a positive step and are expected to reduce public debt as a ratio of gdp by 20 percentage points by 2060. at the same time they also reduce the annual gross financing needs of the general government by around 5 percentage points of gdp. however, to ensure the sustainability of the debt going forward, additional medium - term measures are also necessary. when the debt - to - gdp ratio is above 100 %, measures that reduce interest payments on debt can improve the ratio quicker than a rise in the primary balance. for example, with a debt - to - gdp ratio of 180 %, a 1 percentage point reduction in the 13 / 23 bis central bankers'speeches average interest rate on debt will reduce the ratio of debt to gdp by 1. 8 percentage points. by contrast, a rise in the primary surplus as a percentage of gdp by 1 percentage point lowers the debt - to - gdp ratio by only 1 percentage point ( assuming that the fiscal multiplier is 0 which, as we well know, it is not ). a similar effect to lowering the interest rate can be achieved through a rise in nominal growth. for debt to be sustainable, it is important to look at the gross financing needs of the general government. the eurogroup agreement of the 24th may last year set the goal for gross financing needs of the government to be below 15 per cent of gdp in the medium term and below 20 per cent over the long term. with a primary surplus goal of 2 per cent, gross financing needs are higher than they would be if the primary surplus were held at 3. 5 per cent. 14 / 23 bis central bankers'speeches however, mild debt relief could reduce them and keep them within the limits set by the eurogroup. the interest burden is low until 2021 but increases substantially thereafter because of payments of deferred interest on the efsf loans and interest on new debt issued in financial markets. an exercise done at the bank looks at the impact of smoothing interest payments for efsf loans. looking at the right - hand - side diagram on the slide, the exercise entails that interest payments are smoothed, as in option 1, instead of remaining as they are now ( the baseline scenario ). what does such an exercise imply for the path of debt and gross financing needs? the baseline high surplus scenario assumes primary surpluses of 3. 5 per cent of gdp until 2027 and a gradual decline to 2 per cent by 2037. the baseline low surplus assumes only three years of primary surplus

##iberations. some people interpreted this to mean that we believed downside risks had strengthened. what we intended to communicate, however, was that, with the 2 % target in sight, we gave increased consideration to the risk that inflation could fall below the target. as you can see, differences in interpretation can be very subtle, which makes choosing the right words all the more important. i'd like to think that all the years of explaining complex concepts to my students has given me a lot of practice in this regard. even though i've been in this role for only a short time, i've been able to appreciate how the bank's approach to communication is constantly evolving. in the past, press conferences were held only when the rate announcement was accompanied by a monetary policy report. starting this year, all eight rate announcements now feature a press conference. this gives the bank the opportunity to share its assessment of the economic outlook with the public and explain the reasoning that led to the rate decision. following the decision, governing council members host information sessions and regularly give interviews with the media. since january 2023, a summary of deliberations is published online two weeks after every decision. this document is a record of governing council's assessment of the economic environment and the upside and downside risks to inflation. it also highlights where opinions converged and the topics that generated the most debate among members. the summary of deliberations for the september decision was published yesterday, in fact. lastly, the bank is always looking for new ways to communicate and for new channels to reach the widest audience possible. in fact, the bank has accounts on youtube, x, instagram, facebook and linkedin. be sure to follow us. 6 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches conclusion it's time for me to wrap up. i've now participated in 12 rate decisions. since arriving at the bank, i've always felt my experiences and external point of view have been useful to my work and valued by the other members of governing council and the organization as a whole. i genuinely feel i'm contributing to the mission of a rigorous and conscientious institution that is mindful that its credibility is directly linked to the effectiveness of its actions. credibility must be earned. the bank's is founded on the trust that canadians place in us and our actions. even when those actions are difficult and have direct impacts, canadians understand that we are always guided by our resolve to