Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members. It's a real pleasure to be here today. I'm very pleased to work with the committee, including answering any questions that you may have following my presentation.
First, I'd like to share with you how proud I am to be part of the Parks Canada Agency. At Parks Canada, people genuinely care about the issues we're all called upon to work on. We care because we know that what we do has real and meaningful impact on the lives of Canadians.
In the fall of 1883 three Canadian Pacific Railway construction workers discovered a cave containing hot springs on the eastern slope of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. This led to the creation of Banff National Park, Canada's first national park, in 1885.
Parks Canada has grown a lot since then. There are now 42 national parks, covering more than 275,000 square kilometres; three national marine conservation areas; as well as 925 national historic sites, of which 158 are operated and owned by Parks Canada.
Each of Canada's protected heritage areas is part of Canada's collective soul and part of our nation's promise to its future. It's not by accident that in Canada, natural and cultural treasures continue to thrive in the 21st century. They survive because Canadians have chosen to safeguard places of stillness, natural wonder, and meaning.
Through the years, we have increased our knowledge and understanding of ecosystems and improved our legislation.
We are developing our offer to visitors and stand as the largest provider of natural and cultural tourism products Canada-wide with more than 20 million domestic and international visits every year.
I am extremely proud that our efforts in providing services to visitors were recently recognized by two awards of excellence: The Tourism Business of the Year Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and a prestigious award from World Travel Market Global Award to Jasper National Park. These awards illustrate once again the richness and quality of Parks Canada's team.
However, our national parks and national historic sites face a challenging future. In this time of growing urbanization and high dependence on technology, fewer and fewer Canadians are connected to nature. As our success depends on the involvement of all Canadians, we are taking action to engage more and more stakeholders and partners from an increasingly diversified Canadian society. We are also making every effort to provide Canadians with meaningful experiences and quality visitor services in ways that protect resources for present and future generations.
Parks Canada is also taking action to conserve and expand Canada's system of national parks and national marine conservation areas and our network of places, persons and events of national historic significance.
Because of the actions Parks Canada is taking today, years from now Canadians and foreign visitors will still be able to learn about Canada's journey through history and enjoy landscapes and places unique to Canada such as theTorngat Mountains, the historic district of Old Quebec, Lake Superior, and the Nahanni region. And years from now, plains bison will still thunder across the vast wind-swept prairie that once was their native homeland.
In terms of priorities of the agency for the upcoming few years, maintaining and improving the cultural integrity of our national parks and the commemorative integrity of our national historic sites remains a priority. Maintaining and improving the quality of the visitor experience and renewing our visitor service to Canadians is also a priority. Connecting Canadians, especially urban Canadians, to our national parks and national historic sites is a priority, and so is continuing on our mission to expand our system of national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas.
In closing, I am greatly encouraged by all Parks Canada has been able to recently accomplish, and I'm confident in our ability to meet the heritage challenges that confront us and to realize the full potential of our magnificent heritage resources.
Mr. Chair, I thank you for your attention, and I shall be happy to answer any questions committee members may have.