:
Welcome back, everyone, to our next five weeks before we have another constituency week.
I must say that last week was quite busy for me. I had a cold all week, too, so if I sniffle a wee bit up here today, please accept my apologies.
Welcome to meeting six of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), we are considering the main estimates for 2010-11: votes 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, and 125 under Canadian Heritage, referred to the committee on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
Appearing this morning is the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.
Welcome, Minister Moore.
We also have three department officials from Canadian Heritage: Judith A. LaRocque, Deputy Minister; Pablo Sobrino, Assistant Deputy Minister, strategic policy, planning, and corporate affairs; and Jean-Pierre Blais, Assistant Deputy Minister, cultural affairs.
Before I ask the minister to make his presentation, I will tell everyone that this morning the question period for each person is five minutes. That includes both questions and answers. I'm going to try to stick as close to that time as I can so that everyone has an opportunity.
Yes, Mr. Angus.
:
I'll do my best to answer them in a yes-no fashion.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Translation]
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, I am very pleased to be appearing before the committee once again.
With me are Judith A. LaRocque, Deputy Minister; Pablo Sobrino, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs; and Jean-Pierre Blais, Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs.
It's been almost a year since I was last here. In the last few months, our Government has been working tirelessly on many cultural issues, and today I want to share our accomplishments with you.
[English]
The most visible cultural and sporting event to take place in this country in the last decade was the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic winter games. The games brought with them incredible events--the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays, the opening and closing ceremonies, and of course the sporting competitions themselves.
[Translation]
This also included Canada's Cultural Olympiad, which featured approximately 650 performances and exhibitions. More than one quarter of the artists featured were from Canada's francophone communities. Our artists set the bar extraordinarily high, both entertaining and inspiring Canadians and people around the world.
This was a once-in-a-generation event that brought Canadians of all ages and all backgrounds together. These were truly Canada's Games—exceeding the standards of the International Olympic Committee and uniting Canadians in cheering on the remarkable athletes who made us so very proud.
[English]
Our government understands the vital role that arts and culture plays in the lives of everyday Canadians and the contribution it makes to vibrant communities across the country. We also understand the economic importance of the arts in Canada. Arts and culture in Canada represents over 650,000 jobs across the country. Its economic impact for our country is $46 billion, almost 4% of Canada's GDP.
Throughout the last year, our government has been carefully charting a course that will allow our creative industries to become even stronger. Our economic action plan is investing in Canada's long-term benefits and strengthening our economy, particularly our creative economy. In the first year of this two-year plan, we delivered an unprecedented level of support for arts and culture in Canada. Since April 1, 2009, we have invested over $53 million for 113 economic action plan projects in communities of all sizes across the country.
[Translation]
This includes $1.3 million in support for the National Theatre School in Montreal, so it can remain a world-class arts training school; $1.8 million to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre to help renovate its 1911 York Theatre, which is about to turn 100 years old; approximately $1 million for La Troupe du Jour to create a first-rate centre for its high-quality French theatre production—La Troupe du Jour is the only professional French language theatre company in Saskatchewan; the Garden of the Gulf Museum, located in Montague, Prince Edward Island, will be able to better display its artifacts and complete important renovations as a result of investments through our Economic Action Plan.
[English]
Moving forward, we're investing $335 million in arts and culture, which includes cultural infrastructure, new arts facilities such as those of the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal, new investments in historic sites such as the Fort York Visitor Centre, the birthplace of urban Toronto, and renovations such as that of the Royal BC Museum, one of the oldest and foremost cultural institutions in Canada. These are just a few examples.
Through these projects we are providing our creative economy with a much-needed shot in the arm and building arts infrastructure for future generations. Last month's Speech from the Throne built on our commitment to Canada's arts and culture sector. It makes note of the several historic anniversaries that will bring Canadians together to celebrate our rich and diverse heritage. Plans are already well under way to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Canada's first English settlement, at Cupids in Newfoundland and Labrador; the bicentennial of the War of 1812; and the Queen's diamond jubilee, the sixtieth anniversary of the ascension of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We're also honoured that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be in Canada during the summer of 2010.
The Speech from the Throne also repeated our government's intention to launch a digital economy strategy and to introduce legislation to strengthen laws governing intellectual property and copyright to encourage new ideas and protect the rights of Canadians whose research, development, and artistic creativity contribute to our prosperity and well-being.
[Translation]
Creators need the right tools to compete in global markets and build new business models. That's why our Government recently revamped and modernized several programs to assist the industry in this time of change.
Last month, I attended the launch of the Canada Media Fund, a public/private partnership which I am proud to say will invest about $350 million in the production of Canadian content in this year alone. This means more choice, more Canadian programming, and more support for the future of digital entertainment in Canada.
We also announced renewed support for Canadian periodicals, books and music. This investment will ensure that Canadians have more access to Canadian cultural content than ever before. Our goal for these programs was clear: to cut down on red tape, and be more efficient in supporting community newspapers and magazines, more Canadian authors, and more Canadian artists across the country.
[English]
The result is this: magazines and non-daily newspapers now have a better program, which supports them in bringing quality Canadian stories and opinions to Canadians in the titles they choose to buy; independent artists and small labels will have more access to more market development funds for their music than ever before; fans of Canadian authors everywhere will continue to have access to a wide range of Canadian-authored books.
While we have increased funding for the arts in every one of our government's budgets, we have now renewed and stabilized funding for arts and culture programs for five years, until 2014. That's more support for festivals, for theatres, for museums, youth programs, and training programs for our future artists than at any time before in our country's history. This renewal was something arts organizations had asked for in order to allow them to plan their activities for the longer term. In uncertain economic times, our government fully supported this need for stability, which is unprecedented.
In total, our government invests more than $2 billion every year in arts, heritage, and cultural programs. This includes a record amount for the Canada Council for the Arts and for the CBC, which also has benefited from the highest level of funding in its history. Today I am delighted to announce that 64 arts organizations have been granted $14.9 million to leverage close to $21 million in private sector donations to their endowments. With this announcement, since 2006 our government's investment of $59.5 million in arts organizations' endowment funds has leveraged more than $93 million in support from the private sector for arts and culture.
We're providing support for organizations such as L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Le Festival international de Lanaudière, the Vancouver Symphony Society, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and the Canadian Opera Company. This is in addition to the 41% increase, from $17 million to $24 million, for the Canada Arts Training Fund, support that goes directly to the 36 schools across the country that have demonstrated that their training is the key factor in the success of their graduates.
[Translation]
As we make these new investments, we continue to manage tax dollars in a responsible way. This year, the Canada Council for the Arts, the CBC, the National Film Board of Canada and Telefilm Canada undertook strategic reviews of their direct program spending. Our government concluded that the programs delivered by these organizations were found to be in line with the priorities of Canadians and of the government.
[English]
In particular, the National Film Board has been a leader in terms of taking advantage of modern technology. Last year it put the better part of 1,500 films online for free via nfb.ca and also launched its free iPhone application. Early on, our government made the deliberate decision to increase funding for the arts in each and every one of our budgets. The initiatives I've outlined today illustrate our government's historic and continued commitment to supporting arts and culture in Canada. We recognize that rapidly changing technologies have implications for arts and culture and we've been charting a course that will allow creative industries to navigate this changing landscape with support from our government.
Thank you. I look forward to responding to any questions you may have.
:
Perhaps, but let me continue. I would in fact be very happy if you purchased a copy, but you can also pay royalties through your iPod. In addition, since this artist has quite a thick, I am also giving you the companion book entitled “Comme une odeur de muscles“ to enjoy. It will allow you to follow along with the DVD. Copyright is not a problem in this case. I have not copied or shared this work. It has most likely been digitized by Google.
Google sent a letter to the Association des éditeurs du Quebec advising them to take legal action if they were not happy about this. I didn't hear you say anything about this state of affairs, Minister, and it saddens me. Artists are saddened as well. Specifically, I think about the publishing community that is forced to do battle with Google on its own, without your support.
I am very happy to present you with this CD. Unfortunately, it also comes with a DVD. I did not even look at it for fear of violating the Copyright Act. Fred Pellerin has also put out a CD of old, remixed French-language songs. One of these songs is entitled “Mommy”. As you can see, the DVD has not been opened. Be careful, because the labels and price tags have not been removed. I want to be sure that I do not violate the Copyright Act. I also want to be sure that this artist gets his due. There is a protective device in place to prevent you from downloading it onto an MP3. I know that for a fact, because I have tried and failed.
You have to understand that when artists feel that they are not protected, they take action to protect themselves. You can try it and get back to me, but it's important to understand why these measures are in place. One of the songs, Mommy—which happens to be the only song in English— is a patriotic song about French that decries the assimilation of French by English. I'm sure that as Minister of Official Languages, you will find it interesting. It is required listening.
I have something else I'd like to say, because there is more to life than gifts, even though they make our host more receptive. I'd like to talk to you about digitization. In your opening remarks, you stated that you want to bring in a digitization strategy. This was also mentioned in the throne speech, but there is no sense of any true intention of devising a real global digitization strategy. You do little things and come up with ideas. You have taken money away from musicians—and that's all they had— and put it into record digitization. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but you cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. I don't have time to say everything I have to say on the subject, but we need a real digitization policy. You cannot become the kit-gadget minister who is only interested in putting forward initiatives of little value, or in tweeting about things that have not been well thought out, that lack inspiration or that are trivial. We want a genuine digitization strategy.
Is my time up?
I welcome the minister. I have sat with my honourable colleague for a number of years, and she's never given me any gifts.
I would like to ask whether, when you've finished listening, you can lend it to me so I can hear. I don't think that contravenes the Copyright Act, but I'd love to hear it anyway.
I'm pleased to have you here. There are many questions we could ask to try to get clarification. I'm interested, and I was looking through the estimates, because money in the arts sector will go a long way wherever it is placed. I know that certainly the small museums are still reeling from the cuts of a few years ago.
We're still reeling from the loss of our programs for international promotion of the arts, as well as the musical diversity cuts.
Then I see $25 million that has been floating out there for the Canada prize for the arts. I don't really see any timelines on that. I don't really know who is administering the fund. The fact that this is coming has been kicked around for a while, but where is it, who is going to administer it, and how is it going to work?
First, if you don't mind, I will respond to Mr. Angus that on the Canada Media Fund the dominant concern raised by the Auditor General with regard to the old structure was the appearance of conflict of interest. We have the governance right. This fund was on the brink of completely disappearing. We brought the partners back to the table. We established a fund of $350 million this year that will support the creation of Canadian content.
Funding for CBC is still on the table and will go up every year going forward. One-third of the envelope is reserved for French language creations, of which one has to assume that CBC will very well be a large beneficiary thereof. We have more money on the table than ever before. The guaranteed envelope isn't there, but there is more money on the table for CBC and all broadcasters than ever before. This is a good news story, so to spin it as you have is not true.
With regard to the bridge financing, we didn't go that route. We went a different route. It wasn't a loss of employment. They sold some assets that they, frankly, weren't using anyway. They had some empty floor space in downtown Toronto that they are now leasing out, and they have found ways to make things work because of the leadership of Hubert Lacroix and his team. I have to say they have done a great job of managing a shortfall that, by the way, everybody in the broadcasting sector felt, and we worked with them through that. In my judgment, it's a success story, and if you read Hubert Lacroix's annual report, he describes it that way.
[Translation]
Thank you for your comments, Mrs. Lavallée. I always appreciate receiving gifts.
I am very pleased to see that you are prepared for the debate that will take place over our copyright bill and our digital strategy program.
[English]
With regard to digital strategy, I would want to say this both to Madam Lavallée and to the entire committee. The idea of a digital strategy, which includes copyright as well, is to recognize that this is a flowing river that is going to change over time. The idea of necessarily saying, as any government, that we have the perfect digital strategy forever is the wrong way to look at it. We don't know where technology is going to be. We don't know where new platforms are going to go.
Five years ago, for example, the largest selling mobile device in Canada was the Motorola RAZR. Now they're invisible. BlackBerry comes up with a new model every three months. The iPhone is coming out with a new model in June. The iPad has come out. There are all kinds of platforms. Android...Microsoft has a new phone.
The digital universe is changing in ways that none of us can predict two years hence, let alone ten years hence. The reality is, what the government needs to do is not say that we have a digital strategy that will necessarily work for the next generation, but to set in place a mindset--in the approach to government programming, the way we develop legislation, and the way we look at how government operates and funds things--that forever recognizes a tectonic shift in how people are consuming Canadian content, multimedia, and arts and culture, and to support the creative economy not only in the way in which citizens consume their information and data and entertainment but in how Canadians are creating it to put it out there for Canadians and the world.
This isn't about having a digital strategy that we can cement now that will be forever au courant, but having a way in which a government thinks about recognizing a massive shift that's going on in the way in which information is created and consumed. That's what a digital strategy is about.
Of course, there are some contemporary issues that we're going to have: the transition to digital television and copyright legislation. Having a digital approach to things means recognizing that all government programs, from the Canada Media Fund, to our book fund, and to our music fund, which now has an envelope for helping people market things online...everything has a component that recognizes the digital fact of today and the future.
:
Thank you very much for coming to the committee today, Minister.
I want to touch on an issue that has actually been raised by many of my constituents in Brampton—Springdale. We have a very multicultural, multilingual, and multi-religious riding. Community channels are very important to many of those constituents and to Canadians. Canadians pay almost $133 million in subscriber fees for community channels. Over the past few years, we've seen a reduction of almost 86% for distinct community TV services. In a province such as New Brunswick, where there were nine community TV channels at one point, we have only one at this particular point.
We've also seen that only 30% of current community programming is actually produced by local community members. Seventy percent of community programming is produced by staff versus the local community on the ground. In the past 20 years, the CRTC has only assessed this three times. I want to know your thoughts on this.
I know in the past few weeks, in particular, CACTUS has raised this issue. I believe a hearing is going to be held by the CRTC on the 26th. They have been asking for further information through the Access to Information Act, but they have not been able to receive it.
What are your thoughts in terms of more transparency and accountability? Does the department have a particular vision on how to work with these communities and cable companies to ensure we increase community programming and actually get more volunteers on the ground to produce local content for local community programs?
:
I don't know if this comment will get me in trouble, but here I go. I joke sometimes with Minister Clement that I decided to get involved in politics in order to support my technology habit. Anyhow, you can get me going, talking about technology and devices. Actually, it's a very exciting universe, what the possibilities are.
One of the members we appointed to the board of the Canada Media Fund is Glenn Wong, the former head of Electronic Arts. Not only is he a very high-quality appointment, he's a very bright guy and he'll add a lot to the team at the Canada Media Fund. But the reason I wanted to appoint him is because I want to send an important signal that platforms are all merging.
If you turn on an Xbox 360 and you go to the Xbox live menu, you'll realize that personal computers, television sets, phones, and game consoles are all merging, and they're all very quickly becoming basically the same thing. The goal of the Canada Media Fund is to recognize some shifting technologies and the fact that we don't know ultimately where consumers are going to end. It's probably going to end, I suppose as we transition, as a mishmash of things. Some people are going to say they're more comfortable watching television on a set, on a couch, with family--that environment. Some people will say they prefer to watch television on their laptop when they fly, and they're going to want to consume television that way. The idea is to invest and support the creation of Canadian content and to make sure it's available on multiple platforms.
One of the criteria for receiving funding is that you're creating shows that will be available on multiple platforms. The private sector and public sector do this already, and we want to encourage more of that. For example, I'll talk about CBC. Q, with Jian Ghomeshi, is a radio show that's available online for free in video podcast. Because I'm usually working, I never have the opportunity to listen to Q, as it's broadcast live on CBC, but I watch it all the time in video format, usually on my phone. Here is a traditional radio show being broadcast in video that I'm watching on my phone. You get the dynamic of it: content that is created for one medium, but I'm consuming it on a different medium that it wasn't originally intended for. It's all because the CBC has decided to embrace new media and push it forward in that way. They've done a very good job of that.
On the CBC as well there's Evan Solomon's show, Power & Politics. I never watch it just because of the time of day it's on, but I listen to it all the time. I download it in audio format and listen to it on my iPod. So I listen to a television show on a device that wasn't created when the idea of a politics show was first invented, and I watch a television show on a device that was invented before the radio show was ever designed.
All these platforms are combining. You can watch movies on your video game console. You can listen to radio shows through your television set. We don't want Canadian content to lose out on this dynamic. We want to make sure that people are embracing and pushing this forward.
In the private sector, we announced the creation of the Canadian Media Fund last year on Flashpoint on CTV. Flashpoint is a very successful show; it has done very well on CTV. It's on Friday nights. They show it on prime time. I think their longer-term success has been to break down a lot of barriers. You see Flashpoint streaming live on the Internet. You can download episodes one-off if you want to and make them portable. They've allowed people to do that.
This is an important universe, and we want to make sure that funding is available so that Canadian producers and content providers are keeping in mind that the audience isn't just metro Vancouver or the francophone in Quebec, but is global. To be able to show your creativity and excellence to an international audience, you have to embrace new technologies and make sure you're doing it effectively. We want to encourage that, so we're funding that, and we're doing it with the Canada Media Fund and the music fund. We're doing it in every way we can.