david dodge : focusing on the long term remarks by mr david dodge, governor of the bank of canada, to the canadian council of chief executives, washington, d. c., 7 april 2003. * * * thank you for the invitation to join you this evening. it was exactly a year ago that i met with you in montreal. it has not been an easy year. all of you have been running companies and making decisions under very uncertain conditions. you have had to deal with corporate and accounting issues. markets have been volatile. and geopolitical events have shaken confidence. at times like these, it's easy to get caught up in trying to make one's way through current events that cloud the outlook. but the present uncertainties make it even more important to maintain a focus on strategies that will promote the health of businesses over several years — not just over the next few months or quarters. the same holds true for economic policy - makers. failed experiments in previous decades have taught us that, in times of uncertainty, it is extremely important to stick to policies that will foster long - term economic growth. a longer - term focus many of us in this room have reached a stage in life where we have at least two pairs of glasses — one for close - up, and one for distance. we're acutely aware that wearing glasses to focus on something very close makes us lose perspective on things further away. and if we focus only on the here and now, we can lose sight of the future. we need a set of economic bifocals, if you will, to see the impact of current events, as well as the best path to future prosperity. tonight, i'd like to speak about that longer - term economic vision. through more than a decade of macroeconomic reform, we canadians have created a framework to meet both immediate and longer - term challenges. even as short - term events have buffeted our economy, we have followed four key long - term policy principles : trade liberalization, structural reform, sound fiscal policy, and low inflation. recent canadian economic performance demonstrates the merit of continuing to set policies with a longer - term view. short - term adjustments are sometimes unavoidable in the face of extraordinary events — and we've had more than our share of extraordinary events in the past few years! but, on the whole, these basic principles have stood canada in good stead through the recent difficulties in the world economy. let me talk

situation has worsened or improved since 2009. this lack of data extends to information on the demand / supply dynamics related to new housing units. estimates from the bank ’ s research department suggest that trinidad and tobago began this decade with a housing shortage overhang of around 50, 000 units. with continued strong growth in annual housing demand and a significant slowdown in supply, the housing situation is likely to worsen in the future. conservative estimates suggest that the housing shortage overhang could reach at least 80, 000 units at the end of the next ten years. more than half of this massive, unsatisfied demand for housing will come from low - income groups who, according to the latest 2008 / 2009 household budgetary survey, earn under $ 3, 999 per month. affordability is a main explanation of the housing shortage in trinidad and tobago. the median price for a 3 - bedroom house ( with land ) increased from $ 237, 770 in 1993 ( when the economy had stabilized after almost a decade of negative growth ) to $ 721, 481 in 2003 ( just bis central bankers ’ speeches before the economy was about to experience its third energy boom ). at the end of september 2012, the median price for a 3 - bedroom house jumped to $ 1. 0 million. if this trend continues, the median price for a 3 - bedroom house could reach about $ 1. 3 million by the end of this decade. the volume of available housing finance may also limit access to homeownership. the total mortgage funding required to meet the annual demand for housing units is projected at around $ 30 billion by the end of this decade. by comparison, the total value of real estate mortgage lending currently stands at just over $ 12. 5 billion. commercial banks account for around two - thirds of outstanding mortgage loans while the ttmf holds another one - fifth of mortgages granted in the country. for these reasons, successive administrations have been grappling since 1965 to make housing more easily accessible and more affordable for citizens of trinidad and tobago. the state has entered the housing market through various means including through large scale programs for the construction of new houses ( especially on prime agricultural lands ), rent to own programs, national settlement programs such as squatter regularization, and providing highly subsidized mortgage and construction financing. ladies and gentlemen, it stands to reason that, if we are to make any meaningful dent in the acute national housing shortage, then we need to fundamentally rethink our