I was in Toronto last week to attend and
speak at the Toronto Economic Forum.
This two day event dealt with the major
economic problems of our time, with particular emphasis on the impact they have
on cities.
I shared the platform with Ted Menzies,
Minister for State for Finance, in the present Conservative
Party Government of Canada.
He is from Alberta.
He told me that one of the big changes
taking place in Canada is the movement of economic influence towards western
provinces, like Alberta, which have vast resources of oil and gas. Richer
provinces transfer resources to poorer ones in Canada, and the pattern of these
transfers is changing, as some provinces become more prosperous and others
relatively less so.
Canada has come through the financial crisis well, because
its banks were prudently managed and regulated. At Federal level, the budget deficit situation is under
control, but there are significant problems in the two big provinces, Ontario
and Quebec. Although the Liberal party of Canada has suffered badly in the
recent Federal elections, being reduced to third place, it has done well in
recent provincial elections in Ontario and continues to govern there.
At the Forum, I was delighted to meet
longstanding friends of mine, Roy McClaren, who was Trade Minister in a Liberal
Government, Mike Wilson, who was Finance Minister in a Progressive Conservative
Government, and John Manley, who held several portfolios including Foreign
Affairs in Liberal Governments. Mike Wilson also served as Canadian Ambassador
to the United States while I was EU Ambassador there so we got to know one
another well.
I gave an interview to CBC, the main
Canadian television network.
In my speech to the Forum, I explained that
the euro was more than just a financial arrangement, but was a political
commitment to a more united and cohesive Europe, that would capable of keeping
peace internally and of representing European interests globally. A failure of
the euro was unthinkable, I said, because it would open Europe to becoming a
playground for a battle for strategic influence between external powers. That would eventually create huge risks
for the peace of Europe.
I emphasised the Ireland was interested in
more Canadian investment, and was an ideal gateway for Canadian firms to the
European market. Already, Ireland was home to 9 of the world’s top 10 internet
companies in the world, 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, and 15 of the
top 25 medical devices companies.
In addition, it had a highly developed international financial services
industry and many of the Canadian based banks, whose senior representatives I
met at the Forum, had substantial operations in Ireland.
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