Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member across for his consideration and courtesy on that matter.
Progress in this area will ensure transparency in the marketplace. It will help link risk and performance, and it will reward and encourage a culture of prudent behaviour that is focused on the long term.
Our fourth priority for Toronto is to keep markets open to trade and investment. Since we are a global economy, unless there is international currency and unless it flows across the globe, things will not work. Investment will not happen. Jobs will not be created. Families will not have the means to survive. Open markets contribute to both national and global prosperity. They have facilitated the growing prosperity of this and past generations for as long, certainly, as I can remember and for generations before us from our forefathers.
Major economies have a responsibility to take concrete measures to actively promote trade liberalization and to encourage investment, or we risk losing these gains in prosperity. Canada is leading by example. We are eliminating tariffs on all manufacturing inputs, machinery, and equipment, which will ultimately make Canada a tariff-free zone for manufacturers. There are several in my riding who are taking advantage of this and the deferred capital cost writeoffs. There is certainly a gain. This is something that can be applied universally around the globe in other areas. These are obviously arguments that will be presented at the G20.
This government has also taken steps to liberalize trade through bilateral agreements and has reduced restrictions on foreign investment.
Our fifth priority for Toronto is to advance the G20's work on quota and other reforms at international financial institutions, including, of course, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and so on. The international financial institutions play an important role in supporting growth and development and in reducing poverty. The reforms being pushed forward by the G20 will increase the legitimacy, credibility, and effectiveness of these institutions and will ensure that they are adequately financed.
Finally, in Toronto, G20 leaders will also discuss the important goal of achieving debt relief for Haiti.
Now I would like to turn to our priorities for the Muskoka G8 summit that Canada will be hosting June 25-26. We are certainly proud to host this Muskoka summit. As G8 president, we will advance a very pragmatic and results-driven agenda that follows up on our past G8 commitments and sets focused goals for G8 leadership going forward. It is about the past, present, and future.
At Muskoka, we will focus on two areas: development and international peace and security. These issues are central to the values and interests of G8 members. They are areas in which the G8 has had an enduring role to play.
On development, as members are aware, Canada is championing a major initiative to improve maternal, newborn, and child health in developing countries. We believe that the G8 members can make a tangible difference, some in different manners, and we will make this a top priority of our Muskoka G8 summit. The statistics are staggering. Each year, nearly nine million young people die before they turn five. On maternal mortality, between 340,000 and 530,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth annually, with 99% of these deaths occurring in developing countries. Many of these deaths can be prevented by strengthening the health systems and by improving women's access to health care and to trained health workers.
In addition, ensuring better nutrition for mothers and children and supporting the prevention and treatment of diseases and illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, can contribute to making progress on maternal, newborn, and child health. We have had a tremendous amount of support from around the world for this initiative. It is something that we have to work on collaboratively to provide results for people.
Of course, there is security. Security planning has unfortunately been a fact of life since 9/11, dramatically so. That is why we have worked with security experts to develop this comprehensive security plan. As we have heard from experts, proper security does come with a cost. John Kirton, director of the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto, said, “If you want to be at the G8 table, you can't go to the washroom when the bill comes”. That is the truth, and the cost for these two summits are more or less within the range of what G8 and G20 summits in the past have been costing.
I can say that we are on target. We have listened to security experts, and we have budgeted for the costs. Unlike the Liberal leader, who said that he was embarrassed that we were holding these summits, I believe that our party and most members of the House are proud that we are. We are proud that we have a role to play.
At two back-to-back summits in Muskoka and Toronto, we will welcome the world.