Thank you, Madam Chair.
My thanks to the witnesses for joining us today to tell us about the state of museums in Canada. I did not believe that I could be so interested in the subject. My thanks to Mr. Van Loan for suggesting it.
In addition, our discussions have also kindled my desire to revisit some museums in the coming tourist season. I am going to invite my friend Dan Vandal to come to my constituency and visit the Musée de l'ingéniosité J. Armand Bombardier in Valcourt. It has just been almost completely renovated. It was closed for six months. I was very surprised that the museum could close and do without income for all that time.
It leads me to the subject of infrastructure. Mr. O'Regan mentioned the increased budget for modernizing infrastructures in our museums.
Ms. Bachmann, just now you said that it was an issue and a challenge because a number of museums have not been renovated in the last 40 years. Clearly, the public's needs have changed. New generations want to see the museums promote themselves differently and adapt to information technologies. We increased the budget envelope to $160 million. That seemed a lot to me, but if you consider the number of museums that we have in Canada and if you divide the amount by that number, it is not very much. I understand that not all museums need financial assistance. Funds are there but the needs are extremely great.
Could you tell us about the needs you have identified and whether the envelope matches what museums are asking for?