our policy decisions going forward. finally, i want to answer a question we are getting more frequently from canadians : why are we so focused on the 2 % target? isn ’ t being close to 3 % good enough? the short answer is no — and i ’ ll explain why we ’ re committed to getting all the way back to 2 %. our recent monetary policy decisions at both our june and july monetary policy decisions, we increased our policy rate, bringing it to 5 %. these were difficult decisions. but they reflected the accumulated evidence that excess demand in the economy and underlying inflationary pressures were both proving more persistent. and it was our judgment that more restrictive monetary policy was needed to restore price stability for canadians. i would like to thank don coletti and mikael khan for their help in preparing this speech. not for publication before september 7, 2023 1 : 55 pm eastern time - 2the data since mid - july are providing clearer evidence that higher interest rates are moderating spending and rebalancing demand and supply in the economy. however, we remain concerned that overall inflationary pressures are persist