Harper : No reason to "occupy" Canada's financial and political capitals

As protest groups prepare to demonstrate near the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa and in Toronto' s financial district, the country's prime minister Stephen Harper said on Friday that Canada's banking system is not comparable to New York's and should not be blamed for the West's financial problems. "I think Canadians understand that Canada has performed very well during the global economic recession. We've managed to create more growth and more jobs than just about any other industrialized country," Harper told reporters at a media conference in the small Ontario city of Peterborough. "We're extremely focused on the needs of Canadians and the needs of the middle class, and we obviously have a very different situation here where, you know, we didn't bail out our banking sector. Our banking sector is the strongest in the world," he said. Harper said that he thinks Canadians understand that they have a very different situation than the United States. Demonstrators, backed by Canadian trade unions and student groups, warned that they will assemble at a city park in downtown Ottawa, four blocks from the Canadian Parliament buildings, at noon Saturday, and in Toronto's banking district Saturday afternoon. Organizers, however, have not said whether they will attempt to stay at the protest sites and occupy them.