Canadian Heritage committee  It's a tough question to answer simply. I was asked about specific themes, and that's really an even deeper question, but to answer this one leads a little bit to what you're saying. To me, it's about hope and dreaming. Obviously there's the issue of budgets, as you saw in the

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, and the bilingual nature of the country was well reflected there in the hiring and training policies. One of the films done by Graeme Ferguson and produced by Robert Kerr—they were two of the three founders of IMAX—was maybe the first bilingual film in history. It had a si

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  To me, and as they say on television, to the best of my recollection, first of all, the passport was fantastic. Because it was a Canadian passport; you had that in your hand. Sometimes there are devices or symbols, and we have such an artifact there: that passport has become a mo

Canadian Heritage committee  No....

Canadian Heritage committee  We vary. For Just for Laughs, we've reached a peak of about 135 countries and about 98 airlines. The advantage of Gags is that gags are non-verbal. Non-verbal content is very powerful. The nature of airlines has evolved a bit with the back-of-seat screens. We've had a similar p

Canadian Heritage committee  From the Just for Laughs perspective, we have a number of ways we do that. We have a worldwide scouting network that includes Canada. We have representatives, most of them part-time, some people who are in the entertainment business, and some people who are in other businesses bu

Canadian Heritage committee  Good morning, honourable members of Parliament. My name is André Picard. I am Vice-President of Public and Corporate Affairs for the Just For Laughs Group. I would like to thank Mr. Paul Calandra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Mr. James Mo

Canadian Heritage committee  The major festivals and events that are members of FAME contribute to Canada being recognized worldwide as a cultural, vibrant nation. I applaud you for holding these hearings. For me, it's never too early to talk about an initiative as far-reaching as the 150th anniversary. A