That message, to be delivered at the high-level meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, comes as European leaders struggle to stabilize their banking systems.
And it also comes amid signals that political commitments to austerity across Europe could be wavering in favour of government spending sprees to kickstart ailing economies.
But in a speech Monday to an economic forum here, Harper gave a preview of his G20 position by warning against the “false choice” he said is taking shape because of “political difficulties.”
“A choice between fiscal discipline or economic growth, between austerity or prosperity,” Harper told the International Economic Forum of the Americas.
That’s a direct reference to the debate shaping up in Europe that pits an austerity agenda meant to reduce staggering government deficits against spending sprees to stimulate the economies.
But Harper cautioned the influential audience of corporate leaders and policy-makers against such a trade-off. “Economic growth and fiscal discipline are not mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand,” he said, suggesting Canada as the model to follow.
Harper spoke as the forum’s sessions unfolded behind a tight cordon of security, all in apparent reaction to the student protests across tuition protests that have unfolded on Montreal streets.
A wall of police officers blocked the front entrance to the downtown Hilton hotel while inside, security staff and police prowled the halls and searched visitors. Yet for all the preparations, the police vastly outnumbered the handful of protesters, perhaps because the prime minister’s office kept news of Harper’s visit under wraps until just a few hours before he spoke.
Harper said Canada’s “strong” record of fiscal discipline meant that the federal government pumped fiscal stimulus into the economy “at the time it mattered most.”
And he touted the fact that Ottawa is on track to balance its budget in the fiscal year 2015/2016.
“The Canadian approach is what the world needs . . . An approach that includes both fiscal discipline and other growth measures,” Harper said, though he added that Canada doesn’t seek to “impose our views on the world.”
While Canada’s position remains “advantageous,” Harper cautioned that the country is enmeshed in the global economy and “sometimes at the mercy of its challenges.
“Particularly these days with the crisis in the eurozone,” he said.
On that note, he praised the weekend deal by the eurozone to stabilize Spain’s banking system and for now, stem a financial crisis that risks spilling beyond Europe’s borders.
“These are the kinds of measures that the Europeans themselves are able to undertake and that they must undertake to move their economy forward,” Harper said.
Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney also praised the intervention to bail out the Spanish banks, saying it marked “important progress.”
“It’s further evidence of Europe’s resolve to address its problems,” Carney told the crowd.
Harper got some support for his views from Bank of France governor Christian Noyer, who said the challenge for most euro nations is to curb their spending.
“Countries need to create the conditions for strong and sustainable growth through structural reforms,” Noyer said.
He also said the ongoing turmoil underscores the need for a “more coherent and integrated financial union” across the eurozone.
The four-day conference features key note speakers such as Quebec Premier Jean Charest, former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, as well ambassadors and corporate leaders.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Bruce Campion-Smith
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