Canadian Heritage Committee on Nov. 1st, 2011

[Justin Hugh Brown]

I don't have specific information on that. I'm sure that was the case.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

You said that you brought together the aboriginal peoples. Were there any lasting benefits from that for the aboriginal peoples?

[Justin Hugh Brown]

I don't think anyone has done an evaluation of the benefits. I think that in a psychological sense it was certainly an historic event. To bring together the many indigenous groups from across the country for the first time ever did have a huge impact on the aboriginal community at the time. So there was a certain impact on the morale and level of identity of the aboriginal groups, but as I said, I don't think there's been any....

I don't know how you'd evaluate the longer-term benefits or the short-term benefits of such an event. It was seen primarily as a celebration.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Were there any celebrations around accomplishments in industry, inventions, and technology?

[Justin Hugh Brown]

I'll have to take that on notice.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

There are a lot of similarities, obviously, between Canada and Australia. One of the things we like to talk about--or at least I do--is how we can actually get people moving around the country to celebrate the 150th. Was there any program created to help people move around Australia so they could participate in events in other parts of the country?

Did the states, to your knowledge.... I know we're asking things that are sometimes difficult for you to answer, but is there any evidence that people were moving around Australia to participate in events outside of their own home communities? Was there an effort made to just get people moving around and seeing other parts of the country?

[Justin Hugh Brown]

I'm not sure. I don't have that kind of information.

Australia is a country where the population is relatively mobile. My impression is that people would often go back to their home city or their home state for particular celebrations. If they were originally from North Queensland and currently lived in Melbourne or Sydney, a lot of people did go back for those particular celebrations, and the reverse was the case as well.

I don't think there was specific funding for particular government or national council messaging to encourage that. It was an organic process. People felt that marking their centenary was a natural manifestation of their pride in their home state or home city.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

You also mentioned that part of the billion dollars went to the creation of a national museum. What was the emphasis of the museum?

[Justin Hugh Brown]

It's in Canberra, our capital It was completed several years ago. It's a museum that has artifacts and exhibitions from all the different aspects of Australia's history. There's a section on our manufacturing industry and industry, particularly the agricultural sector, in Australia. There's a section on indigenous issues. There are sections on different key milestones in Australia's history.

In a sense, it's a reflection of what took place during the centenary, in the form of a museum.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

When people think back about the celebrations, what most comes to their minds? Is there an overriding event or something that comes to their minds when they talk about the celebrations?

[Justin Hugh Brown]

Obviously, I can only answer that question for me. With it being a very strong community-level celebration, I think different communities would have their own perspective on the event and on what was memorable.

From a national perspective, I think the two I would mention would be the New Dawn performance in central Australia and, second, the establishment of a rail link between Darwin and Adelaide, which had been a dream for most of Australia's history. I think that was a major visual from the centenary that most people would remember.

My suggestion would be that if you want to have a big impact on the country's consciousness, these big, highly visual events can certainly have a catalytic event across the country and can really increase the sense of nationhood. That was a big objective for us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Your Excellency. We do appreciate your taking the time to be with us today.

There were a lot of different questions because we're at the very genesis of our study on our 150th anniversary and we wanted to get the perspective and experience of our good friend, Australia.

I think your comments and answers to some of our questions will be very useful as we endeavour to learn from the experience of our friends while we craft our policy and programs for the celebration we intend to have.

Thank you very much for appearing with us today. All the best to you.

[Justin Hugh Brown]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

We'll suspend while we switch to our new witnesses.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

We'll get started again.

I welcome our witnesses to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, our study of our upcoming 150th anniversary of Canada. It's taking place in 2017, of course, but as you may have heard from the previous witnesses, it's not too early to start thinking about our celebrations.

We have with us today André Picard, vice-president, public and corporate affairs, the Just For Laughs Group, and Louise Pothier, director of exhibitions and technologies at Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History.

Welcome to both of you.

The format we'll follow until 10:30 is that we'll have each of you make your opening remarks, if you have any, and then an opportunity for our members to ask some questions will follow.

I will turn it over to you, Mr. Picard, for some opening comments.

[André Picard, Vice-President, Public and Corporate Affairs, Just For Laughs Group]

Good morning,

honourable members of Parliament.

My name is André Picard. I am Vice-President of Public and Corporate Affairs for the Just For Laughs Group.

I would like to thank Mr. Paul Calandra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Mr. James Moore, who suggested that I be invited to witness here today. I met him last week with my colleagues from FAME Canada.

FAME Canada--Festivals and Major Events Canada-- is a national organization that regroups festivals across the country, among them Luminato, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Stratford Festival,

the Québec Winter Carnival, the Festival d'été de Québec,

Ottawa's Bluesfest, and many more.

FAME's mission is to play a leading role in the economic and social promotion of the international-scale Canadian festival and events sector to the government, the media, and the public.

My presentation may not be exactly what I wished it be. It was the Hallowe'en weekend--we got called on Thursday afternoon and I appreciate the privilege--and maybe it's because I'm in the event management business, but my 18-year-old daughter asked me to organize her Hallowe'en party. It was almost a 12-hour event.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[André Picard]

The major festivals and events that are members of FAME contribute to Canada being recognized worldwide as a cultural, vibrant nation.

I applaud you for holding these hearings. For me, it's never too early to talk about an initiative as far-reaching as the 150^th anniversary.

Allow me to begin with a very personal story. In 1967, the year of Canada's Centennial Anniversary, I was 12 years old. I was almost done elementary school and was about to enter secondary school, grade 8, in the fall.

Canada's Centennial Anniversary coincided with Expo 67 in Montreal, a formative—or should I say transformative—experience for me, my friends, their older brothers and sisters, and their families; in fact, for our whole society. Quebec was emerging from a dark period and was in the midst of the Quiet Revolution. For people of my generation, and for myself as well, there isn't really any point of comparison. We were leaving childhood behind, and Expo 67 was a defining experience for us. I discovered Canada, my country, its provinces, and the world by visiting each of those pavilions. I visited various pavilions more than once, during the day and at night. I literally lived on that site all summer. I was often the first in line at the Île Sainte-Hélène ticket booth, my belly pressed against the barriers waiting for the exhibition to open so I could explore the site. I discovered the people, images, music, and food from all countries and cultures. My passport—do you remember the passports we had?—was full of stamps from the first to the last page. I still have it.

I think that if it were held today, I would have the Centennial Anniversary and Expo 67 logos tattooed on both my shoulders.

The scale and scope of holding the world's fair and celebrating our centennial awakened Canadians to the limitlessness of our capabilities and the opportunities of success in Canada and abroad. It inspired a generation of entrepreneurs, especially in the arts. It was, in a sense, a Canadian renaissance. Its legacy of cultural centres, plazas, and community infrastructure has shaped the Canadian consciousness and our lives since that date.

It was also the era of Perspectives Jeunesse, a program that gave a sense of direction and future to a generation and developed a spirit of initiative, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility.

I spoke recently to Normand Legault. Normand Legault was the owner and promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal for over 20 years. Today, he is the chairman of the board of Parc Jean-Drapeau and of Montréal International.

I asked him what inspired a generation of cultural and sports entrepreneurs like him: Gilbert Rozon, the founder of Just For Laughs; Alain Simard, the founder of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the FrancoFolies, and Montréal en Lumière; and Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil. What gave them the courage to start their events? What gave them the confidence to pursue their vision and their dream? His answer was “Expo 67”. Anything was possible.

To me, those events, the centennial and Expo 67, set off a chain reaction.

One of you asked a question about technologies. I'll get back to that right now. In the early nineties, I had the privilege of working in Toronto for IMAX Corporation, a Canadian company that was actually started from an Australian patent for the rolling loop projector. It was a unique and exceptional professional and personal experience. Today, the IMAX brand and motion picture experience is recognized worldwide.

The founders came together and created the company in the wake of Expo 67. If we remember, the most popular pavilions were cinematic pavilions, interactive multi-screen cinemas with stages and screens that would whirl around. Three of these people were involved in the production of two films: one was for a theme pavilion on the north and the other was for the Labyrinth, one of the most popular pavilions, and was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Their dream for their company was to build an Expo pavilion in every city in the world and base the film experience on the best motion picture quality experience that was available at that time--and still is today.

Also, I can mention worldwide pioneers in 3-D, which is now part of the motion picture experience.

It may be a little-known fact, but Normand Legault, who was quite an erudite man, did some research in our National Archives. Rightly so, the credit for Expo 67 is given to Jean Drapeau, the legendary mayor of Montreal; however, what made Expo 67 possible was the work of then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Sarto Fournier, who in 1962 was mayor of Montreal between two stints of Jean Drapeau, and who had actually supported Montreal being the host city after Moscow retired.

Another international success story was born at the time of a national celebration. In 1984, during Quebec's 450th anniversary celebration of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada, the province sought an event that would bring the festivities to all Quebeckers. Guy Laliberté, the founder of the Cirque, convinced organizers that the answer was a provincial tour of Cirque du Soleil performers, who walked on stilts, juggled, danced, breathed fire, and played music.

That was founded by Gilles Ste-Croix in the small town of Baie-Saint-Paul on the St. Lawrence, and it hasn't stopped since. So I think you should measure the ripple effect that celebrations of a centennial can have.

I spoke to Daniel Gélinas, executive director of the Festival d'été de Québec. He had one message for me when I called him to say I would be meeting you today: build on the platforms that exist today, such as our festivals, big and small, that animate cities and towns across the country.

If I may say a few words about Just For Laughs, in un peu d'autopromotion, in 1982 Gilbert Rozon had a crazy idea. Creative at heart, he realized that all major performing arts had their festivals, except for comedy. The Juste pour rire festivals were started on July 14, 1983, with 16 francophone artists presenting some 35 shows in four venues across the city to an audience of approximately 5,000 people, with galas on television.

In 1985, we added Just For Laughs. In 1988, we added our outdoor activities. Today, the Just For Laughs Montreal festival, presented by Vidéotron with the support of Loto-Québec, is one of the biggest cultural events in the country, is the biggest comedy festival in the world, and attracts more than 1,250,000 people every summer in Montreal.

More recently, what characterized the 2010 Olympic Games, I believe, were the national involvement and engagement. The national pride it created was like a high-voltage electric current, a magnetic field across the country that brought a nation together to celebrate hosting the games and welcoming the world. Our unprecedented success in medals, with the culminating golden goal, was the crowning achievement.

The torch relay brought the Olympic spirit to every region of the country and allowed Canadians to take ownership of this exciting event. Through the Cultural Olympiad and the on-site provincial pavilions, the Olympics showcased the Canadian people in all our disparate charm and beauty. They created a pan-Canadian experience that won over visitors and lifted spirits of Canadians from coast to coast.

The 2010 games left a legacy of state-of-the-art training facilities, but the more important legacy is the shared sense of belonging and pride that brought our nation together, and the belief that anything is possible is still burning within us. Canada 150 must reignite that pilot light that continues to burn in Canadians and get them excited about our sesquicentennial--I had to say it once. Let's call it Canada 150. It is as much about celebrating our past accomplishments as it is about the limitless possibilities ahead of us.

Moses Znaimer, a celebrated media pioneer and innovator--some would say maverick--once suggested that the current concept for the Olympics is passé. Rather than the huge infrastructure projects that it creates in one city and the concentration of athletic events, he said, in this global era--and this is before the explosion of the Internet--why not have one major event in all major cities of the world? That would make a difference in terms of time zones, and each country could own a specific event. Maybe you could inspire yourself from that vision for how we would manage Canada 150.

Even in today's world of instant messaging and trending tweets, a national initiative needs time to grow and roots to spread. Vancouver 2010 is a great example of the proper buildup of awareness, the development of the event, and finally the celebration.

Internet 2.0 brought us the world of consumer-generated content. Our stages and screens have evolved since 1967. Today there are many more platforms that entertain, inform, and enrich us at work, at home, and just about everywhere we lay our eyes on and lend an ear to.

The planning and design of our 150th celebration requires the general input of all Canadians. It's important to leverage existing organizations and to bring brand and messaging continuity across all platforms. Let us not forget certain institutions like the CBC, the NFB, and the National Arts Centre that have participated in these events and have made a great contribution in the past.

Canada's major festivals and fairs are among the best in the world, with programming showcasing the best that Canada and the world has to offer. These events from across the country celebrate all aspects of Canadian culture, from fine arts and comedy to tragedy, from culture to agriculture--which have more in common that we would sometimes think--and sports. This network of world-class events should be engaged to develop programming to celebrate Canada 150 and provide a pan-Canadian showcase of Canadian achievement and talent.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Mr. Picard.

Ms. Pothier.

[Louise Pothier, Director, Exhibitions and Technologies, Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History]

Thank you, Mr. Moore, for the invitation.

Honourable members of Parliament,

my presentation will be done in French. I will do a very short introduction in English. but I will switch to French for the rest of my presentation.

Last summer, Pointe-à-Callière, with the support of the City of Montreal and the Quebec government, conducted a major archaeological excavation in Old Montreal on the site of the Ste. Anne market, the Parliament of United Canada, 1832-1849. By doing these digs, not only did we excavate an important site and its physical remains, but we also brought to life a capital page in the history of Canada, a page that was--a little surprisingly--known by only a very few people, in Montreal of course, in Quebec, and in Canada.

Now our desire is to make sure that this site will not be forgotten again.

Pointe-à-Callière is an archaeology and history museum which opened in 1992 on the occassion of Montreal's 350^th anniversary. It is a commemorative museum built on the city's foundation site.

The museum forms a complex that regroups five historic sites recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to be of national importance. It's Canada's only prominent archaeology museum.

Pointe-à-Callière welcomes between 350 000 and 400 000 visitors per year. It has a positive media image. It has won 80 awards of excellence, a dozen of which are international. Despite its relative newness, it already has public recognition.

The museum also has a fair bit of experience organizing commemorative events.

I will give you the example of the Great Peace of Montreal, which we celebrated in 2001. It was the 300th anniversary of the signature of a peace treaty between the French and their Indian allies. For that event, we had 2.5 million visitors that summer in Montreal. Among them, we also had the event of the young ambassadors. That included a twinning of Montreal schools with Cree schools up north. They were invited to Montreal for a weekend in the celebration. So we have had experience in commemorative organizations and events.

I am here to present to you a major project undertaken by Pointe-à-Callière in Old Montreal, namely the creation of the Cité de l'archéologie et de l'histoire, a vast complex that will bring together about ten historic and heritage sites.

The first phase of this project is already under construction with the development of the Maison-des-Marins, a location for new public spaces, exhibitions and educational spaces. It will be ready in 2012.

What interests us is the second phase, to be completed between now and 2017. It is rooted in Montreal's 375^th anniversary and the 150^th anniversary of Confederation.

One of the major components of this project is the site of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. It is a large archaeological site of national importance, where the foundations of a building over 100 metres long are still intact, and where bountiful occupation layers permit us to recreate the site's history.

The building was built in 1832 to house a market. It was converted into the Parliament in 1844, when Montreal became the capital of Canada, the Province of Canada, or the United Province of Canada. It became the first site of Canada's permanent Parliament. The building possessed the rather unique attribute of being built above a canalized rock-routed river, which was an integral part of the monument. All of that is still intact underneath the surface. The Parliament is located in Old Montreal, at Youville Square, in front of the Canada Border Services Agency. Some of you perhaps already know of this building, because it's where ministers stay when in Montreal.

The City of Montreal invested close to 1.5 million dollars to complete the first phase of the archeological digs last summer. Right now, we're completing the closing of the site in preparation for the winter. The goal was to establish the importance and integrity of the site, and to better understand its potential and value. The results of this work have exceeded our expectations. Tens of thousands of artefacts have been excavated, and the building's foundations found intact and in a well-preserved state at a depth of about five metres.

These archaeological digs have aroused interest from thousands of visitors and have generated at least 250 very positive reports across Canada, namely in Radio-Canada's program Découverte.

In the folder that was handed out to you, you will find a sampling of the reports that were broadcast throughout the summer. I'll admit to you that we didn't have to put in too much effort. There was an extremely surprising amount of traffic from journalists all summer long, which we were obviously thrilled about. We were frankly surprised by the attention.

The project even raised interest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as it related to law archives preserved in the Senate. To make a long story short, to our knowledge, a single law, dated April 1849, escaped the fire that destroyed the building the evening of April 25, 1849. That document, that law, can presently be found in the Senate archives. I had the chance to go see it for myself.

Up until now, in layers of debris from the fire, archeologists have found a few pieces of paper documents in a state that is unfortunately very fragmented. The underground vault that held the official documents has yet to be found and excavated, which gives us hope for the future. Thousands of other less-perishable objects have been collected; they document and evoke aspects of parliamentary life and Canadian society from that era. Some objects are quite touching, even.

I brought with me a bit of a scoop—an interesting artefact that was found on the site. We can perhaps examine it during question period. I'll nevertheless give you a sneak peek. These are eyeglasses which were found in the debris of the fire. When the fire broke out, ministers were still in parliament that night. There was a quick evacuation. How is it that these particular eyeglasses were found in the debris, and how did they manage to be found intact?

Being an archaeologist myself, I know that in our profession we like to tell stories. You can easily imagine these glasses belonged to an MP who had to leave the building during all the commotion. We could tell a bunch of other stories too. Yet some stories are true and documented.

As you know, we will celebrate the 150^th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 as well as the 375^th anniversary of Montreal. These are significant circumstances. Since the Pointe-à-Callière Museum opened on Montreal's 350^th anniversary, we will also be celebrating our 25^th anniversary. So, what does the 2017 project entail?

It is a part of a major archaeological and historic complex that comprises three distinct sites, including the parliamentary site and the stone canal of the little river, which is a genuine jewel of civil engineering. It dates from the first half of the XIX^th century. You can physically enter the sewer main and walk through it. The stone vault is extraordinary. In all of North America, it's probably the oldest subterranean stone canal. Canadians can really be proud of this. Given that it's not open to the public, it isn't very well known; but our goal is to make it accessible to all. Finally, there will be a new exhibition hall underneath the building that houses the Canadian government's customs agency. We are already in talks with people from Public Works Canada regarding the use of the site.

What is the importance of the Montreal Parliament site? It's a major symbol in Canadian history. In 1848, it was there where the responsible government law was voted upon. Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine and Robert Baldwin were in power. That law was sanctioned by the Governor General of that era, Lord Elgin. Other important laws were also voted upon there. We should also mention that the Fathers of Confederation sat at the Montreal Parliament, namely John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier, and Alexander Galt.

The project intended for 2017 is one of togetherness. It has the capacity to touch all Canadians. It is also one of identity, because it addresses the sensitive issue that is the agreement between peoples. We have a lot to learn from that period of history. It also underlines, in a tangible way, a founding element of Canadian democracy. This project embodies Canadian values that are important to share and transmit to current and future generations. Those values are ones of democracy, respect, and freedom. We are convinced that because of its importance and renown, the site of the Montreal Parliament will also become a major tourist site.

In conclusion, we recommend that this project become Canada's heritage legacy on the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of Confederation. The fact that it coincides with the 375^th anniversary of Montreal enables us to join two important commemorations. Very few cities have the privilege of knowing their founding site, of having preserved the physical traces of every era of their history, and, above all, of having the ability to render it accessible to the Canadian population.

We have the exceptional opportunity to access a strongly symbolic and unifying space that is still intact under the surface and that, though unknown until recently, has already inspired great interest from the media and public alike. We need your support to ensure that this site does not once again sink into oblivion. Given that we're discussing loss and memory, I'd like to tell you a little story.

Last year, when we announced the project for the archaeological dig of the Montreal Parliament site, a collector came to us and offered us an extraordinary object.

I'll do my best to explain the reality of this emotional moment. This object was the coat of arms of Great Britain, which supposedly came from the Parliament that was in Montreal in the 19th century. This collector bought the object in an antique fair in New York state about 15 or 20 years ago.

When he bought it, he thought the object was interesting. The seller told him that it came from the Parliament in Montreal. The man didn't believe this story, but he found the object interesting, so he bought it and put it in the living room of his apartment in New York. When he read the article in The Globe and Mail last year, he realized that maybe the story was true. He came to us with the object and offered the coat of arms to Pointe-à-Callière. He asked us to do the research to check if the story could be true.

As you will see in the documents that we gave you today, I was very surprised and amazed that this object was, in fact, in the room of assembly, which is the equivalent of today's Chambre des communes. It was above the seat of the president of the assembly. Nobody knew that this object had been removed from the Parliament. We thought that except for the 20,000 books that were burned in the fire, only the portrait of Queen Victoria—which is now at the Senate in the Parliament here in Ottawa—had survived the huge fire.

We now have new information that there is this object. You have a picture in the documents we have provided. It's quite a big object and needs to be restored. It suffered from the event of the 19th century and the strange subterranean life that it had after it left the Parliament. Now it's brought back into the light again. The image of this project is that it's a very strong and emotional project for people.

I thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Merci beaucoup to both of you for your very interesting presentations. They are helpful in the context of our study on our 150th anniversary.

I will start with Mr. Young for questions and answers.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you both for coming here today. They were both fascinating presentations.

I want to take the opportunity to say to some officially involved with Just for Laughs that I think Gags is the funniest show, bar none, in Canada and on Canadian TV. I laugh just thinking about that show. It's very witty and very clever.

I also attended Expo 67, by the way, so I know how old you are now, André. You are my age, I guess, or maybe a little younger. I felt the excitement, too, and that's why I'm excited about this project. We have time to plan ahead now, so creative ideas are extremely helpful.

It makes sense to build on existing platforms, to build on success, and to build on professionals who have expertise in branding, marketing, and managing events in Quebec and the other provinces.

I have a question and would like your ideas, Mr. Picard. How do you develop national involvement and engagement to find the new talent, the younger people who don't have success yet? How do we get them more involved in this? We have six years to plan for it, so we want to have events that lead up to it. How can we get them involved, from all over Canada, in celebrating Canada?

[André Picard]

From the Just for Laughs perspective, we have a number of ways we do that. We have a worldwide scouting network that includes Canada. We have representatives, most of them part-time, some people who are in the entertainment business, and some people who are in other businesses but have a particular interest, love, and passion for comedy. I think you could repeat that. Cirque du Soleil has the same thing for the circus, where they go to Outer Mongolia, to the mine shafts of Russia, where they found a lot of their talent. There's a formal international scouting network that is kind of reproducible in any field of the arts.

The second thing is that, since we're in the entertainment business, as you underlined with the worldwide success of our Gags, we also have something in French called En route vers mon premier gala, which means “On the Road to My First Gala” or “On the Road to My First One-Man Show”. We work specific events into our kind of television, media, and stage platform. They sometimes are done with a different broadcaster, an affiliated broadcaster--a smaller service--where we have on a year-round basis a vehicle to identify young people and engage them.

Also, people thought we were pretty crazy when we suggested the idea of creating a comedy school, but the same thing was said for the beaux-arts a few hundred years ago, and the same thing was said for television and radio 50 years ago. People said that you can't teach this, right? They said that either you're a genius or you have an inbred talent, that it instinctive, that you can't teach it. But you can teach comedy the same way you can teach sculpture or painting, etc., and it doesn't mean that some people aren't fantastic artists without going through that process.

I think there are formal pathways, some definitely media related, and the same thing exists today with user-generated media, which is a more informal, spontaneous, less organized or produced pathway. So I would say that in that frame, just in our business and a lot of related areas of the arts, there could be a number of projects that could go on.

Another example coming from Quebec is La Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation. This national improvisational league started as a bunch of comedians who wanted to improvise together on the basis of.... I don't know if you know about this. It takes place in a small hockey rink, with a referee and different timed types of improvisation: one person, two-person duets, and team improvisation. Well, that went right into high school, CEGEPs, and universities and became a worldwide phenomenon, with a national championship.

So I think some ideas that seemed like just kernels of something that's a local happening that started on Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Quebec became a phenomenon that went vertically and horizontally within the school system and society.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Thank you for such a fulsome answer. I know there's a lot more there too. I hope you're available for consultation over time.

Do you have any suggestions, just having thought about this since last Thursday, for themes for the celebration?

[André Picard]

No....