Mar 23 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is looking how it could adjust its quantitative easing (QE) program, a senior policy maker said on Tuesday, but made clear shifts to bond buying will not mean the central bank has changed its views on the timing of rate hikes. Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle, speaking to a Toronto financial professionals group, also announced the BoC would discontinue programs introduced during the COVID-19 crisis to support market functioning. “Regarding our ongoing purchases of (Government of Canada) bonds, Governing Council is evaluating how the process of adjusting these could unfold,” said Gravelle. “Adjusting the pace of QE purchases won’t necessarily mean that we have changed our views about when we will need to start raising the policy interest rate,” he added. The Bank of Canada has pledged to keep interest rates at the effective lower bound of 0.25% until the economic slack is absorbed, which is not expected until into 2023 under current projections. The Bank will revise those in April. The central bank also said it would discontinue its market functioning programs, including the Provincial Bond Purchase Program, on their original end dates, saying that the use of the programs has declined significantly as overall financial conditions continue to improve in Canada. (Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Fergal Smith)