A spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office says Stephen Harper won't attend a first ministers meeting on the economy. The premiers joined together last week in calling on Harper to meet with them in Halifax in November to talk about the state of the world economy and its effects on Canadians. But Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall said the PM wouldn't attend such a gathering. He said Harper meets with provincial leaders regularly on an individual basis, adding that he has had 74 meetings with them since 2010. Harper hasn't attended a first ministers meeting since 2009 following the financial crisis.
