Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much. It was our pleasure.

Veterans Affairs committee  Right. And to the point--I guess this is kind of self-evident--we're a small charity. We're a project-based organization. The Memory Project has been our flagship program for many years. We've received excellent funding. We've had, really, no greater partner than the federal government for doing the work we do.

Veterans Affairs committee  On the World War I front, Jeremy and I have a pretty unique job insofar as we get to interact with Canadian history every day. This year we met John Babcock, who's Canada's last living World War I veteran. We drove to Spokane, Washington, to meet with him for three hours, to interact with him and to hear his story.

Veterans Affairs committee  I totally agree with you. I would like us to do more. We're constantly striving to do more. The Memory Project was launched in 2001 with the assistance of 12 veterans. Today, there are 1,500 veterans involved in the program. The numbers continue to increase. In fact, it is during the six to eight weeks before Remembrance Day that we receive between 75% and 80% of all requests from teachers for classroom visits.

Veterans Affairs committee  Exactly.

Veterans Affairs committee  The Memory Project digital archive was the project we did for four years, from 2002 to 2006. We recorded the oral history of veterans. It is available on our website, thememoryproject.com. There's a special section called the digital archive, which is a teaching resource we use all the time.

Veterans Affairs committee  That would be greatly appreciated. The Memory Project has grown to 1,500 veteran volunteers because of word of mouth, because people have heard or seen or experienced...or know a veteran and have recommended us. So yes, we need to get more of our foot in the door in Newfoundland--

Veterans Affairs committee  To your point about younger children, our typical and primary audience for the Memory Project would be high school and middle school students, particularly within Canadian history courses. But we do receive a large number of requests from elementary schools. We organize visits in elementary schools.

Veterans Affairs committee  We've also developed very valuable partnerships with organizations like Scouts Canada, the Girl Guides, and the cadets. Mr. MacDonell was talking earlier about churches. We'll organize Memory Project visits even in old age homes. We believe that with the message of remembrance and passing the torch of remembrance, our first market, if I may say—audience would probably be the better word—is schools and teachers.

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of explaining the causes of a conflict, you will note that in the educational tool prepared on D-Day, we focus on a number of areas. However, the Memory Project is an additional resource that allows teachers to go even further. It provides students with access to a first-person historical account, similar to documentary research.

Veterans Affairs committee  To answer your first question, our organization has five full-time employees. Occasionally, we hire people on contract to work on a temporary basis. During the school year, especially with the Memory Project, between 75% and 80% of our visits take place in the six to eight weeks leading up to Remembrance Day or week.

Veterans Affairs committee  That concludes the first part of our presentation. Now you'll be privileged--like thousands of young people have been across the country and in the GTA area--to hear from George MacDonell. George MacDonell is one of the best Memory Project volunteers we've had. He's a good friend of the institute.

Veterans Affairs committee  I mentioned when I started that the Dominion Institute made its first splash when it was originally founded, back in 1997, with a survey that measured Canadians' knowledge, or lack thereof, of their history. It showed that only half of Canadians knew who Sir John A. Macdonald was.

Veterans Affairs committee  My name is Marc Chalifoux.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, Jeremy and I will make a brief presentation about the Memory Project and the Dominion Institute and our work. That should go for about 10 minutes for the two of us. Then Mr. MacDonell will speak of his own experience as a Memory Project veteran, which will go for no more than 10 minutes.