of that mean for inflation? we've come a long way from the 8. 1 % inflation we saw last summer. as i mentioned, annual cpi inflation was down to 4. 3 % in march, 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches led by falling goods price inflation, and we see further declines ahead. that's good news. but many canadians are still struggling to manage the rising cost of living, and prices of many things that people need to buy are still rising too quickly. food price inflation is just under 10 %. we expect food price inflation to come down in the months ahead, but services price inflation will take longer. continued strong demand and the tight labour market are putting upward pressure on many services prices, and those are expected to decline only gradually. we expect it will take until the end of 2024 to get inflation all the way back to the 2 % target. when we met last week, the bank's governing council discussed whether we've raised rates enough, and we considered the likelihood that the policy rate may need to remain restrictive for longer to return inflation to the 2 % target. governing council also discussed the risks around our projection. the biggest upside risk is one i just mentioned - that services price inflation could be stickier than projected. the key downside risk is a global recession. if global banking stress re - emerges, we could be facing a more severe global slowdown and much lower commodity prices. overall, we view the risks around our inflation forecast to be roughly balanced, but with inflation still well above our target, we continue to be more concerned about the upside risks. let me conclude. our job at the bank of canada is to get inflation all the way back to the 2 % target. we are encouraged with the progress so far. and seeing inflation get down to 3 % this summer will be welcome relief for canadians. but let me assure canadians that we know our job is not done until we restore price stability. price stability is important because it restores the competitive forces in the economy and allows canadians to plan and invest with the confidence that their money will hold its value. that's the destination - we are on our way and we will stay the course. with that summary, the senior deputy governor and i would be pleased to take your questions. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

aim to return inflation to target. this flexibility means that we can also consider how well the job market is doing when we are determining how quickly to achieve our inflation target. it ’ s also useful in circumstances where returning inflation to target more slowly could help support financial stability. third, i ’ m struck by how far we ’ ve come in our understanding of the limits of monetary policy to solving all problems. this has increased the focus on how fiscal policy should contribute to stimulating growth and on how structural policies increase long - term economic prosperity for canada. it has also underlined the role of macroprudential policies in helping to avoid the buildup of financial vulnerabilities when interest rates are low. such policies include mortgage stress tests and other regulations to support sound underwriting practices. let me be clear, monetary policy is ill - equipped to deal with sector - specific issues. we need to take them into account in our monetary policy decisions, but our focus must be on the macro economy to support sustainable growth and price stability. in the current context, coming out of such a severe hit to jobs and economic activity, the bank must keep its eye on the ball. fortunately, there are many other policies that are well suited to deal with sector - specific issues. all of this together highlights the challenges of policy coordination and the importance of central bank independence. the bank of canada, along with other central banks, is deploying an array of monetary policy tools to support the economy and financial system in response to the pandemic. the bank has been clear that our efforts, including quantitative easing, are in support of our monetary policy objective — and ultimately the economic and financial well - being of canadians. that said, there is one other area where i think we need to dig in more. that is the measurement of our target — the cpi. last year during our consultations, we heard loud and clear that the measure of inflation needed to be considered. many people feel that inflation is higher than reported. that ’ s why we started working with statistics canada last year to look for ways to improve the cpi. deputy governor schembri spoke about this yesterday at the canadian association for business economics. this work continues now at an accelerated pace, because covid - 19 has only exacerbated this perception of higher inflation. prices that are falling, like those around travel, are not relevant to most people ; but the prices that are rising, like the cost of food, are those we encounter every