Briefing on day 2 of the G-8 summit in Deauville, France

-- Good morning everyone and welcome.

-- So this is our second briefing for the G8 on site in Deauville.

-- My name is Dimitri Soudas. I’m the Prime Minister’s Communications Director, and as always, you can quote me on the record.

-- Before we start, I would like to re-introduce our briefers from yesterday:

Claude Carriere is the Foreign and Defense Policy Advisory to the Prime Minister at the Privy Council Office

Gerard Cossette is the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister for the G-8 from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

-- Let me begin by recapping some of the key points from yesterday:

- We announced $30M to support international efforts to complete safety and stabilization work at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. This delivers on important commitments made by G-8 Leaders at the 2010 Muskoka Summit and will help permanently confine the damaged reactor site.

- General Ratko Mladic was arrested by Serbian security forces yesterday morning near the city of Zrenjanin in northern Serbia. Minister Baird welcomed the news on behalf of Canada.

- The Prime Minister had productive one-on-one discussions with Prime Minister Cameron, President Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the President of European Council and the President of the European Commission.

- And Canada called for Yemen President Saleh to follow through on his commitment to step down and allow for a peaceful and democratic transition of power.

-- Today is the second and final day of the G8. Tonight, we will depart for Greece for the PM's first bilateral visit to that country.

-- Today we can also expect the release of the Deauville Declaration; the Declaration on the MENA, which addresses the signature theme of this summit and represents the G8's response to the historic transformation underway in that region; the G8 Africa Joint Declaration; and, the Declaration on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.

-- Discussions begin today among leaders on political and security issues, such as North Korea and nuclear non-proliferation.

-- Then the Egyptian and Tunisian Prime Ministers will share their first hand perspectives on the state of play and what is needed to ensure the peaceful consolidation of democracy and economic modernization.

-- While the prospects for democracy have never been so promising, the recent violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt is a troubling development. Canada strongly condemns the violence, and welcomes Egypt’s efforts to end religious intolerance and violence.

-- We will discuss the situation in Iran. Canada remains deeply concerned by the human rights situation, including ongoing detentions of opposition leaders and members of religious minorities.

-- The right to practice faith in safety and security, free of persecution is fundamental. The Prime Minister will also raise this issue with leaders.

-- Finally, G-8 leaders will meet with leaders from Africa to continue a strong tradition of dialogue and cooperation between the G-8 and Africa on development and peace and security challenges.

-- Several of the leaders of the New Partnership for Africa's Development -- from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and Senegal -- will be participating, along with the Leaders from Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Niger. The heads of the African Union Commission, IMF, World Bank and United Nations will also attend.

-- The Prime Minister will take this opportunity to follow-up with African and G-8 leaders on mutual accountability. Ensuring progress on this front is a priority for Canada.

-- Our Government is strongly committed to promoting accountability both at home and on the international stage. We welcomed two important reports that were released last week that will advance this goal . The Deauville G-8 Accountability Report released by France last Wednesday demonstrates that the G-8 continues to make real progress in addressing key health challenges and meeting global food security needs.

-- The report recognizes some of Canada's fine work in these areas including our vaccination efforts in Afghanistan which have helped inoculate more than seven million children under the age of five against polio.

-- As well as our efforts in Ethiopia, where Canadian funding has contributed to more than four million households increasing their agricultural productivity.

-- We are also particularly proud of our national and international efforts to help save the lives of women and children in developing countries, an issue we championed at last year's G-8 Summit in Muskoka. I should have more news on this for you later today.

-- It has been a year since Canada hosted the G-8 Summit. As you know, Canada re-focused the G-8 as an accountable forum that can make a real difference in the world by responding to development and security challenges.

-- Which brings me to the second report, released last week in Geneva.

-- UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, co-chaired by Prime Minister Harper and Tanzanian President Kikwete, issued its final report entitled Keeping Promises, Measuring Results. The report makes 10 recommendations that call for an unprecedented level of accountability to track commitments for resources aimed at saving the lives of women and children in developing countries.

-- The Commission's report and its recommendations, along with the Deauville G-8 Accountability Report, will be part of leaders’ discussions at the G-8 meeting. The Prime Minister will build on this Canadian legacy during his meetings in Deauville.

-- And finally, the Prime Minister will hold a closing press conference today. Details will be provided to you.

-- We’ll now take your questions.

All News