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Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pledged to speed up the dispersal of billions of dollars of infrastructure spending in order to boost economic growth.

“We need to get those projects expedited because they will have a beneficial effect in the economy,” Mr. Flaherty said in an interview in Washington, where he is attending weekend meetings with his international counterparts.

The reports Mr. Flaherty is receiving about the prospects for the world economy are grim. The International Monetary Fund, whose steering committee met Saturday, predicts the global economy is on the verge of a recession. Many of the economies of the world's richer economies, such as France, are already contracting.

That's not good news for Canada, which counts on exports for much of its economic growth.

Mr. Flaherty stressed that Canada remains in relatively good shape, and reiterated that he will not run a budget deficit. He ruled out tax cuts and “big” spending measures.

Canada will lead the Group of Seven rich countries in economic growth next year with an expansion of a little more than 1 per cent, according to the IMF. Still, the finance minister conceded that is a “modest” pace of growth.

Mr. Flaherty's 2007 budget promised spending on roads, ports and other infrastructure of more than $18-billion. But not much of that money has been spent because the federal government has had to negotiate agreements with each of the provinces and territories. Those talks are now complete, and Mr. Flaherty said the state of the economy provides incentive to start those projects as soon as possible.