September 17, 2008
2008-065

Archived - Minister of Finance Issues Statement on Global Market Developments

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today issued the following statement:

"Financial markets around the world are undergoing considerable stress. As an open trading economy, Canada is not immune to these recent challenges and is being affected by significant volatility in global capital markets.

"I am in close contact with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, other G7 Finance Ministers, and with the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Governor of the Bank of Canada, and I will continue to monitor the situation closely. The Bank of Canada has taken action to ensure the liquidity of the banking system, and indicated that it stands ready to provide further liquidity to Canadian markets as required.

"Canada continues to weather the global financial market turbulence better than many other countries. I would emphasize that Canada’s banking and insurance industries are well capitalized and our financial system is sound. The International Monetary Fund has determined that Canada’s financial system is resilient and that the stability of our system is well supported by sound macroeconomic policies and strong prudential regulation and supervision."

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For further information, media may contact:

Office of the Minister of Finance 613-996-7861

David Gamble Media Relations Department of Finance 613-996-8080

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