Cannes, France, November 2 - Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, is heading the Canadian delegation to the G20 Business Summit (B20) in Cannes, France between November 2 and November 4.

The Cannes summit represents a critical time in the work of G20 leaders to take urgent and decisive action to rein in debt, restore business confidence and refocus attention on their policy commitment to deliver strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Failure to do so risks plunging the world back into financial crisis and global recession.

Perrin Beatty stated: “We cannot afford any more missed opportunities. Yes, some actions have been taken, but we need to do more. Leaders need a clear collective plan to work together to take necessary measures to prevent default of payment, to rein in debt, restore business confidence.”

He added: “My message to the G20 and B20 participants is that we need a continued commitment to resist trade protectionist measures. Open trade and investment is one of the solutions to this crisis.”

The goal of the B20 is to enable leaders and finance ministers to receive advice from the front lines of global commerce on the important economic issues at the centre of the G20 agenda. It also provides an opportunity to build support amongst the business community for G20 policy objectives and enable business to play an active role in finding practical solutions to the global challenges we all face.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the vital connection between business and the federal government. It helps shape public policy and decision-making to the benefit of businesses, communities and families across Canada with a network of over 420 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, representing 192,000 businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy and in all regions. News and information are available at www.chamber.ca or follow us on Twitter @CdnChamberofCom.

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Contact:
Émilie S. Potvin
Director, Public Affairs & Media Relations
Cell.: 613.797.1860
epotvin@chamber.ca