Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for coming here today, Dr. Ostola.
I want to tell you that I very much appreciated the tone and the drive of the questions that were just addressed by Mr. Dion. Unless I'm mistaken, Parks Canada already gives free passes for one year to all new Canadians. So what he's suggesting for all Canadians—well, the thin edge of the wedge is already there.
My first job was with Parks Canada, in Prince Albert in Saskatchewan.
I used to do interpretation in the museum.
I also answered the fan mail that Grey Owl received. He died in 1938, and in 1965 he was still getting fan mail. I read all his books and I answered the mail. Much of it had to do with conservation of the environment. That was always something very important with Parks Canada.
The Rideau Canal is something that's very close to us. It was built in the late 1820s basically as a military asset to protect us from a potential new attack from the United States, because 1812 was still pretty clear in our minds then. The Rideau Canal has now been designated as a World Heritage site. What's the consequence of that? Does it attract more visitors?
As well, mostly in areas of the province where there are not many francophones, what do we do to help visitors in both official languages?