At his closing press conference in Italy at the G8, the question of the future relevance of the G8 came up. Here is an unofficial transcript of the question Harper was asked and his English-language response. (He responded somewhat similarly in French). The attack on Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff came, unprompted by reporters I should point out, at the end of his comments to a question about the future of the G8...

Most economists thought the job numbers released this morning by Statistics Canada would be terrible, that they would show that the Canadian economy shed another 35,000 to 40,000 jobs last month. In, fact, Statistics Canada found that just 7,400 people lost their jobs last month. "It surprised everyone..." said one Bay Street economist.

The fact is, this is a cohesive administration. Jones and [Secretary of State Hilary] Clinton respect each other and understand each other's roles. Even though they were obviously not part of Obama's campaign team, they have adapted quickly to his rigorous style of managed communication, which is policed by an inner circle of Obama intimates -- Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and Denis McDonough, who are the most influential message commissars at the White House. ...