Canadian Heritage committee  I can really only speak on behalf of figure skating, but it is equal in our sport. That's because we do have team events that consist of a female and a male together. There wouldn't be the girl without the guy, and there wouldn't be the guy without the girl. So the funding is ver

Canadian Heritage committee  I believe it has not only been a huge financial difference. You know, there was only so much funding that was allowed back 25 years ago in the 1980s, and sport wasn't as big as it is in Canada today. So yes, that is a huge part, but I think more it's the embracing of sport in gov

Canadian Heritage committee  The biggest complaints I'm hearing as a professional coach at the grassroots level are what was just stated—ice costs. Go to different areas and ice costs can jump anywhere from $100 an hour to almost $285 an hour. Young families with three or four children get involved in skatin

Canadian Heritage committee  I can't speak on behalf of the other sports, but figure skating is one of the greatest sports for volunteerism. We have a tremendous number. You can go to any event, like the World Figure Skating Championships in London , and we have hundreds of volunteers. I think that just goes

Canadian Heritage committee  What's so great about it is that it's the first time it's coming into the Olympic Games, and we have the strongest team ever going into the Olympic Games. So, we're really on a great road to winning this event. What it's going to be is that the top 10 countries—in the point syste

Canadian Heritage committee  It benefits tremendously in all areas. It's not just so much with figure skating but all sport. I feel, as an athlete, what sport brought to me is the understanding of reaching for goals and not giving up on things so quickly, and the journey to achievement and success. I think t

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. I don't normally bring this, but I figured you might all want to see it, and I think you're all old enough to remember. [Applause] I always do that. It's the first thing I check out, the ages in the room.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Dan. Thank you, everyone, for having me here today. As an Olympic year approaches, I find myself looking back at my life and my journey to the Olympics. If you can believe it, it all started when I was three years old, by borrowing a pair of my brother's hockey skat