Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, Mr. Chairman, without question, and I will speak as a Canadian member of this international association. We always have to apply filters to the information we receive from abroad. It's not unlike going from jurisdiction to jurisdiction within the United States. When we step

Canadian Heritage committee  Fundamentally, as was mentioned earlier, the clients who are coming into our venues are our guests. We too are intending to make money—although most don't—and there certainly is a very strong desire to meet clients' needs in every way, shape, or form, given certain parameters. We

Canadian Heritage committee  Mr. Chairman, I think the observation is right on point. One of the reasons we have a relatively small number of Canadian members in our association is that so many of the subject venues are in small communities with modest budgets and modest means. They're not able to participat

Canadian Heritage committee  We have approximately 150 currently.

Canadian Heritage committee  We have almost 3,000.

Canadian Heritage committee  That is true, without question. The more rudimentary elements of event planning are things we tend to take for granted, and some of the examples I gave in my presentation.... Life safety and security have taken on an entirely different dimension since the events of 9/11. It's unf

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm reluctant to admit that we do not have a strong relationship with the federal government or the provincial governments. We have a relatively modest number of Canadian members within the association, but that should not undermine or understate the interests of the association

Canadian Heritage committee  A task force was developed within the association, drawing upon the expertise of members across the board. I can't recall with certainty whether there were any Canadian venue managers as part of that particular task force. There was certainly involvement from American emergency o

Canadian Heritage committee  Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am proud to be here today representing the International Association of Venue Managers, an organization that is headquartered in Coppell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I've been a member of IAVM for 24 years. I have previously served on