OTTAWA, March 18 (Reuters) - Canada’s economy is likely to rebound this year as long as COVID-19 is brought under control, but the government should introduce a ‘fiscal anchor’ to ensure credibility in the management of the public accounts after a sharp rise in debt, the IMF said on Thursday. “The size and scope of policy support (in Canada) has been unprecedented” during the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund’s executive board said in its annual report. The IMF forecast economic growth of 4.4% this year after a 5.4% decline in 2020. “The recent sharp rise in public debt increases the importance of clearly specifying a medium-term fiscal anchor ... to guard against a potential weakening of credibility in the fiscal framework,” the IMF said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, Editing by Nick Zieminski)