I can. We have.... I'm sorry, I'm just doing a very quick mental check on what we've already announced publicly versus what we're going to be announcing publicly. I don't want to step on myself.
In 2001 when I was a member of Parliament, we had golden jubilee medals for Her Majesty's golden jubilee. We have a diamond jubilee medal program as well. We have an event--as a matter of fact, next week--where we'll be stamping the very first medal for the Queen's diamond jubilee. We also have events across the country to commemorate this incredible and remarkable 60-year achievement of Canada's Queen. Just yesterday, I signed off on the artwork for some posters and some educational materials that will be going across the country into schools, and we'll be having events across the country.
We had the visit of the Prince of Wales in December 2009, we had the visit of Her Majesty in 2010, and we had the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Canada last year. As someone who has had the incredible honour and privilege of being able to host each of these visits, and to be with them on each of their visits, I will say that the response of Canadians has really been very impressive. In spite of the…. I don't want to be too aggressive in this shot, but the stereotypical media coverage of how Quebec would react or how certain communities would react has just simply not been realized. The royal family has been welcomed with open arms in Quebec City, in Montreal, and in all parts of this country, and I think t Her Majesty's diamond jubilee next year will be another one of the events.
This is why I think it's important.... As the NDP mentioned, 2017 is important, but the road to 2017 is equally important. We have the anniversary of the Charlottetown conference, the anniversary of the Quebec conference, Sir John A. Macdonald's 200th birthday, George-Étienne Cartier's 200th birthday, and the diamond jubilee moment for Her Majesty across the country that will lead up to 2017. These are moments, not the least of which is the War of 1812, that we can't miss as a country, because we are a young country and we do have shared experiences that are in fact quite few and far between. To have events that are pan-Canadian in consequence, that every Canadian can take ownership in and feel connected to one another in, is something that is very important.
We have an obligation as a government, and all governments have an obligation--it doesn't matter if it's a Conservative, NDP, or Liberal government, every government has an obligation—to try to leave this country more united than we found it. This is a country that has always been full of cleavages and tensions regionally across this country, and we need to make sure that we seize these moments so we can feel closer to one another.
As I often remind people, Canada is the second-largest country in the world in territory and the 36th-largest in population. Because of the distance between each of us in our communities, when we have these moments we need to make sure we seize them, so that Canadians can feel part of a Canadian family.