Canadian PM: world economy to grow slowly

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday he expects the global economy to continue to grow slowly. Harper made the remark in an interview with Postmedia News, the largest commercial news organization in Canada, ahead of the G20 summit, which will be held on Nov. 3-4 in Cannes, France. The prime minister said he remains "relatively optimistic" about the future. Also, he said he did not think there will be a second global recession. Harper said he hopes the Cannes summit can achieve clear and concrete deficit and debt reduction plans, reform the international monetary system to boost economic growth, strengthen financial regulation and make a commitment to resist trade protectionist measures. "The financial sector can't just write its own rules. The crash of 2008 made very clear that there must be credible regulatory systems on the financial sector or it can lead us in a position where we don't want to be," he said. On the domestic economy, Harper said that Canada's growth outperforms that of other major developed countries. He said his government's policies -- targeted spending and a plan to eliminate the deficit in three years -- are appropriate for the current economic climate. However, he said that if Canada experiences "markedly different" economic circumstances, the government would make "appropriate" changes to its policies. The upcoming G20 Summit is held against the backdrop of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, which is shattering market confidence in a world of fragile recovery.