Mr. Speaker, on this International Museums' Day, I wish to draw attention to the unique role our museums play in the cultural landscape of Quebec and of Canada.
Museums put the public in contact with fine arts, with technical and technological development, with folk tradition and with history. The museums of Quebec and of Canada are without rival as windows opening onto cultures and civilizations.
Museums play a key cultural role. They also play a social role, one that has been aptly described by Roland Arpin of the Musée de la civilisation du Québec. According to him, museums are mediators between art, history and science, and their visitors, and as such they contribute to the development of critical abilities, thus making their own contribution to building a democracy.
In each museum, countless people, some of them working behind the scenes, are contributing their multiple talents to the spread of knowledge, to sharing the experience—