--New stimulus could emerge as a discussion at G20 meeting
--Economies need to get their fiscal houses "in order," Flaherty
says
--G20 officials worried about impact of Sunday's election in
Greece
(Recasts paragraph 3, adds new details in paragraphs 5-6)
By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Group of 20 leaders can discuss undertaking additional
stimulus to boost a turbulent global economy at next week's
gathering in Mexico, but the focus should remain on Europe's need
to restore fiscal and financial order, Canadian Finance Minister
Jim Flaherty said Wednesday.
"We need markets to have confidence, and that means the
Europeans need to take certain steps," Mr. Flaherty said before
entering the weekly caucus meeting of the Conservative Party.
He said G20 officials from developed and emerging economies "can
have" a discussion over further stimulus measures, "but obviously
countries have to get their financial houses in order." He said the
U.S. fiscal situation was exacerbated by political gridlock in
Congress.
Officials from some countries, such as Brazil, have indicated
that support for further stimulus was increasing, and that there
may be a need to slow down on austerity measures.
Speaking to reporters after the caucus meeting, Mr. Flaherty
said he spent much of Tuesday on the phone with peers from
non-European G20 countries, who all expressed "concern" about the
outcome of Sunday's election in Greece -- which will happen on the
eve of the G20 leaders' summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. There is
mounting concern no party will win enough support to tackle a slew
of fiscal and economic problems in Greece, which could complicate
the country's efforts to satisfy international creditors and
further exacerbate the euro zone's sovereign debt and banking
crisis.
The Greek election "could result in a disruptive moment, if it
were to result in a disassociation of Greece from the pact that our
European colleagues have developed in terms of austerity," said Mr.
Flaherty, the longest-serving finance chief among the Group of
Seven economies.
Meanwhile, in response to a report released earlier Wednesday
about the Canadian economy from the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development, Mr. Flaherty said the Vancouver
housing market had "moderated," but he still harbored concerns
about the Toronto market.
The OECD said in its report that Canada's housing market would
slow.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@dowjones.com