First, thank you for your interest.
It's true that we have a member in your region, namely, the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival. I'm also in contact with the Lac-Leamy Sound of Light.
Regarding your question specifically, I would say that we've had a number of discussions with the government and with public servants. There's nothing to prevent us from dealing with the Department of Canadian Heritage. If that's what the government wants, of course we'll agree. However, the fact is that not all our events are cultural.
The program we want isn't necessarily a cultural program. It's an economic and tourism program that recognizes the value of these events from an economic and tourism perspective. The program is similar to the existing programs in both Quebec and Ontario. You know that, in Quebec, we have a funding program for festivals and events that falls under the tourism department. Ontario has the famous Celebrate Ontario program. After the necessary changes have been made, we want to see something similar at the federal level. There has been a great deal of debate regarding the organization we could fall under. As I told you, the Department of Canadian Heritage is an option.
In recent years, we've raised the possibility of creating a Canadian council of major festivals. It would be similar to the Fame Council. However, in these discussions, in particular with members and people in the government, we've considered the regional economic development agencies the most appropriate vehicles. These agencies already work in tourism, including in Quebec. They have already been involved in tourism.
However, there are a wealth of possibilities, including Destination Canada, which may also accommodate the program. We're open to these discussions. For the moment, we're focusing more on the goal than on the vehicle.