In the lead-up to the G-8 and G-20 conferences in Canada, CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS business panel were asked to identify agenda priorities for Canada. In their judgment, the top three priorities should be:

• Greater prudence in government spending;
• Greater transparency in bank transactions; and
• Greater effort to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Though still priorities, the bottom items on the agendas for these meetings ought to be greater trade liberalization and greater support for the health and education of women in the Third World.

As a prelude to the G8 and G20 meetings, Prime Minister Harper said in an address that famous economist John Maynard Keynes was rarely followed in practice. In the Prime Minister’s view, this was because governments borrow in bad times, as Keynes did advocate, but they also borrow in good times, which he strenuously opposed. Members of the business panel embrace Harper’s perspective by an overwhelming margin.

These are the key findings from this past week’s Internet survey of CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. The weekly business survey is undertaken for Canadian Business magazine under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP.

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