TORONTO — Top Canadian musicians set to play at Saturday's mammoth Live 8 show say the country's reputation as a global Good Samaritan is at stake.

The star-studded shows are designed to pressure leaders of rich countries -- including Prime Minister Paul Martin -- to do a better job of helping the poor in Africa.

And while the PM has expressed skepticism about making promises that are hard to keep, singer Bruce Cockburn and Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida -- who will both take the stage in Barrie, Ont. -- say he has an obligation to maintain Canada's humanitarian legacy.

"The history has a lot of resonance but unfortunately right now it's just history," said Maida during a break in rehearsals with his band.

"We're not prolonging that tradition that we've had."

Thanks, in part, to former prime minister Lester Pearson, who developed the idea of putting 0.7 per cent GDP toward foreign aid, Canadians have long prided themselves as keepers of peace, equality and justice, said the Ottawa-born Cockburn.

"He put the whole notion of development aid on the political map . . . but we never made it to 0.7,'' he said.

Canada's aid rate is hovering between only 0.2 and 0.3 per cent of the GDP.

"Historically we can be proud of a lot of what we've done internationally. But we have to be vigilant at the same time to make sure that the image that we have of ourselves is still being kept alive by the people who are acting in our name,'' Cockburn said.

Also on the bill for the Canadian event, which will entertain roughly 35,000 concertgoers and a massive TV audience, are Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion in a hook-up from Las Vegas, the Barenaked Ladies, Gordon Lightfoot, Great Big Sea and many others.

Shows will also be held in London, Philadelphia, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Tokyo, Moscow and Johannesburg.

Cockburn believes that the images of millions of the world's citizens taking part in concerts for a single cause will evoke a strong emotional response to make a tangible change.

"The sense I have is that the leaders of the G8 countries are teetering on the brink of something meaningful to address the problem of poverty in the world,'' said Cockburn, who has championed social causes since the late 1970s, and often travels to Third World countries like Cambodia and Mozambique.

"The hope is that the massive public outcry of concerts will convince them to take the step in terms of debt reduction and better trade rules.''

Spearheaded by musician and anti-poverty activist Bob Geldof, the concerts are a public call to the leaders of the G8 countries to double aid, cancel the debt of poor countries and rework unfair trade laws.

Already, a number of European countries have promised to spend 0.7 per cent of their GDP on foreign aid by 2015.

But Martin has lashed out at these commitments, calling them weak because the leaders who made them won't be in power when it comes time to make good on the promises.

Martin's not the only one criticizing the notion that throwing money at Africa will solve poverty.

Pointing to Sudan, where rebels and Arab-dominated governments violently clash over resources like oil, Maida says a hefty cash infusion won't help those caught in between who live without any shelter and are forced to drink contaminated water.

"Obviously just giving them money is not the right answer. There's specific problems within each country in Africa,'' he said.

"I can't stand it when people just say `We need to save Africa.' It's like saying we need to save the Middle East.''

But while conceding that there are no simple solutions, both Cockburn and Maida note that Live 8 has prompted the world to sit up and take notice.

"Whether it's criticizing the event or trying to help the cause, it's in the news and it's taking time away from some idiot like Paris Hilton talking about a diamond ring,'' said Maida, who got a first-hand look at the troubles in Africa on a trip to war-torn Sudan last year.

He recalled how as a 17-year-old four Irish rockers pushed him to become environmentally savvy.

"I remember when U2 got on the Greenpeace boat in those white suits,'' he said. "I knew nothing about Greenpeace but I loved U2. Automatically I went out and found information and joined.''

And that's the strength of Live 8, say pop culture experts.

"The power (these celebrities have) is to get the media to devote a lot of air time or ink talking about it. Presumably even the least interested person will come away a little more educated than they went,'' said Rob Bowman, a music professor at York University, who's studied large-scale concerts like Live Aid and Woodstock.

And thanks to international groups like Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas and Pink Floyd who've committed to performing on the various concert stages Saturday, a few more people know what "0.7 per cent GDP'' means than did last month, adds Alan Cross, program director at 102.1 The Edge, a popular rock radio station in Toronto.

"It's not a very easy message to grasp,'' says Cross, who as host of the syndicated radio show Ongoing History of New Music has frequently examined the power of celebrity.

"We're dealing with things like fair trade, debts, debt repayments and a variety of unsexy technical issues. It's really hard to soundbite this whole thing. These are things that people write books on.''

"They may not be more schooled in the intricacies of international debt repayment or trade agreements than the rest of us, but celebrities are useful in creating a spectacle that draws attention. If we can get everybody to focus over here for just a second, maybe some of the message will get through.''

And even if Geldof's plan to bully politicians into forking over more money for Africans doesn't succeed, it's still a worthwhile event, says Cockburn.

"Events like this don't automatically stop bad things from happening,'' said Cockburn, who often sings about inequities around the globe through songs like Call It Democracy and Waiting For A Miracle.

"The fallback point for me is always 'Can we keep it from getting worse? If we can't make it better can we at least keep it from deteriorating. If nobody ever does anything like this then the world will go to hell in a hand basket.''