The timing of auctions of Government of Canada treasury bills is being moved up two hours to 10:30 ET, effective June 17.

In its Debt Management Strategy 2003/04, the government announced that the auction time for T-bills would be changed from 12:30 ET, on a trial basis, starting April 22. This implementation date has been postponed to June 17 for operational reasons.

The timing of certain cash-management and securities-lending operations conducted by the Bank of Canada is also being changed, effective June 17. The bidding deadline for cash-management bond buybacks will be moved from 10:30 to 11:15, with the release of results at 11:30.

During the December 2002 Consultations, participants expressed a preference for this operation to occur after T-bill auctions.

Cash-management bill auctions will continue to be held at 10:30, except on days when T-bills are auctioned. In the highly unlikely situation that the government might need to raise same-day funds on a T-bill auction day, a cash-management bill auction could replace the Receiver General Term Deposit auction, which takes place earlier in the morning, or an additional tranche could be added to the treasury bill auction.

The deadline for receiving bids in Bank of Canada securities-lending operations will be moved from 11 to 11:15, with the release of results at 11:25. The call for tenders will occur at 11. However, on days when a T-bill operation is already scheduled, the call for tenders will occur at 11:45, with a bidding deadline of noon and the release of results at 12:10 ET.