That is why those people are there. They have a sense of the value of equality.
My riding also happens to have the largest gay and lesbian community in Canada, which the hon. member opposite knows something about because his party is already trying to make sure they are not treated as equals. As members will recall this House adopted measures in the last parliament to ensure that that community will be properly treated. We now wait for legislation which will bring into effect those values of equality. We will see how the opposition party treats those matters when they come before the House when we talk about equality.
We can look at the businessmen in our ridings. We are aware of the economic requirements of a modern economy, or the cultural dimension of my riding in Cabbagetown, or the universities and community colleges. We are proud to have in our riding the University of Toronto, Ryerson university, George Brown community college and Collège des Grands Lacs.
We are proud to have mixed communities like that of St. Lawrence where an enormous number of co-ops are contributing to the way in which we manage our relations in a complex urban environment today.
The Speech from the Throne responds to the needs of this community as it responds to the needs generally of Canadians. It addresses the needs of children. It addresses the need for investment in science and technology so that our universities and researchers can grow and make this a stronger country.
The throne speech addresses the issues of the environment, health and agriculture in spite of some of the comments that were made in the House today. The north is very important for this country and is seldom mentioned. It was important for us to see mention of the north and our arctic in the Speech from the Throne.
It also addresses the needs of the business community to see tax reductions. We heard today in question period of $16.5 billion projected for the future with possibilities of greater reductions to come.
It is a balanced approach, exactly what I would have expected of the government. It focuses on the needs of Canadians generally to ensure that those in society have a good government that furnishes them with the services they need and at the same time ensures that we have a healthy and vibrant economy that is able to deliver those services.
The Speech from the Throne had another very important dimension to it, which I think members of the House would be equally interested in, and that is the international dimension. The Speech from the Throne spoke of the role of Canada and Canadians in a world that is evolving. It recognized that we cannot be prosperous or healthy in a world that is not prosperous and healthy.
The government understands that Canadians live in an integrated world and that activities outside our borders affect us on a daily basis. We are adapting ourselves to world conditions in a responsible way and in a way to ensure that Canadian values and interests are protected in that world.
If we look at the area of trade and economics, we see that the policies that are being adopted by the government, both in the WTO and the FTAA, are responsive to Canadians' concerns. When the foreign affairs committee travelled across the country there was an intense interest from Canadians on this subject. They were determined to have human rights, labour standards and the environment put at the forefront of our concerns at the WTO.
Canadians are also concerned that globalization is forcing changes on us which we do not wish to accept. Our determination therefore is to ensure that the institutions in which Canada is represented abroad will both protect and advance our values and interests. As the member for Peace River reminds me, that includes the interests of agriculture which will certainly be at the forefront of the discussions in Seattle as he well knows, and which our government will make sure is made a priority point for the government in those negotiations.
It also recognizes that state sovereignty is changing in the world today. The people's needs have to be put ahead of those of states. That is why we have our peacekeepers in places like Bosnia, Haiti and East Timor where the safety of women and children has become a preoccupation of governments and where the international control of drugs and crime is a focal point of what our government is doing.
In short, it is what our foreign affairs minister calls the human security agenda. It is the agenda of ensuring that individuals are more important than states as we go into the 21st century in a world in which borders and state sovereignty is being eroded in favour of individual protection and the need to ensure that everybody is guaranteed a better standard of living throughout the world.
Canadians are a generous people. We recognize that in helping our neighbours we help ourselves. In that respect, the member would be happy to recognize that the Speech from the Throne spoke of an increased need for Canadian aid to underdeveloped countries. We will rebuild our need for aid to underdeveloped countries.
We rejoice in today's announcement that Médecins Sans Frontières has been named for a Nobel prize this year. As members know, there is a Médecins Sans Frontières in Canada. We have young doctors from Canada and non-doctors who work with that organization outside our borders. They all contribute to the well-being of the world in exactly the same way as our modern NGOs do in providing a different type of world, a different type of international arrangement within which we all participate. The Speech from the Throne spoke directly to that and it is an inspiration for us all to enable us to be more effective with our global responsibilities.
From the perspective of the people in my riding, and I believe from the perspective of all Canadians, the Speech from the Throne demonstrated a balance between what we need in terms of providing services for Canadians and a sense of what our society needs, both in the present and in the future. This was evidenced by our increased funding for universities and our increased funding for health care, which are concerns for Canadians. It focused on the needs of today's Canadians and on the needs of Canadians in the future.
This will be accomplished in the broader context of a world in which Canadians will play a role. As we go into the 21st century we will make sure that our interests and values are secure here at home and secure in the world. The Speech from the Throne demonstrates the ability of the government to achieve that.