Mr. Gates’ first major address was on agriculture, to high-level members of the Obama administration. Over the past five years, the philanthropic foundation named for Mr. Gates and his wife, Melinda, have spent $1.7-billion in pursuit of food security by helping small farmers in struggling nations.  


The Conservative government’s 2010 budget outlined $1.8-billion in cuts to planned foreign assistance by 2014-15. Official assistance to Africa, the continent most in need of agriculture-related development assistance to combat malnutrition and hunger, has also been scaled back in recent years as Canada shifted its list of priority recipients to more Caribbean and Latin American nations.


The citizens have a voice, I believe that when it comes down to charity and governments giving money they must be very careful, after all a country would not be rich if they did not have the citizens backing them.  Community involvement is very important to me and I feel that we must give back, to feel good about ourselves and to help people in need, but I think it is a bit scary that a few leaders can decide were the money we have given government goes. That high fuel price that is full of tax and the GST, not to mention income taxes. If any one needs help it is the people here, like the people of Slave Lake who have no house left or the farmers in Manitoba that have lost their farm land due to a flood. If people feel that it is important that people in Africa get school then they should individually donate, but that do not mean our government should decide what charities outside of canada need our tax money we work hard for.