Addressing Economic Crisis On Top Of Agenda For Canadian Premiers' Meeting With Prime Minister Harper

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will hold his first meeting Monday with provincial premiers under his second term with tackling the global economic crisis as the top agenda.

Applied to local conditions, the Ottawa gathering will advocate infrastructure spending and discuss in detail the equalization program which had been used in the past to redistribute wealth among Canadian provinces.

While Harper would appreciate the exchange of ideas to be generated during the meeting in preparation for his attendance at the G20 leader's conference in Washington next week, he cautioned Canadians from viewing the solutions as a silver bullet.

"Obviously we are in a period of global economic instability. There are no easy solutions," Harper told media.

Among the measures that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is expected to push is assistance for Toronto's ailing automobile manufacturing industry. Ontario Deputy Premier George Smitherman said the province wants the federal government to place a more active role in reviving the province's industries.