WATERLOO – Dr. William Gale, a prominent American economist and vice-president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, will kick off Economic Outlook 2009: Uncharted Waters, on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Toronto Board of Trade, beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Hosted by the Laurier School of Business & Economics, this year’s event will examine the future of the Canadian economy and explore the impact that government intervention will have on economic recovery in Canada, the U.S. and abroad.

The event will also feature Dr. Sherry Cooper, executive vice-president and global economic strategist, BMO Financial Group, and chief economist, BMO Capital Markets; and will be moderated by Michael Hornbrook, economics correspondent for CBC Radio News.

“In many respects we are in uncharted waters given the magnitude and breadth of the troubles facing the economy,” said Laurier economics professor Dr. Bill Morrison, organizer of the event. “As if an economic recession wasn’t enough to deal with, we require reform in financial markets along with an internationally coordinated global response to the economic downturn.”

The keynote speakers will bring an international focus to the event. Gale is a renowned research economist employed by one of the top non-partisan think tanks in the United States. His areas of specialization include U.S. tax policy, fiscal policy, pensions and saving behaviour. He is co-director of the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. Gale has also served as a senior staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers under former U.S. president George H.W. Bush.

As chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, Cooper examines and predicts global economic and financial market trends. She offers regular economic analysis to the Canadian financial media and is author of three books including her latest, The New Retirement: How It Will Change Our Future, which was published in January 2008. Cooper began her career at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., and later held several top positions at the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and at Burns Fry in Toronto.

Major sponsors for this event include the Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis and the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario. Additional co-sponsors include Manulife, and BMO Financial Group, and the Laurier School of Business & Economics.

Laurier’s School of Business & Economics has hosted the Waterloo-based Economic Outlook speaker series annually since 1991. Topics have ranged from regional microeconomic and policy issues to the broader issues of international trade, globalization and macroeconomic forecasts of inflation, employment and economic growth.

Tickets for the event are $50. To register online please visit the event website: www.laurieralumni.ca/eo. For more information or to register by phone please contact the Laurier Centre for Economic Policy: 519-884-1970 ext. 3280 or mbarfoot@wlu.ca.