Finance Minister Jim Flaherty defended his decision to host a summit of the G7 in Iqaluit this weekend, saying the remote location was ideal for the kind of conversations that will be important to the G7 in the future.
Part of the advantage of being in a place as "relatively isolated" as the territorial capital is the amount of casual time finance ministers and bank governors were able to spend together, Flaherty said.
Speaking with CTV's Question Period from Iqaluit on Saturday, Flaherty shared his thoughts on the successes of the two-day summit.
"We spent a lot of time together," he said. "No ties, no jackets -- we sat around the fireplace last night together and just talked, person to person, about what's concerning us.
"I think this kind of location is perfect for building those kinds of frank conversations."
Finance leaders from the Group of Seven nations came to a consensus on several issues – one of which was the G7 itself.
The group of finance leaders will continue to meet, Flaherty said.
When asked why there was still a purpose for the G7 when the larger G20 includes emergent economies such as China, Flaherty did not hesitate.
"The crises in financial markets really arose out of the G7, so we have an obligation to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said. "There is a particular role for the G7 with respect to financial sector reform."
In Iqaluit, the finance leaders dined on caribou and reached consensus on a number of issues, including the insistence on high capitalization requirements for banks and a commitment to continue stimulus spending through 2010.
As for the status of economic recovery, Flaherty said the G7 was "cautiously optimistic" that there are good signs of recovery.
NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis disagreed with that outlook, arguing that there are "worries on the horizon" that were not addressed at the G7.
"There was no outcome in terms of job creation and stimulus in terms of the economy," she said.
Liberal MP Mark Holland agreed, calling the recovery "jobless."
"There's still a lot of people really suffering," he said.
Turning to Canada's finances, Flaherty shared a sneak peek of the budget he will present to Parliament when it resumes in March.
Stimulus spending will continue, to a total of $19 billion this calendar year, and the government plans to take "certain definite steps" to move forward on deficit reduction.
