Evidence of meeting #8 for Canadian Heritage in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was centennial.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
Tyrone Benskin NDP Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Thank you all for your presentations.
Ms. Shaw, you were really quite inspiring. You made me want to go out and do something. I don't know what.
9:30 a.m.
A voice
Today? I'm not sure.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
Tyrone Benskin NDP Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Even today. That's how inspiring you were.
I guess my first question is for you, or all of you may be able to pipe in, Ms. Davies as well.
I've said before in front of this committee that I moved here as a young man in 1968, but the energy from Expo 67 was still palpable. It was actually quite instrumental, because it had then started the process of switching from Expo 67 to Man and His World. I don't know when the actual sort of takeover of name was, but I remember that. I remember going every year. It was quite instrumental when I was a young man in forming my opinions of Canada and making me the flag-waver that I am now.
For this 150th anniversary, for that kind of residual—and you said legacy application—how important do you think the kind of work is that needs to be done to create something that will continue to give for years to come?
9:35 a.m.
Founder and Managing Partner, Twentyten Group
It's tremendously important, tremendously important. When we started in the bid, we formed a group called Legacies Now, so if we won or if we lost the right to host the games, there would be a minimum $5 million investment back into the community. We brought that forward into the games, and Legacies Now lives on to this very day.
Legacy was a very big part of our strategy and our thinking in our initial vision. And there were lots of legacies, but the legacies go beyond bricks and mortar.
I would suggest that, as important as it is for our games and especially for the 150th anniversary, the human legacy that's left behind—that intangible legacy that you can't see—is an intangible but it is profoundly powerful. As you've seen from our games, the human spirit of Canadians was palpable, and still is when we go and speak in communities across the country, which I do quite often.
So when we're thinking about this, I think that the legacy for thinking beyond 2017 is absolutely fundamental to the success that this will be, because if we do it properly the past will inject to the future for a better Canada, and there's nothing more powerful than a human legacy.
9:35 a.m.
Independent Scholar, As an Individual
With respect to Expo, I certainly think, given what I've heard people say about it and their memories of it, that it was an extremely critical anchor event. It was something that galvanized the nation. People felt tremendously proud of it. I've said the world visited Canada and Canadians visited the world, all in Montreal. For many people, it was the first time they had been in a francophone cultural environment. I know friends and family from the west coast who visited. It was a tremendously enriching experience.
I also think that what made Expo unique from perhaps expos that happen now is expos now are more what I would consider a trade show kind of content. I think that Expo 67, and I didn't have the privilege of attending Expo, as my family immigrated to Canada the year after.... But just to show how the messages transpired, I understand my parents were bitterly disappointed that they had missed Expo by a number of months, because we arrived in Montreal and they had really been looking forward to it. But there was a sense of learning and sharing and a sense of connection.
I think it was this idea of a hub where people came together and met and shared something profound. That's the legacy, and I agree.
When I started doing my work on my dissertation, I couldn't wait to go to Île Ste. Hélène and see the Buckyball, trying to envision what it had been like.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Tyrone Benskin NDP Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Thank you.
My colleague had mentioned about making Quebec a centrepiece in the celebration, how important that would be to bring up that participation level. As some of you may know, that same year is Montreal's 375th anniversary. Again, as an open question to anybody, how do you feel that could tie in to the 150th anniversary of Canada as far as bringing up the level of participation and excitement in Quebec?
9:35 a.m.
Founder and Managing Partner, Twentyten Group
I think there's a great fit. There are a lot of anniversaries, whether it's CIBC's 150th, our 150th, Quebec's 375th. At the end of the day, what's important is the ability and the strategy going in to create an opportunity for everybody to connect. Whether it's Quebec, B.C., or Nova Scotia, that initial vision and strategy provides the ability to connect and engage at the grassroots level and up, with the government leading the way and providing the leadership for that engagement. That's what will be paramount to its success.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Tyrone Benskin NDP Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Dr. Neuman, from the survey that you did, there seems to be a strong emphasis on celebrating ourselves. Expo 67 was a celebration of ourselves, but it was really an invitation to the world. I'm deriving from these numbers that people are really interested in saying good job, Canada, that the legacy is pride in Canada. The numbers that you have about multiculturalism, the numbers you have about grants and loans and bursaries and so forth for students.... Would you say that's a fair assessment, that we should focus on celebrating ourselves and doing things in a way that says happy birthday, Canada, to ourselves and invite people to the party?
9:40 a.m.
Group Vice-President, Public Affairs, Environics Research Group Ltd.
I'm not sure I understand the distinction you're drawing. So if you could just clarify....
9:40 a.m.
NDP
Tyrone Benskin NDP Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
For Expo 67, I got the sense it was more of an outreach; it was come and see us, world. I'm deriving, and maybe wrongly, from these numbers that Canadians are saying happy birthday, Canada, and let's do something for ourselves as well.
9:40 a.m.
Group Vice-President, Public Affairs, Environics Research Group Ltd.
Okay, I understand.
This was not that extensive a survey. I think some of the questions were framed in a way that perhaps it might be understandable if people were thinking it's a birthday, and what we should commemorate. I think the focus theme does come out in terms of our country's having a birthday, and we should commemorate that with something about our country. I think that's probably the first thought people are having.
Keep in mind that this is not a topic most Canadians have been thinking about actively. It hasn't been discussed very much in the media. There hasn't been much ground developed on this, certainly last year and even this year. I think the focus in terms of the people's responses are mostly about not necessarily patting ourselves on the back, but what do we have to be grateful for? What is it we like about this country, love about this country? What about it has been good? That clearly comes out.
However, as I said in my presentation, people's views about how this should be done are not fixed. Even though they may remember the Olympics, they may remember Expo 67 in some sense, I certainly don't get the sense that anybody's thinking that this is the model, this is how it has to be. I think people aren't really quite sure. They want something to happen, and if they were presented with the notion of this also being a great way to invite the world in, as with Expo, my guess is that people would probably be very open to that.
I think the field is pretty open in terms of these different dimensions. If that were something that is sort of part of a vision, my guess is that it would be popular, provided that it wasn't just that. I think people do want to celebrate what they like about this country, and what they appreciate, so I think that probably needs to be part of it as well.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for coming here today.
My first question is for Dr. Davies. I was wondering if you could tell us a bit about how the federal government's organizational effort was structured in 1967. The name Peter Aykroyd comes to mind. Right?
9:40 a.m.
Independent Scholar, As an Individual
Yes. Peter Aykroyd wrote a book about the centennial. He was the director of public relations, so he was a senior official with the centennial commission.
The way the governance structure worked from a federal perspective was that there was the centennial commission, which by 1966 had a staff complement of about 230 people, with a variety of responsibilities overseeing a range of events, some of which I have referenced here today. There was a commissioner, John Fisher, an associate commissioner, Mr. Gauthier, and a series of officials.
There was also the centennial administration conference, I believe, that afforded an opportunity for the federal government to work with the provincial and territorial governments planning events. Then there were centennial committees in communities all across Canada at the grassroots level.
So the centennial commission, working with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, played a very instrumental role in establishing the framework. As Ms. Shaw has referenced, that involvement of all levels of government is instrumental.
Commissioner Fisher was a champion of the centennial touring the country. He had been a CBC reporter, and had a long history. I think three times a week he used to have the Fisher three-minute pieces on things to be proud about, and pieces of history about Canada. So he was a very good champion to go to talk about the centennial.
Having said that, it is interesting that we're talking about planning and timelines. In actual fact, I would suggest that the centennial commission didn't really get up and running until 1964, so they did a lot in very short order.
I understand that Mr. Aykroyd may come and speak to the committee, and he's a wealth of information.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Thank you.
He lives in my riding, and one of the funny things he says is, “I did all this work that I was so proud of for the centennial, and then in the end nobody remembers me for it.” They remember him as the father of Dan Aykroyd.
9:45 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
I think it's just a joke that he tells to introduce himself.
So what funding was made available at the federal level in 1967? Were there criteria that were used to determine how...?
9:45 a.m.
Independent Scholar, As an Individual
There was a series of programs. I think one of the successes from a federal perspective is that this was a whole-of-government approach and that all departments, agencies, and commissions were involved in the centennial. Everyone had some sort of centennial presence, whether it was the museums or whoever. It was a whole-of-government approach and you see that to a lesser or greater degree replicated at the provincial and municipal levels. From a government perspective, this a very holistic and inclusive role.
There were a number of programs and initiatives. There was a centennial grounds program. I believe about $25 million was allocated to this. It was to be matched dollar for dollar by the provinces and municipalities. There were funds to the tune of $30 million earmarked for a national capital construction program. Out of that we got the National Library and Archives, the National Arts Centre, and the Canadian Museum of History. So it was an important foundational infrastructure that has had a lasting legacy.
There were different kinds of travel exchanges. There were those that were supported through federal funding, a matching approach. Then there were those driven at the local level through service clubs and the like, where Canadian youth would apply for funds.
There was also an infrastructure program where there were federal contributions to contribute to either the remediation or restoration of architectural buildings of historical significance.
There was a publishing element of the centennial that I think would certainly take a different form if it were introduced today, what with the current importance of social media.
There were numerous tentacles that supported the centennial effort throughout the year and had a lasting impact.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
The overall federal budget might have been, you were saying--
9:45 a.m.
Independent Scholar, As an Individual
It was over $100 million. For 1967 that was a very substantial fund.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Dr. Neuman, did the survey ask what people thought beliefs and values were, or was it just generally beliefs and values?
9:45 a.m.
Group Vice-President, Public Affairs, Environics Research Group Ltd.
That's a good question. Let me clarify.
Beliefs and values is a collection of a number of responses. This was what we call an open-ended question, where we asked the question and did not give them any categories. So it was whatever they came out with. That's important to do, because we don't want to feed ideas that they'll just feed back to us.
When we hear those responses, we need to collect them and code them into meaningful categories. We were capturing the broad themes. Under beliefs and values, there was multiculturalism, which was the largest significant part of it; followed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; freedom in general, as a broad concept; democracy and democratic institutions; national unity; tolerance of others' human rights; patriotism; bilingualism; best country in the world to live in; our values; and our uniqueness. We put those under the broad theme of beliefs and values. If you want to categorize them in other ways, you can, but I think these are the broad themes. The top two on the list are multiculturalism and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These are distinct from things like history, achievements, and natural resources, which are very different categories.
