Canadian Heritage committee  For me, Quebec is a leader without doubt. Ontario is to a certain extent, but considering the population size they don't outperform their population size. They need to improve that. B.C. has done a very, very good job with its grassroots programming. I think areas of the country that have very sound physical education programs in their elementary and junior high schools stand out, unfortunately not Alberta.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certainly I think the aspect of coaching and quality coaching through to children and youth is absolutely critical. I do strongly urge you to pay attention to governance of sport in the country. We have to out-punch our weight because of our population size and geographical size at the other extreme, and so those are elements for me, quality people, sound instruction, and strong governance to make sure we do not duplicate services and that we're very efficient.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would agree.

Canadian Heritage committee  The governance structure and the role of central government, I think, at times is underestimated. I personally look to the central government to be a leader. It doesn't mean to say necessarily, as Mr. Henwood said, invest money. I think there are a number of things in terms of getting the agencies responsible for sport at all levels across the country to work together more effectively, to reduce the level of national duplication, but understanding the needs for the different geographical aspects of the provinces.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think your point about the links with universities and certain industries is extremely important and actually verges back on that aspect of the worth of sport. To work with, say, Bombardier, you'd think maybe designing an airplane would be enough for some people, but you put an athlete, say an alpine skier, into their wind tunnel, and you see the engineers' faces light up.

Canadian Heritage committee  Dale, do you want to answer that first?

Canadian Heritage committee  Okay. From my standpoint, absolutely, we would rely very heavily on the services through the Canadian Sport Institute, where we're able to supply French-speaking individuals. We take inordinate lengths to ensure that we are able to communicate effectively and provide services. There was an interesting question that came up earlier about bobsleigh.

Canadian Heritage committee  Let me say that there's perhaps the honeymoon period, whereby there's the euphoria particularly around Vancouver, and then after that the memory dissipates. If you look at the way the media treats the Olympic sports, there's a big focus in the months, weeks, and days leading into the games.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would certainly echo many of Mr. Henwood's comments. The intangible aspect, if you like, of inspiration for a country can't necessarily be valued in a classic, quantitative way, but the inspiration of the pursuit of excellence in any endeavour, I think, is a worthy cause. The aspect of high performance is obviously a challenge particularly for a fair, egalitarian, socially responsible country like Canada, where ultimately you are investing in fewer and fewer people.

Canadian Heritage committee  Actually, yes there is. I think it's called Whistler Sport Legacies. It's a very similar format. It's not quite as large, mainly because of what happened to many of the facilities post the Olympic Games. The real focus for that particular legacy looks after the Richmond Olympic Oval where the speed skating was held, and up to Callaghan Valley where the Nordic sports were, close to Whistler, and the Whistler Sliding Centre track.

Canadian Heritage committee  That's fair enough. I've said everything I need to say.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to hear of this level of inquiry and oversight. I think it's a much-needed process in examining performance of any endeavour, particularly high-performance sport. As you can tell by my accent, I'm not originally from Canada, but I came to Canada in 1990 to do my Ph.D.