in this rather complex communications environment, it is squarely in the bank ’ s interests that the media cover monetary policy as fully and accurately as possible. and the chances of full and accurate reporting are enormously better if the media are well informed about monetary policy and the factors affecting what we at the bank do. bearing in mind my comments a few moments ago about the frequently complex and conditional nature of monetary policy, i don ’ t underestimate the challenge – either for us or for the media. for the bank ’ s part, we have taken a number of steps in recent years to strengthen our relations with the media and to furnish them with the information necessary for high - quality reporting and commentary. we now provide not only more information than in the past but more occasions when we explain information directly to the media and respond to their questions. thus, for example, we have instituted regular media briefings prior to the release of key bank reports. we installed a special “ lock - up ” facility at the bank to enable the media to read our releases and write their stories in advance of their official publication. we have increased the number of press conferences and media sessions given by the governor and deputy governors. the media tell us these changes have been helpful. but i would suggest that there is still some progress to be made to ensure that canadians receive the accurate and insightful coverage of monetary policy they have every right to expect. for example, the media might assess whether investing more time and intellectual capital could strengthen and deepen its reporting and commentary on monetary policy issues. and there may well be additional things the bank could do to promote better understanding of monetary policy. indeed, we have been looking at the greater use of the electronic media to reach the public, and our new governor has already done a fair number of interviews on radio and television. our goal here is to continue the move to greater openness in bank communications while at the same time being careful to stay clear of any short - run, market - sensitive issues. we will continue to consult with journalists and reporters about this and other improvements that we might consider. the bank ’ s communications strategy – an evolving process to this point, i ’ ve underlined why communications is important for effective monetary policy and some of the challenges we face in communicating a complex subject to a variety of interested audiences. now i ’ d like to say a few more words about what we ’ ve been doing at the bank of canada to communicate monetary policy in an open and

is now announced on eight pre - specified or “ fixed ” dates during the year. on each date, a press release is issued, indicating the bank ’ s decision either to change rates or to leave them unchanged and giving a short explanation of the reasons for the decision. this approach replaces the former practice of only making an announcement if we changed interest rates and doing so without any warning to the public or to financial markets. the new, fixed - date approach is an extremely important step for the bank in implementing monetary policy actions. from a communications perspective, it provides a number of important benefits. first, it gives the public, the media, and financial markets the certainty of knowing exactly when the bank will make an announcement on interest rates. this allows them to plan more efficiently and make more orderly assessments as each announcement approaches. a second communications benefit of fixed dates is the increased emphasis they bring to the economic situation in canada as the primary focus of canadian monetary policy. we believed this would lead to increased commentary on canadian economic circumstances and their implications for monetary policy during the period leading up to a fixed announcement date. that, in turn, would contribute to building public awareness of both economic developments in canada and the role of monetary policy. a third benefit is that fixed dates provide the bank with a regular opportunity to put the recent economic and financial developments into a medium - term perspective. as i said earlier, this is important because the effects of monetary policy actions are usually spread over 1 to 2 years. the press release on each fixed date, together with the bank ’ s other communications vehicles such as the monetary policy report and updates, enables the bank to position recent developments in terms of the underlying trends over this time horizon. if we communicate this successfully, there should ultimately be more public focus on the trends over time that are important to monetary policy and less reaction to near - term developments. finally, the eight new fixed dates increase the number of opportunities for the bank to communicate its views on the economy. whether or not there is a change in our policy rate, the analysis in the press release should stimulate a more frequent and continuous dialogue with key audiences and should generate more regular commentary among analysts and the media. we now have the experience of four fixed announcement dates under our belts. while it is still early to draw conclusions, generally we are very pleased with the way fixed dates are working and with the positive reaction they have generated. we have already seen more focused public commentary on the canadian economic situation, and that is