stephen s poloz : unveiling of commemorative bank note marking the 150th anniversary of canada remarks by mr stephen s poloz, governor of the bank of canada, at the unveiling of the commemorative bank note marking the 150th anniversary of canada, ottawa, ontario, 7 april 2017. * * * we at the bank of canada are proud to have produced this special note commemorating canada ’ s 150th anniversary. we ’ ve only ever produced three other such bank notes in our 82year history, so believe me when i say this is a big deal. developing any bank note is a long and involved process, especially so with this one. we ’ ve been working on it since 2014, and more than 5, 000 individual canadians have fed into the process. we asked them if they wanted to see the past, the present or the future on the note. in true canadian form, the answer to this question was “ all three. ” the design was inspired by that input and carefully incorporates many of the ideas we heard on how to best represent the 150th anniversary of confederation. isn ’ t it amazing how much history you can fit onto a little piece of polymer? all of the historical elements in the note ’ s design show why this year calls for a big celebration! this bank note not only reflects the pride we feel about our country and its accomplishments, it also, we hope, instills in canadians a different kind of confidence. the bank is responsible for the design, production and distribution of canada ’ s bank notes. and while bank notes reflect canada ’ s society, culture and history, it ’ s also our job to ensure that they are durable and difficult to counterfeit — in short, so that canadians can have confidence in their money. from a design perspective, when we asked canadians what they wanted to see, more than anything else, they said canada ’ s landscapes. so if we look at the back of the note, we will see several images of canada ’ s natural beauty, seamlessly woven together — from sea to sea to sea. from left to right, we start in the west with the lions — or the twin sisters, as the squamish people know them — the peaks of the north shore mountains, which overlook vancouver. in the foreground, we can see capilano lake. moving east, we come to the prairies. we see wheat, the iconic crop of canada ’ s prairie provinces and one of the most important

%. taking into account all available information, the euro area economy is currently experiencing an episode of weak activity characterised by high commodity prices weighing on consumer confidence and demand, as well as by dampened investment growth. we expect this episode to be followed by a gradual recovery. in particular, if persistent, the fall in oil prices from their peak in july will help strengthen real disposable income, with the level of employment remaining high and the unemployment rate low by historical standards. moreover, growth in the world economy is expected to remain relatively resilient, benefiting mainly from sustained growth in emerging economies. this should support external demand for euro area goods and services and thereby investment. this outlook is also reflected in the september 2008 ecb staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area. the exercise projects average annual real gdp growth in a range between 1. 1 % and 1. 7 % in 2008, and between 0. 6 % and 1. 8 % in 2009. in comparison with the june eurosystem staff projections, real gdp growth figures for 2008 and 2009 are lower. in the view of the governing council, the uncertainty surrounding this outlook for economic activity is particularly high at the current juncture and, generally, downside risks prevail. risks stem particularly from renewed increases in energy and food prices, which could dampen consumption and investment. moreover, downside risks continue to relate to the potential for the financial market tensions to affect the real economy more adversely than currently foreseen. the possibility of disorderly developments owing to global imbalances also implies downside risks to the outlook for economic activity, as do concerns about rising protectionist pressures. with regard to price developments, annual hicp inflation has remained considerably above the level consistent with price stability since last autumn, standing at 3. 8 % in august according to eurostat ’ s flash estimate, after 4. 0 % in june and july 2008. this worrying level of inflation is largely the result of both the direct and indirect effects of past surges in energy and food prices at the global level. moreover, wage growth has been picking up in recent quarters, at a time when labour productivity growth has decelerated, resulting in sharp increases in unit labour costs. looking ahead, on the basis of current commodity futures prices, the annual hicp inflation rate is likely to remain well above levels consistent with price stability for quite some time, moderating only gradually during the course of 2009. consistent with this view, the