Wednesday 15 April at 10:00 : Apr.15 (GMM) With the world in recession, the pendulum may have swung back in favour of a Canadian grand prix

Bernie Ecclestone and the Montreal organisers fell out over a financial dispute, resulting in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - or any other venue in North America - not featuring on the 2009 calendar

But Raymond Bachand, the relevant minister of the regional Quebec government, confirmed to local CJAD radio that discussions with the F1 chief executive are back on

"There's many countries that cannot hold a grand prix today that were targeted by the grand prix (authorities)," he is quoted as saying

Bachand also acknowledged that influential F1 figures are desperate for the sport to return to the American continent

Asked about Ecclestone's similar desire, he said: "He called us back, he brought back a proposal, we commented, he's rethinking."nnBachand said Montreal is minimally seeking a five-year deal at the "right price", but admitted that formula one is important to the government

"We've lost money by not having a grand prix," he said