war ii. in 1948, they were enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights. the famous five recognized the importance of economic rights much earlier than that, and worked to put in place laws that extended these rights to women. for example, louise mckinney, henrietta muir edwards, and emily murphy helped to establish the dower act in 1917, which granted alberta women property rights in marriage. and nellie mcclung spent much of her political life fighting for mother ’ s allowances, better public health services, and improved property rights for married women. now, in canada, we have created a society where most of us can take for granted our right to earn a fair wage and provide for our families. but we should not underestimate the importance of macroeconomic policies, frameworks, and institutions that support the standard of living that we enjoy. for example, low, stable, and predictable inflation means that our salaries and our savings aren ’ t eroded by rising prices, nor will our economy be devastated by deflation as it was in the 1930s. good monetary policy means that we can plan for the future with confidence. a sound financial system means that we can conduct financial transactions with equal confidence. a secure currency means that we can use cash with confidence that bank notes will be readily accepted, and without fear of being stuck with a counterfeit bill. at the bank of canada, we are always mindful of our commitment to canadians - to contribute to the economic well - being of this country. part of that commitment is to communicate our objectives openly and effectively and to stand accountable for our actions. the famous five and therese casgrain remind us of the tremendous influence that individuals can have on society. as louise mckinney said, and i quote, “ the purpose of a woman ’ s life is just the same as the purpose of a man ’ s life - that she may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she is living. ” we each have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we live. as a public institution, the bank of canada takes this responsibility seriously. we know that by fulfilling our economic role in canadian society - by giving canadians confidence in the value of money - we make an important social contribution as well. the bank of canada will continue to promote the economic well - being of canada and canadians. that is our commitment to you. tonight, we celebrate the commitment of five individual canadians to the advancement of human rights in our

stephen s poloz : release of the financial system review opening statement by mr stephen s poloz, governor of the bank of canada, at the press conference following the release of the financial system review, ottawa, ontario, 10 december 2014. * * * good morning. senior deputy governor carolyn wilkins and i are pleased to be here today to discuss the december issue of our biannual financial system review ( fsr ), which we published this morning. the purpose of the fsr is not to predict the most likely outcomes for the financial system. instead, we use it to highlight key financial vulnerabilities and the catalysts that could turn those vulnerabilities into a risk to the financial system. the fsr is an essential complement to our monetary policy report. together, the two streams of analysis provide the basis for a fulsome discussion of monetary policy, within a risk - management framework. although we view risks to the financial system separately from risks to growth and inflation, we think carefully about the interplay between them. in this fsr, we discuss three important financial system vulnerabilities : high household indebtedness ; imbalances in the housing market ; and increased investor risk taking. to some extent, all three are normal side effects of stimulative monetary policy. however, the post - crisis recovery has been frustratingly slow – we have called it serial disappointment – and bond yields and policy interest rates have been unusually low for a long time. in this context, these financial vulnerabilities have built up over time. fortunately, canada ’ s economy is showing the first signs of a broadening recovery. nonenergy exports have been responding to stronger u. s. growth and exchange rate depreciation, investment spending appears to be picking up, and we have seen pockets of new job creation. this natural rebuilding sequence is key to reducing financial vulnerabilities over time. in particular, our expectation of a soft landing for housing hinges on stronger growth, employment and incomes. the recent weakness in oil and other commodity prices raises important risks to this economic outlook, however. this shock is especially complex : it is likely to boost global growth but to moderate growth and inflation in canada, even though the effects should be tempered by exchange rate depreciation and stronger non - energy exports. the potential consequences for the financial system will be monitored carefully in the months ahead. meanwhile, the global financial system is stronger and more resilient, thanks