Tougher rules for banks high on G20 agenda as summit opens
TORONTO: Massive protests, gray skies, steady rain and an array of policemen and women greeted world leaders as they moved to Toronto on Saturday evening kicking off two days of tough negotiations. Ways to sustain global economic recovery and tougher rules for banks were high on the leaders’ agenda, as they looked to prevent another round of taxpayer-funded bailouts in the future. The leaders are expected to talk about a range of issues — keeping the economic recovery alive, financial reform, trade and protectionism.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the accompanying Saudi delegation reached Toronto Friday evening to take part in the summit. He was welcomed at the airport by the Canadian minister of state of foreign affairs (Americas), Peter Kent.
Over a working dinner Saturday evening, kicking off the two-day summit, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged the G20 to commit to additional steps to safeguard the fragile global recovery amid signs that the group's crisis-forged unity is fraying. He reminded the leaders that countries need to take further steps to protect the economy and keep it from sliding back into recession.
Although a consensus on how to drive growth may be out of reach, and countries appear irreconcilably divided on the issue of a bank tax, there’s hope for broad agreement on bank capital levels.
The G20 is making "serious progress" toward an agreement on new bank capital standards, narrowing the differences over key points of the reform package, Bank of Canada Gov. Mark Carney said Saturday.
One of the most contentious issues heading into the G20 summit is whether member nations should continue pumping public funds into the economy or begin slashing the budget deficits they rang up during the recession. Financial reform talks at the G20 gained new momentum Friday after the US Congress clinched a deal on a tough bill to clamp down on risk-taking on Wall Street. American officials were clearly signaling that US President Barack Obama would be pushing hard on capital agreement.
Earlier the G8 communiqué issued Saturday stressed on global peace and security. "We, the leaders of the G8, remain deeply concerned about serious threats to global peace and security," the document emphasized.
"We are all affected by threats from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, international organized crime (including drug trafficking), piracy and from political and ethnic conflict. Prosperity, development and security are inextricably linked, and the economic well being and security of our own countries and those around the world are therefore interdependent".
While the leaders were all grouped together, endeavoring to strike out a broad consensus, massive anti-globalization protests continued to mark the Toronto meeting. Marches and rallies started moving Saturday morning from various spots to link up at Queen’s Park, where the atmosphere was charged — a mixture of anger and frivolity. As the day passed the crowd started to swell. Cars were burned around the Bay area, and injuries were also reported as this report was being filed.
On Friday too, the crowd tried to march south toward the Metro Convention Center, site of the G20 meetings, but officers in full riot gear formed a line several blocks north of the center and held the crowd at Queen Street and University Avenue.
While marching, the protesters chanted: "Fight the war on the poor, make the rich pay". Officers kept them contained to one area on University Avenue by creating human chains.
