notes break new ground. the “ frontiers ” theme is also reflected in the images chosen to grace these notes. each denomination represents the best of canada : scientific discovery on the $ 100 note, arctic research on the $ 50 and valour and sacrifice on the $ 20. the bank notes we unveil today continue this tradition. the $ 10 note depicts a great feat of engineering from canada ’ s past – the joining of east and west by rail. the $ 5 note highlights canada ’ s technological achievements that look skyward – our contributions to the international space program. as governor of the bank of canada, i join all my colleagues to express our pride in these new bank notes, also a product of great technological innovation. they are the impressive result of teamwork and dedication by chemists, physicists, researchers, artists and analysts. this kind of synergy, which is at the heart of excellence, has been a hallmark of our nation throughout its history. bis central bankers ’ speeches

arguably, more importantly, several countries have embarked on a path that entails much needed structural reforms. this public debt crisis is multi - layered. it is clearly a crisis of market confidence and as such a liquidity crisis. the trigger was a classic fiscal crisis combined with severe competitiveness problems in the periphery of the eu. however, it is also an institutional crisis. the institutional mechanism to ensure fiscal discipline inside the eurosystem was clearly insufficient. obviously, part of the fiscal imbalances and the resulting build - up in public debt were directly related to the financial crisis and its aftermath. one part of the fiscal expansion can be explained by the direct fiscal effects of the measures taken to stabilize the financial system. another part is explained by the drop in revenues and increases in social benefit payments in response to the post - crisis recession. according to recent imf calculations, this accounts for about fifty percent of the increase in debt levels globally since the outbreak of the crisis. the other roughly fifty percent are unrelated to the financial crisis and its effects on the broader economy. 3 to put it differently, some countries had simply lived beyond their means well before the financial crisis erupted in 2007. the reaction of financial markets is a wakeup call to all countries that sooner or later government finances must be put on a sustainable path. the main measures implemented so far at the eu level are mainly short - term oriented to fight of the liquidity crisis and associated contagion risks. a large assistance package has been established jointly by the eu and the imf for greece. to ward off the risk of contagion, the eu has put in place the european financial stabilization facility ( efsf ) while the imf has committed to provide significant bilateral funding. overall, the funding secured amounts to 750 bn euros. this significant amount is justified by the high risk of international spillover effects. additional support to ward off this contagion risk was given by the european central bank which decided to intervene in the euro area public and private debt market in order to restore an appropriate monetary policy transmission mechanism. 4 these measures provide essential backstops. by adopting them, the governments of the eu member states and the european authorities have unequivocally stated their intention to safeguard the euro. while this was a crucial first step, initial market reactions suggested persistent scepticism. the uncertainty regarding the health of the balance sheet of european banks is high and is keeping tensions on financial markets elevated. it is not only the exposure