Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for both his question and his kind words. I have two comments to make.
Canada is now the best country among the G-7. However, this does not mean that we cannot get better because we can. We do live in a different world. Many Americans work in Canada while some Canadians work in the United States. The reality is that 42% of our economy is driven by exports.
Our relations with the rest of the world are critical. We do need Canadians to work abroad for different companies. We need to ensure that we have strong trading relationships because that builds a strong economy. It works both ways.
Not so long ago I myself came out of university. All of my colleagues have been able to find employment in Canada and are doing exceptionally well as a result of their hard work and as a result of this country providing them with the opportunity to do well.
There are problems in health care. Our party recognized those problems in a way that I think was historic. We recognized that the problems were such that we needed to put aside our jurisdictional differences and not talk about under whose jurisdiction health care was but about our common problem. At the first ministers' meeting we sat down as levels of government from different parties and came to an agreement as to what was best for Canadians. That set us on the right course to continue our positive path.
In terms of continuity and that is how I will refer to throne speeches. There is a need in throne speech after throne speech to continue the government's priorities, to continue to state its vision, to continue to embrace it, to continue to envision a nation that has a strong health care system, to continue to envision a nation that is unified, and to continue to say that cities and communities are important. I hope that we say this in every throne speech hence, not just once, but in every one. It is my hope to be here for many to come.