This is where I get to be a promoter. Andrew Cash can tell me whether I do a good job of promoting an event or not.
I'll just say this; I know we have to go to a vote. As I said, Canada is a massive country. Our cultural communities are brilliant, diverse, and wonderful, but it's very rare that we don't get to see.... Very often, Canadians see the huge megastars who do incredibly well internationally or very well in the United States and who we know are local talents in our local communities.
But something that I think has been missed for a long time is to know about all the talent that exists across this country and how brilliant it is. In particular, the wall that seems to exist between English and French Canada is I think a real tragedy, because English Canadians should know who Louis-José Houde is, and they should know who Les Cowboys Fringants are. They should know who these brilliant Quebec artists and actors are. We want to break down this wall. The reverse is equally true.
We've had seven movie nights now. Our first movie night had I think about 150 people out to it. Our largest movie night had 1,100 people out. These are all paid for entirely by sponsors on the outside; no taxpayer money goes into it. Their host is the NAC now; it is our permanent home for movie nights. They're very popular. We alternate between English and French films all the time.
The idea is to get as many of the 308 members of Parliament as possible into a room--they represent every square inch of this massive country--to expose them to Canadian artists and creators in film, so that maybe when they go back to their districts, they'll say to people: “You know what? You should see the movie Starbuck, because it's a fantastic movie”. Or they may ask, “Do you know Barney's Version, as written by Mordecai Richler?” Mordecai Richler just passed away recently, but Florence continues to be a fantastic voice for her husband, and Barney's Version is based on his last and best book. They may say, “Go see that film.”
You get people talking about Canadian culture, Canadian talent, Canadian writers, Canadian films--and you get them talking about Canada. It's easy to talk about Americans, but to talk about Canadians you need a push, because it's just too big a country, and it has too much talent not to miss it.
Because movie nights have gone well, we have now extended as well to having music nights. On Monday, December 12, I hope I'll see all of you at the National Arts Centre to see the Jim Cuddy band, along with Marie-Ève Janvier and Jean-François Breau, two fantastic francophone artists. I believe both are from the Acadian peninsula, and of course Jim Cuddy's achievements speak for themselves. So it will be a great night of music in a non-partisan environment--with food after--to enjoy some Canadian talents. You can go home and tell them. I'm very pleased to have as sponsors Music Canada, Quebecor, and others. Supporting Canadian culture is very important, and I thank them for stepping up to support this night.
Is that okay, Andrew?