Canadian Heritage committee  Thanks. If anyone has been to Prince Edward Island, they would probably realize that you can go from rural to urban in about 30 seconds, so when it comes to that virtual piece and offering up The Guild from tip to tip to Prince Edward Island, it's pretty easy for us to do that.

Canadian Heritage committee  Indeed.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. The other one I had mentioned was the Canada summer jobs initiative. Thank you very much for the student I would get every year, but getting them for eight weeks when you have a six-month festival and a university student who has four months to work, it becomes really problematic for me to find additional money to keep them longer.

Canadian Heritage committee  A couple of years ago, something came out saying there was going to be more money for Canada summer jobs, and maybe there was, but instead of getting one student for 12 weeks, I now would get a student for eight weeks. There might be more students being hired, but they're getting shorter terms.

Canadian Heritage committee  That's correct.

Canadian Heritage committee  The biggest thing The Guild would need for succession planning is money. It's operational investment from the community and all levels of government, because like with any not-for-profit, most of my staff come from HR grants. You hire somebody, you have them for a short term, and just when you get them trained, you don't have the money to keep them so you have to go on to something else.

Canadian Heritage committee  Sure. You have a great name. That's my son's name.

Canadian Heritage committee  Among the other challenges, I mentioned the daunting applications. Sometimes an application process to receive a $5,000 bit of funding would take days to prepare, and then there is the reporting process that goes with it. Perhaps there is a way to simplify that process, especially if you are already a proven organization that includes the checks and balances going forward.

Canadian Heritage committee  Where would I start? The really amazing thing about The Guild is that we can't go wrong. No one expected anything from us, so everything we do is really awesome. The Guild was a boat anchor. Six years ago the sheriff had the locks on the doors and the place was bankrupt. Everything we have done has exceeded all our partners' expectations.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good morning, Madam Chair, and members of the committee. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge National Volunteer Week and recognize the 12.7 million Canadian volunteers and thank them for their contributions. The Guild is a not-for-profit arts and cultural hub with a provincial mandate to support new and emerging professional artists, creative industries, and community organizations through subsidies, mentorship, training, and professional development opportunities.