I would like to acknowledge for hon. members the 20th anniversary of CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel.
Created in 1992 by a consortium of 27 Canadian cable companies, CPAC was given the core mandate to provide, at no cost to taxpayers, coverage of the proceedings of the House of Commons to millions of homes with cable subscriptions.
Since then, CPAC has expanded to provide continued unfiltered coverage of House of Commons proceedings and parliamentary committees, as well as a multitude of other public affairs activities across the country.
Today, CPAC plays such an important role in the political life of Canada that is truly difficult to imagine that such an essential service once did not exist.
We have with us today in the gallery the members of CPAC's board of directors. On behalf of all members, and indeed all Canadians, I would like to thank them and CPAC for their invaluable contribution to Canada's democratic process.