Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and everyone there.

It's a pleasure for me to be here—or there, as I'm not quite exactly with you today—and I'm proud to be representing Canadian fiddlers in support of this proposed bill.

That was so beautiful, Senator Hubley. I'm trying to catch my own breath now.

I don't want to elaborate any further on the historical or cultural importance of fiddle music in Canada, because I think that has been well established. What I'd like to do instead is share with you some of my first-hand experiences as a Canadian fiddler.

I was fortunate to grow up in a musical home with step-dancing and fiddling, so from a very early age I had the passion and knew the joy that we had in our home. It quickly rippled into our community, as we performed for many years at local fairs, festivals, strawberry socials, old age homes, and the like.

Our summers were spent at fiddle and step-dancing contests across Ontario and Quebec, where it quickly became obvious that it wasn't so much about the competitions but about the friendships we were building and the long night jam sessions we had with our fellow fiddlers and step dancers. Those friendships remain strong today.

When I was 13, we were approached by neighbours and friends asking me if I would teach their children how to play the fiddle. Of course, I had no teaching credentials, but that didn't matter. They wanted to share in this energetic, contagious instrument. My teaching career began when I was 13.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to travel across the country teaching at workshops and various fiddle camps from P.E.I. to Vancouver Island and even into the New England states. I had the chance to work with fiddlers young and old, with brand new fiddlers, and with people who had played for years and still wanted the inspiration. We shared an immediate kinship that is really inexplicable. I'm really fortunate that I've had those opportunities.

The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Camp celebrated its 25th year last year. Fortunately, I've been an instructor there for many years. Last year I had a chance to work with Alexander there. He is our future. It makes me very proud to know that I'm playing a part in inspiring and nurturing some of these gifts in these young people, because they are our fiddling future for Canada.

One other thing I wanted to talk about is the opportunities that being a Canadian fiddler have given me. I've had the chance to perform across North America extensively, and into Europe, China, and Taiwan, and to witness the reactions of audience members, whether they're tapping their toes, crying a tear, or getting up and doing a random step dance whether they know how to or not. In talking to them in the lobby and just feeling the effects that fiddle music has, it's a wonderful feeling to be able to share that.

A couple of moments come to mind. I remember being draped over an iceberg up in Alert in our Canadian north and realizing that it was my fiddle music that got me there and that the reason I was in that position came from all my hard work and from just embracing this wonderful instrument. I had the same feeling when I was riding a camel in the Middle East, knowing that it was my fiddle music that got me there. On both occasions, it was our Canadian military that invited me to perform for them, and that was another honour.

I have two other quick stories, if you don't mind.

The little house concerts, which are a far cry from icebergs and camels, are just as important. I remember a little four-year-old sitting in the front row at one of my house concerts. I thought there was no way that he was going to sit through a two-hour fiddle concert, but he sat there mesmerized the whole time. As soon as the show was done, he ran into the other room and brought back his own little fiddle, took it out of the case, and scratched a few notes for me.

In a concert two days later, I had a 90-year-old man request his favourite fiddle tune. I finished the last note, and he was up out of his chair, across the room, and giving me a big hug faster than I could imagine.

Those moments are to me proof of the contagious nature and the beauty of this instrument in how it can reach people at any age.

This bill would celebrate, as Senator Hubley so eloquently said, all that fiddle music has been in our country and all that it will be. It will encourage and inspire our younger generations to come to keep this music alive.

It's been a huge honour for me to be here, and I thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of all Canadian fiddle players.

I don't know if there is time for me to play a fiddle tune or not.

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