I'll go back a bit.
We also agreed that higher standards must be complemented with strength and supervision.
We committed to ensure that we have all the powers and tools to resolve all types of financial institutions in crisis and have adopted principles to guide implementation.
We committed to principles of financial sector responsibility to protect taxpayers from the cost of crises where they occur.
We accelerated the schedule of the implementation of measures to improve supervision and the transparency of hedge funds, credit rating agencies, and OTC derivative markets.
In addressing the development imbalances and helping those most vulnerable bear the brunt of economic crisis, we launched the SME finance challenge.
We also increased the capacity of international financial institutions to help those most vulnerable by doubling the lending capacity of the regional development banks.
We completed the voice and representation reforms of the World Bank and agreed to accelerate our work to complete the IMF quota reform by the Seoul summit.
We stand united with Haiti, and we are providing much needed construction assistance, including the full cancellation of all of Haiti's debt.
Recognizing that global trade is a driver for global growth, we extended our standstill agreement to resist protectionism for an additional three years, and we will continue our efforts in support of a conclusion to the WTO Doha Round of negotiations.
We will meet again in Seoul in November and then annually thereafter, beginning with France in 2011 and Mexico in 2012.
The perpetrators of the violence we all witnessed are thugs. They are hooligans and anarchists; they are not social activists.
I agree with my colleagues that free speech is at the very heart of our democracy. But freedom of expression is not a right to destruction. And let's be clear: the violent and destructive acts of those thugs and hooligans did not contribute to democracy. The anarchists who set fire to the police cars and attacked storefronts and shop employees do not represent democratic action, peaceful protest, or freedom of expression.
Mr. Chair, freedom of expression gives no one the right to destroy and intimidate. There is no excuse for resorting to violence to express political dissent. But clearly violence was the only thing these thugs, hooligans, and anarchists had in mind. It is an unfortunate reality that when world leaders come together to address the challenges we collectively share, those with nothing to contribute use it as an excuse to go on a destructive rampage.
The responsibility that came with hosting events of this magnitude and the corresponding risks cannot simply be dismissed. Our security partners were able to protect the safety of Canadians, delegates, and visitors to the city of Toronto and the town of Huntsville, working in what were exceptionally difficult circumstances.
Mr. Chair, security is not a negotiable endeavour. The government's approach to security prevented what would have undoubtedly been a much larger cost to Canadians and to world partners. I can say that I was extraordinarily proud of the men and women of the York Region police force who also participated in helping secure the G-20 site and the G-8, and I remain extraordinarily proud, not only of them but of the Toronto police services and all of the police forces who came here to protect us. If there's one thing we've shown in both Vancouver and now at the G-8 and the G-20, it's that Canada is a world-class country capable of handling world-class events. We have world-class cities with world-class police, and we shouldn't be ashamed of showing that off to the rest of the world, and we should never be ashamed of showing leadership when leadership is required.
With that, Mr. Chair, I will conclude my remarks.