Canada’s position contrasts with other G8 nations
As G8 nations pledge US$20 billion to support countries emerging from the ‘Arab spring,’ such as Egypt and Tunisia, in their transition to democracy, Stephen Harper has said that no new money would come from Canada, the CBC reports. Instead, Harper says the money should come from international monetary institutions, such as the World Bank and European Investment Bank, which already receive yearly contributions from Canada. “Canada has been increasing its commitment to those agencies,” the CBC’s Susan Lunn reports. “They now pay more than $12 billion (Cdn) a year into those international agencies, like the World Bank, and that’s how Canada is going to continue to support those two countries.” Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has offered to forgive Egypt’s debt and a US$2 billion package of loan guarantees, while France and Britain have pledged “hundreds of millions,” to support both Egypt and Tunisia’s transition to democracy.