Thank you.
Before I get to that, I want to say that in addition to what you mentioned with the legislature, I should inform the committee that on November 15 the City of Regina, Mayor Fiacco, and the Métis Nation raised the Métis Nation flag, which is now going to be flying permanently at city hall. I think that's another positive step.
In terms of Batoche, I was more engaged in the centenary in 1985 than I was last year. What I saw from last year was that there's been an expansion and growth from 1985, speaking to the greater regional actors, in terms of destination tourism. I think last year there was a greater cooperation or coordination between not only the Métis Nation and the Back to Batoche site itself, but also with the—I'm not sure what their name is—the tourism committee that deals with the northeastern part of Saskatchewan. So there was that collaboration. I think they're trying to coordinate it with those other destination sites within the province. I think that's been helpful, so people don't look at Batoche as only the one week and then nothing else. I think they're looking at various aspects.
We'd actually like to build that into northwest Saskatchewan as well, where you have the Methy Portage, which is a significant portage on the fur trade route, and there are various sites within northwest Saskatchewan as well that could attract tourism. I see that sort of thing being a major part of it, but being an integrated part of something bigger I think is important.
In this case, the 150th is for Canada as a whole, but I think there needs to be a significant part for the aboriginal peoples and nations and in particular the Métis Nation right from the outset. We're engaging today through the carrying out of various activities and developing infrastructures that are going to be lasting.