Mr. Speaker, the statistics and the results of that survey are a great concern to all of us.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage is convinced that the key to a strong Canadian identity is a sound knowledge of Canada. The role of the federal government and in particular that of the Department of Canadian Heritage is to provide support to enable all Canadians to learn about each other, about our diversity, about our heritage, history, symbols, traditions and shared values, so that we can all participate fully in and appreciate the society and country we have built together.
We recognize that formal education is a provincial responsibility, but the federal government can provide innovative high quality learning materials on Canada that are complementary to school curricula. The Canadian studies program of the Department of Canadian Heritage has been supporting the development of Canadian learning materials about Canada's rich and diverse history since 1984. The department's successful “With Flying Colours” educational kit is a model of what we can do in this area.
In much the same way, the federal government highlights Canadian history through our museums, our galleries, our parks and our historic sites. So that young Canadians can learn to understand and participate in our society, we also support youth exchanges that give Canadian youth the opportunity to develop long term citizenship skills. Multiculturalism programs highlight not only our history but the diversity of our history.
Through key partnerships for instance with the Charles R. Bronfman Foundation which produced our heritage minutes on CBC, the department has shown a flexible and effective approach to supporting the teaching of history outside the classroom.
I recognize that this is not enough. We are working with the Council of Ministers of Education and provincial governments to have a concrete proposal that will benefit all Canadian students.