Country came to the City again today, as members of CanACT helped present Canada's largest city to the newly arrived University of Florida delegates.

The day began at the world's largest freestanding building, the CN Tower. Several members of the group took in the marvelous view of 1,815-foot (180-storey) building. With clear skies and little haze, the view was one never to forget. It's said that from the tower you can see aljost all of the food manufacturing in Ontario, in the Golden Horseshoe around Lake Ontario.

Just down the street from the tower was the next stop, at Fleishman-Hillard. Fleishman-Hillard, a renowned worldwide marketing and public relations firm, opened its Toronto offices in 1993. The company prides itself on having offices with a strong agricultural division. In Toronto, it is aligned with GPC International, which is expert in lobbying for changes to government policies.

After a sparkling lesson on Ontario Canadian politics from GPC, CanACT and University of Florida members had the opportunity to sit in on the question-and-answer period of the provincial government at Queen's Park. Immediately after the sitting in at the House of Commons, Hon. Steve Peters, provincial Minister of Agriculture and Food, gave us a 40-minute audience, covering topics such as BSE, the proposed green belt project, and the state of agriculture in Ontario. We greatly appreciated the minister devoting so much time to us, given the considerable demands on his schedule, and speaking so candidly.

At Queen's Park, we saw where the news came from - then we went to the Toronto Star, where daily news is put to print throughout Canada. At the Toronto Star all CanACT and University of Florida members saw first hand how Tuesday's paper was being prepared. We were treated to a guided tour of the Star's gigantic newsroom, as reporters and editors were hitting deadlines. It was an exciting insight.

As the sky line of the city disappeared into the night, participants reflected on what a full circle they'd encountered, from a marketing agency that assists companies to lobby the government, to seeing first hand how the government works, and then observing how the days top stories hit the newsstands the next day.