This weekend on The House

In a radio interview with CBC's The House, former Prime Minister Paul Martin says he hopes G20 leaders can accomplish in South Korea what they did not in Toronto last June.

This "global recession was caused by a global banking crisis, by the failure of the United States and the European banks to be properly regulated. It should have been dealt with in Toronto. It was not.", said Paul Martin.

Under the chairmanship of South Korea, G20 leaders are expected to focus most of their attention on the question of currency devaluation but Paul Martin cautions against it being the sole focus of these meetings. "I hope that this doesn't highjack the process, there are a number of issues."

On the agenda is the need to address global currency tensions as the U.S. sets on a second round of quantitative easing and China continues to resist currency flexibility.

Paul Martin doesn't hesitate to credit the G20 Finance Ministers with being able to reduce that tension "considerably", referring to a decision by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to link their currencies to market rates and refrain from competitive currency devaluation ahead of next week's meetings.
 
Facing high expectations, G20 leaders will be discussing ways to guard against protectionist measures and see how they can revamp lending schemes to ensure all countries have access to a financial safety net.
 
Finally, G20 leaders will look at shifting the focus of international development programmes away from financial aid towards investment, trade and infrastructure.

On this last point, Paul Martin says "as long as they don't forget humanitarian aid, I think it should be supported."

On Friday, Stephen Harper warned his G20 counterparts not to back away from their pledge to slash deficits and debt.

Paul Martin knows you can't have a "one size fits all" solution. He adds, "you're not going to get a hard rock agreement on some of these issues at the G20" but what's important is that they "continue to talk this through."

G20 leaders will meet in Seoul, South Korea on November 11- 12.
 
For the full interview with former Prime Minister Paul Martin, go to www.cbc.ca/thehouse later this weekend.