The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Sept. 11, edition that the Canadian gross domestic product for the third quarter of the year is expected to be significantly lower than the Bank of Canada's initial forecast. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that economists predict that the growth may be less than half of the estimated 2.8-per-cent annualized GDP growth projected by the BOC. This downward revision is attributed to a slowdown in consumer spending and challenges faced by immigrants in finding employment. If the growth projections are substantially lower, it may lead the BOC to consider larger interest-rate cuts to prevent a recession in the upcoming quarters. Canadian Chamber of Commerce economist Andrew DiCapua expressed skepticism about the BOC's third quarter projections, suggesting that they may not materialize as initially anticipated. In the third quarter ending Sept. 30, Canada will probably record GDP growth of about 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent on an annualized basis, Mr. DiCapua said, adding it looked more likely that the BOC would be making deeper cuts. A series of discouraging economic indicators from Statistics Canada related to GDP and the labour force have led economists to update their models.