If this were in any way partisan or politically motivated, I wouldn't have shared the language of the legislation with the NDP and the Liberals, and the Green Party before we tabled it. If this were partisan, we wouldn't have the broad-based support that we have for it. If this were partisan, former NDP MP and now independent MP Bruce Hyer wouldn't have voted for it. If this were partisan, Elizabeth May wouldn't have voted for it. If this were partisan we wouldn't have the support of former Liberal MP John English. When I spoke to Jean Chrétien about this, he liked the idea. He thought it was a good idea and proposed that we go forward with it.
When I say this is non-partisan, I genuinely mean that, and if colleagues want to see devils where there aren't any, then they'll see them, and that's just the way it is. As I said, maybe this will be a circumstance of believing me later when the results are fully shown, but this is going to be a great project. It's going to be great. It is.
There are institutions lining up to be signatories to the MOUs across the country. I can tell you that the Royal British Columbia Museum; the Manitoba Museum; and The Rooms in St. John's, Newfoundland, all want to sign-on. They're going to be partners in this. We have museums all across the country, large and small, that are thumbs-up enthusiastic. They understand the value of this, the importance of this. Every single member of the current board of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, every single one of them, supports this museum. Past board chairs are supporting this.
This has broad-based support across the country because this is a classical example of Occam's razor. This is exactly what it appears to be, the creation of a national institution that will be of value to every part of the country. It will teach Canada's history as Canadians want to teach it, one to another, in the institutions where they live. That's what this is. Anybody who tries to spin this or torque this into something that it's not is really playing a fool's game.