Lawrence Schembri

Deputy Governor, Bank Of Canada

Search every verified Lawrence Schembri interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Lawrence Schembri, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, has focused his recent public appearances on the Bank's efforts to promote economic reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. In a May 2022 speech before the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, he discussed the Bank's reconciliation action plan, which aims to address barriers to economic inclusion such as limited access to credit and capital, infrastructure gaps, and data deficiencies. He noted that a recent report estimated a $30 billion infrastructure deficit in First Nations communities and highlighted the success of the Mi'kmaq coalition's acquisition of Clearwater Seafoods as a significant Indigenous investment. Schembri also stated that monetary policy has been less effective in stimulating the Indigenous economy due to limited access to financial services, and he expressed optimism that an Indigenous person would be named to the Bank's board of directors in the future. Schembri has also addressed broader economic conditions, including labour market uncertainties and monetary policy. In a November 2021 speech to the Canadian Association for Business Economics, he discussed how the pandemic accelerated structural forces like digitalization and increased uncertainty about maximum sustainable employment and wage growth. He explained that wage growth of roughly three percent would be consistent with the Bank's two percent inflation target. In earlier appearances, he discussed the Bank's inflation-targeting framework, noting that a lower target rate would reduce the Bank's room to cut interest rates in response to adverse shocks, and he has spoken about the risks to financial stability from elevated household debt.