Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Laneville and Mr. Saad, thank you for your very illuminating presentations today.
I am very pleased with the clarity and especially the precision of your statements about the different funds. It is not every day that we get the chance to speak with specialists like you.
I want to add to what Mr. Van Loan said earlier about the regions and their cultural hubs or festivals. It may be a feeling I have, but we often feel overlooked compared with Quebec's large urban centres like Montreal or Quebec City.
Take, for example, the Canada arts presentation fund. It is described as funding for organizations that hold arts festivals. That encompasses a wide range of events. I want to be sure I understand what kinds of festivals are eligible and what the selection criteria are. There are lots of festivals all over Quebec. I will focus on Quebec because that is where I am from. Organizations and municipalities are working hard to make their communities dynamic. They often hold festivals to attract visitors during the summer or at other times of year.
You gave many examples when you were talking about the Canada cultural spaces fund, but you did not give any examples of festivals like these. Do you fund smaller festivals in the regions, or does the money mainly go to the big festivals in Montreal and Quebec City? We often hear about the grants awarded in those large cities.
Tell me about the criteria. What do organizations have to do to access this funding? I am thinking of events like the international song festival in Granby, in my riding, which is the largest French-language song festival in America. Our region does not receive this funding, yet the festival draws Americans, Europeans, and francophones from across Canada.
Tell me about that, please.