Thank you.
Yes, I can definitely relate to having taken part in this training, and then, of course, proceeding to becoming a facilitator.
I think the point you just brought up about bringing it to the players in their locker rooms is that it has proven to be tremendously valuable. Coming from that environment, I understand what it's like to be in that hypermasculinized environment, where we're expected to adhere to some certain norm, whatever that may be.
Being in their environment in the locker room, which is their comfort zone, we're able to go in there and really just have positive face-to-face conversations in an environment where their guard is going to be down a little bit more and they're a little bit more receptive.
I can also attest to the fact that I remember having the mentality when I started this program that this was not going to be something that could be done in the locker room with my guys. I could see myself having this conversation outside of the locker room. I can come to say now that I was pleasantly surprised in the response I got.
I'd like to also mention, as a further example, the impact that this program can have. I remember having a conversation with the Calgary Canucks in their locker room just a couple of months ago. It was a wonderful conversation. They're a great group of guys, and they were very receptive and they were thankful to us for coming to have that conversation. They found tremendous value in it coming from somebody who had been in their position.
I was wonderfully impressed when, the next day at my kid's school, I happened to see four of the Calgary Canucks taking part in a reading program with K-to-six kids. It just goes to show, when you have that positive impact on those players, how that multiplicity can affect everything. They're going to now have the opportunity to have a positive impact on all of the people in their communities.
I'd just like to share with the committee what a wonderful impact that has had, and I was able to witness that first-hand.