Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses for coming today. All of you are inspiring in terms of the work that you do. Thank you very much.
Given that these hearings are on the Status of the Artist Act, I'm not going to deal with Bill C-11. I'm going to deal with the Status of the Artist Act.
I'm going to start by talking about the FCCF, an incredible organization that I've had the pleasure of working with on several occasions.
Ms. Morin, I know all the work your organization does for the francophonie across Canada, and I thank you for that.
In your speech, you mentioned the essential nature of arts and culture, particularly within the Canadian and Acadian francophonie. What do you mean by “essential”?