Well, it is. When you're talking about the number of students that will be going to Vimy, I just wanted to confirm that number with the deputy, because every time I say 5,000, I always ask, “Is it 5,000?”. Of course it is. It's a staggering number. I believe, if I'm correct in this, they've raised their own funds to do that. It just shows you the dedication of these young people and their teachers and their schools. But that's the big number, and they will be travelling to Vimy. Again, it's like the outreach to the schools through Veterans Affairs and tying in with the schools and with young people. It will be a fascinating experience.
One of the things on these pilgrimages is that the department has to be very careful in how it balances this, because in years past, and through no one's fault, sometimes there haven't been enough veterans included in the trip and there has been a sense that too many department people were going. So it's a really critical balance. In the House of Commons I would like to see it possible that every member of Parliament who wants to go, can go, but we know that's probably not going to happen and won't happen.
However, they're expecting at the rededication ceremony at Vimy somewhere in the vicinity of 25,000 to 30,000 people, and maybe more. Actually, the French government just told the department yesterday, in talking to the deputy, to expect a huge group of people there. It's going to take a contingent of Veterans Affairs personnel there to manage that and work through. Again, from the ones I have been on, I would argue that we're not taking more than we need; we're taking what we need. We have care and concerns for some of those veterans who will actually be travelling with us.
I think it will be a fairly good balance of veterans and caregivers and young people and so on. It will be a big event in France. Anytime you get 30,000 people to an event, I guess you could call it a big event.