WATERLOO – Don Drummond, senior vice-president and chief economist at TD Financial Group, will be the keynote speaker at “Economic Outlook 2010: What Comes After the Great Recession?” on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo.

Moderator Pat Bolland, host of BNN’s Market Morning and Trading Day, will join panelists Dr. Jerzy Konieczny, professor of economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Randall Howard, general partner, Verdexus, and Arthur Mesher, CEO, Descartes Systems Group. Hosted by the Laurier School of Business & Economics, this year’s event will examine the speed of the global economic recovery and the economic forecast for Ontario and Waterloo Region.

"While we are no longer officially in recession, a big question concerns whether the seeds of economic recovery sown by government spending and low interest rates will begin to sprout in the private sector," said Laurier economics professor Dr. Bill Morrison, organizer of the event. "The likelihood of a strong Canadian dollar and impending regulation in financial markets make this different from the sorts of economic recovery we've experienced in recent history."

As senior vice-president and chief economist at TD Financial Group, Drummond leads the analysis and forecasting of economic performance in Canada and abroad. Prior to joining TD, Drummond held numerous positions within the federal Department of Finance, including assistant deputy minister of fiscal policy and economic analysis, assistant deputy minister of tax policy and legislation and most recently, associate deputy minister.

Major sponsors for this event include the Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario, and TD Bank. Additional co-sponsors include CIGI, The Waterloo Region Record, the City of Waterloo, the City of Cambridge, 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.