I thank you for your encouraging words.
I say that this role is essential in the sense that the arts and culture community is a pillar within the Canadian francophonie that contributes to ensuring the sustainability of the French language, which we are trying to preserve. As you know, the effects of the pandemic have hit the sector very hard, and it is still struggling to recover from this forced shutdown. The recovery is very gradual. We have lost players along the way. Many of them have decided to change professions. So there is a major labour shortage throughout the sector, which also affects the Canadian francophonie.
As to why it is so important to recognize artists and the key role they play in a community, when an artist or a cultural arts organization in the Canadian francophonie disappears or is at risk of disappearing, it is in many cases as if the heart of the francophone community stops beating. The possibility of living one's culture in French is jeopardized. This was, so to speak, the central issue of this pandemic. For us, it was a question of ensuring that this ecosystem could survive the harmful effects of the pandemic.