You are absolutely right, Mr. Trottier. We see the 150th anniversary of Confederation as the culmination of a journey that begins with major milestones in Canadian history and ends with the 150th anniversary celebrations.
The last event of this magnitude that was celebrated was the 100th anniversary of Confederation. Back then, Canadians' eyes were very much opened to just how far the country had come. The big difference today is social networking and the means we have to communicate directly with the public and involve them in our programming. None of that was possible 50 years ago. All we could do back then was offer programs to people. Today, we have the ability to know what interests them, solicit their help, and give them spaces where they can share their stories or connect with someone in another part of the country. That was the goal at the outset, the vision for the 150th anniversary that the conference series will focus on.
I really want to thank VIA Rail and the communities. Some of the meetings will take place in train stations. Others will be held in our studios or community centres. This gives us a chance to really embed ourselves in the regions and bring people together to tell us about their projects. We aren't consulting them on what we are going to do for the 150th anniversary, but on what they want to do. This is also a chance to see if one of their ideas can help us and to connect them with others. That is our vision. Social networking and digital platforms will allow us to establish much stronger ties between Canadians.