OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz recommends jobless young Canadians find unpaid work as they wait for the economy to recover. Here are five more interesting things Poloz told us during his appearance Tuesday at the House of Commons finance committee:
On growth: The Bank of Canada’s outlook for GDP growth stayed at the same level because the recent drop in oil prices has offset gains made by the country’s export sector.
On infrastructure: Infrastructure is almost always a good thing to invest in because it’s a key ingredient in Canada’s economic growth. The right conditions for infrastructure projects are in place, such as rock-bottom borrowing rates, but lingering uncertainty in the economy has likely driven a wedge between positive investment decisions and what one might expect when rates are low.
On child care: A child-care policy that would free people up to enter the labour force wouldn’t necessarily make a significant impact in addressing worker shortages caused by the aging population. One can’t expect changes to the supply of workers “to be magic” if employers aren’t looking to hire.
On global risks to growth: Economic head winds blowing in from places like Europe and China roughly negate the boost of tail winds out of the United States.
On oil prices:Oilsands and shale-oil operations appear to be “similarly vulnerable” to dropping oil prices, though each of those sectors have different break-even points in the price spectrum.
