Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. As a member of Parliament, I like to stay in touch with my constituents and keep them aware of the type of the things we do.
We have done this. This is not just a one-off. We now have held our third annual Winnipeg North's Got Talent event. I have gone to other events throughout the year where I have met many of the young people who have gone through the event, which I host. They are actually singing the song that they performed and possibly even received an award for, or at the very least a certificate from my office. We also give some cash prizes.
It is important for us to recognize that there are so many benefits. In committee, we talked a lot about the direct benefits. I want to spend some of my time talking about the indirect benefits.
When we hold our Winnipeg North's Got Talent contest, dozens of young people take an interest in it and want to participate. It is a competition. We will have community-minded individuals who play the role of judges. We build a platform and provide great sound. Members of this chamber would be so impressed with the amount of talent in our communities. I have been a judge. I have been a member of the audience. I get engaged. We have had run-offs in which dozens of people meet prior to the event because of the demand to perform in it.
For many of the individuals who show up at this event, it is not their first time. Most often, they will have practised expanding their talents or honing their skills throughout the year. I have grown very fond of one particular young lady because of her abilities to share her dance routine of Indian heritage.
Even though 90% or more of the performances are musical, some participants will share a heritage dance. The musical background and the amount of discipline involved in learning, whether a dance, or performing art or a musical instrument, is quite impressive. This is not something that someone learns overnight. Usually, it involves a parent, or a guardian or maybe a grandparent, someone within the family who has also has the interest and wants to share that with that child. In sharing that interest, they will encourage and often have that child attend a special event. Quite often, those individuals are the number one supporters and the ones who clap the loudest.
How many events do we all go to where we see an outstanding young person? In my experience, in most cases it is usually someone under the age of 22. Those individuals will astound the audience because of their abilities. The parents, or family members or guardians will be applauding them and encouraging them.
On a micro scale, we might say “Isn't that nice; it's a wonderful story”. It might be just one or two, here and there, but if we look at the cumulative effect across Canada, we have literally thousands. In the report it says, as quoted by one, that there are over 10,000 people employed, or 30,000 professional songwriters in the music industry. Imagine tens of thousands of people from every region of the country getting engaged, in one way or another, in an industry that is so very important to Canada.
We need to highlight that. One of the reasons is that it is a wonderful, creative, positive activity in which our young people are engaged. When I have the opportunity to talk about the music industry through this report, it would be a mistake for us not to recognize the valuable contributions that the tens of thousands of people make in their life by encouraging and supporting young people to get involved.
Then there are the thousands of volunteers. I made reference to Folklorama. I am biased. It is one of the greatest tourist attractions that Canada has to offer. It is good quality entertainment every summer. I think it has now been taking place for 35-plus years. This is where we get a lot of the semi-pro individuals who are quite often looking at making a career commitment in the music industry. It is wonderful to see.
The report talks about the economic sectors, such as tourism and advertising. It even goes beyond that. It helps shape our social and heritage foundation. If we really looked at the many different festivities that take place throughout our country, it is not just in big cities. Small communities of a dozen homes to communities of 5,000 plus homes are all engaged, in some way, in supporting our music industry.
We cannot underestimate the importance of the music industry and how it contributes to who we are as Canadians. My leader often talks about diversity. It is our diversity that makes Canada so great. Whenever we are afforded the opportunity to stand and promote Canada's great diversity, which gives us our strength, and reflect on our heritage, we should do so.
Music is one of the driving forces in appreciating who we are as a society today. Recognizing that rich heritage puts us ahead of any other country in the world.
I did not get a chance to go through any of the recommendations in the report. It appears that my time is up, but maybe I will have another opportunity to add some more comments.
I would like to thank my New Democratic colleagues for bringing forward this concurrence motion. I anxiously await the Standing Orders from the procedure and house affairs committee, hopefully to be debated at some time. I have many opinions in this area as well.