Excerpt

I have had the privilege of taking part in two CIGI workshops in the past year, both on the subject of new international governance mechanisms. At the time, discussions of such grandiose themes might have seemed unrealistic to many observers, maybe even borderline delusional. In the wake of the global financial crisis, we know today that these ideas are very much being debated at the highest levels. Leaders from the G20 countries will meet in Washington, D.C. on November 15, in effect bringing to life the L20 – an idea which has its roots firmly in Canada and more specifically in the person of former Prime Minister Paul Martin. Let me therefore congratulate CIGI for the vision and foresight to have invested in research and discussion on these issues of global governance well before the crisis erupted.