Canada to G20: keep stimulus, recovery not assured

(Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged the Group of 20 leading nations on Thursday to keep stimulus funds flowing as economic recovery is still not fully assured.

Harper, host of the summit of G20 nations in June, said, however, that the need to keep the taps open must be balanced with the need to find exit strategies.

He was making a rare public speech to the opening session of a meeting of Group of 20 sherpas, who lay the ground for summits for their leaders.

"We can't lose sight of what remains our biggest collective challenge -- the recovery is by no means fully assured. Too many citizens in all of our countries are still feeling the recession's impacts," he said in the prepared text of his remarks.

"We must continue with our stimulus measures. At the same time, it also behooves us to put our minds to how these will be balanced with exit strategies."

Harper said the G20 must make progress on a global framework for sustainable growth, so that when the leaders meet for the second time this year, in Seoul in November, they can identify specific actions.

And he said that while reforms for the financial sector had already been agreed on, they would not be effective unless they are put in place.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSOTW00251820100318