Thank you very much, Chair.
I'd like to start with the CTC, with you, Michele.
A number of people were talking about their experiences from Canada '67. Obviously the Expo still resonates, certainly in Montreal, but also across the country, as a moment when we came of age and drew in the world to discover what Canada was a hundred years after its founding.
My own experiences are more wrapped up in 1992, which was Canada's 125th anniversary. It wasn't a big anniversary on many levels, but one initiative then that I found resonated extremely well was something that the airlines put together—I believe it was Air Canada, but it might have been both Air Canada and Canadian Airlines—which was a $125 standby ticket to anywhere in the country for anyone under the age of 25.
I went to Whitehorse on one of those tickets, because it was the farthest I could go, and I met a fellow from Newfoundland who was in Whitehorse because it was the farthest he could go. This idea of getting to discover the country was an extremely powerful one.
I am bemused by my friend in the NDP's concern with the word “market”. The reality is that the youth market is one we absolutely need to tap into. The habits they develop as young people will echo throughout their lives. If they've seen the extraordinary corners of this country as young people because we reached out to them and engaged them, they're more likely to want to show their kids them and travel more throughout their lives.
I absolutely congratulate you, and I encourage you. As the youth critic for the only party in the House that actually has a youth critic, I'm extremely supportive of your focus on this. As my colleague in the official opposition pointed out, I am worried that cutting Katimavik demonstrated a lack of willingness to invest in youth, and I'm concerned about the kinds of resources you see would be necessary to truly mount a campaign targeted at young people.
What do you think it would cost—ball park? What kind of up-front investment are we looking at to do this?