Thank you, Ben, and congratulations on your appointment to the committee.
That is a big part of what we do. In fact, I've talked about the sort of spike in interest in Remembrance Day. More people are showing up. I think there are a number of reasons for it. I guess it's because we know that our men and women are on tough missions in Afghanistan and in other troubled parts of the world. I think we have an understanding of how troubled the world really is and of how we depend on these people for the very freedoms we have.
I think some of that might flow naturally because of the kind of world we're living in today. In terms of Veterans Affairs, I think we work more closely with schools today. The information we provide to schools and teachers to use in the classroom I think speaks well of what we do with our young people. Of course, when we go on some of these pilgrimages, as we often refer to them, overseas, and do commemorative events overseas, we always make sure that a number of school children are part of it.
I don't want to get his name wrong, but we have one teacher in the Ontario region who does just incredible work. I think the deputy has his name at hand. I know that his first name is David.... David Robinson is an example. There was Vimy Ridge. Truly thousands of young people, young Canadians, went to Vimy Ridge to take part in that commemorative event, and he's doing an event in Italy this year, and there is more to come.
I think it's a combination of many different things, but a lot of it is just getting educational materials to the schools. Years ago I was a school teacher, and the amount of information that would flow to the schools from Veterans Affairs was almost non-existent. I know that if I say that I'll probably be in trouble with the previous ministers from back a generation or two.
We distribute 20,000 Veterans Week information packages to schools across the country, so it's pretty significant. We have a number of different projects we fund, as well, in the schools. The Dominion Institute, as one of the members, Peter, mentioned, does tremendous work across the country. In fact, one of the best events I've ever been to with the Dominion Institute, which the Prime Minister attended, was just before Christmas, when they had an event with some of the young people in the schools in Saint John, New Brunswick.
That is some of what we do. I guess we can always say that we could do more, but it sure is gratifying when you go to these small communities on Remembrance Day and see the kinds of people showing up. I think the member of Parliament for Saint John, Rodney Weston, told me that something like 8,000 people in Saint John, New Brunswick, a city of fewer than 100,000 people, showed up at Harbour Station for their November 11 ceremony. They're just unbelievable numbers, exceeding some of those in our larger cities. I think it's a clear indication that reaching out to the schools makes a difference. I think we can be proud of what we're doing in that regard.