Colleagues, it has been written that if you want to look for the strength of a nation you should look to its laws and to its conquests, but if you want to look at the soul of a nation you should look to its artists, its poets and its writers.
Forty years ago this month the Canada Council was born by an act of this Parliament. Since that time the council has made an
immeasurable difference in the lives of Canadian artists and has helped Canada's cultural life flourish.
We have the honour of having a group of artists in the gallery today who are the incarnations of Canada's cultural success. They represent all of the talent and all of the creative spirit that nourish our cultural identity.
I am going to introduce these poets, these writers, these musicians and these artists one by one and I would like you to hold your applause until I have introduced all of them to you.
Please welcome these men and women who have told us about ourselves as Canadians and who helped define Canada for the world.
Father Georges-Henri Lévesque, a member of the Massey Commission which called for the creation of the Council, and its first vice-president. Would you please stand, Father Lévesque.