The Group of Eight (G8) By: Ryon, Uzzi

What is the G8 ? The G8 was formed in 1975 The G8 is made up of the 8 th wealthiest countries Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Russia and the European Union Is was originally called the Group of 6 but with the addition of Canada(1976) and Russia(1998) it became the G8 The European Union is represented but they do not host summit meetings

Stats G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they represent about 60% of the gross world products 72% of the world's total military expenditures United Kingdom, United States, France and Russia, together account for 96% of the worlds nuclear weapons

Initial Purpose of the G8 The leaders of the world’s eight wealthiest countries meet every year, this is called the G8 Summit The leaders include Prime Minster Stephen Harper (Canada), President Barack Obama (U.S.A), Prime Minster David Cameron (U.K), Prime Minster Shinzo Abe (Japan), Prime Minster Enrico Letta (Italy), President Francios Hollande (France), President Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany)

Initial Purpose of the G8 The G8 Summits are held to discuss the world’s issues such as: Health Law enforcement Labor Economic and Social Development Energy/Environment Foreign affairs Justice Terrorism Trade

Current Issues The 2013 G8 summit was hosted by the United Kingdom on June 17 th &18 th and was held in Northern Ireland The main topics that were planned to be discussed was tax evasion and transparency Due to the current Syrian civil war the discussion was shifted towards the war The G8 leaders agreed on a seven- point plan on Syria after much debate Other agreement that were made included a way to automate tax information sharing, new rules for mining companies The U.S and the European Union also agreed to being talks on a broad trade agreement

Canada’s Role Canada is not a foremost power in the G8 - The United States, Japan, and Germany ( The big 3) Canada has been able to play an active role in the G8 - Leadership role in economy crisis - North-South Relations - Intellectual Leadership Canadian leadership during the Asian financial crisis(including Japan) had a large impact on the global economy and Canada status in the world

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