The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says the shock from the plunge in oil prices remains "uncertain," but last month's rate cut will "buy us some time" to assess its economic impact. The Post's Gordon Isfeld writes that Mr. Poloz says: "The oil-price shock is an important setback in our progress toward full capacity, full employment and stable inflation because it is a net negative for economic growth. And because lower oil prices mean lower Canadian income, the shock will worsen the debt-to-income ratio of Canadian households, thereby increasing financial stability risks." Mr. Poloz says the BOC's Jan. 21 decision to cut its key lending rate to 0.75 per cent from 1 per cent "was intended to take out some insurance against both sets of risks." It will also "cushion the decline in income and employment, as well as the rise in the debt-to-income ratio, that lower oil prices will bring." While the collapse in oil "itself is of uncertain size," the rate cut "buys us some time to see how the economy actually responds," says Mr. Poloz. He says, "As oil prices are roughly half price, that constitutes approximately a 3-per-cent pay cut for Canada."