The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Bank of Canada's decision to deliver another oversized interest-rate cut earlier this month was a close call, with some policy-makers advocating a more patient approach amid a recovery in consumer spending and pickup in the housing market. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that the central bank lowered its policy rate by half a percentage point to 3.25 per cent on Dec. 11 -- the fifth consecutive cut since June. Each member of the six-person governing council felt the choice between a quarter-point and half-point cut was a "close call," the summary said. Some wanted the bank to proceed cautiously, given conflicting signals in the data. "Since the economy was not weakening quickly, there was an opportunity to cut by 25 basis points and gather more information," the summary said, explaining the thinking of the more hawkish members on the governing council. The council, led by Governor Tiff Macklem, ultimately coalesced behind a half-point cut for two reasons. Headline economic growth had undershot the bank's forecast in the third quarter. And with inflation back to the bank's 2-per-cent target, interest rates "no longer needed to be clearly restrictive."