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Results: 46 - 56 of 56
View Scott Simms Profile
Lib. (NL)
All right, let's lower the gavel. Welcome to the session for today.
Welcome, Minister.
I want to start this by describing to everyone who is watching or listening to us publicly that pursuant to Standing Order 81(4) and the order of reference of Wednesday, September 30, 2020, the committee will now consider the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. Pursuant to Standing Order 81(5) and the order of reference of Thursday, October 22, 2020, the committee will now also consider the supplementary estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
Now I call upon the minister for testimony.
Mr. Minister, we normally give around five to 10 minutes. I understand that you prepared some remarks.
Please proceed.
Hélène Laurendeau
View Hélène Laurendeau Profile
Hélène Laurendeau
2020-11-05 19:59
Mr. Piché will be able to clarify that.
Jean-Stéphen Piché
View Jean-Stéphen Piché Profile
Jean-Stéphen Piché
2020-11-05 19:59
In the case of cable and Internet service providers, a 5% levy is used to contribute to the Canada media fund. For other broadcasters, it is a requirement related to spending on Canadian content.
View Scott Simms Profile
Lib. (NL)
Thank you.
Let's talk about votes on the main estimates.
CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
Vote 1—Payments to the Council..........$362,644,295
(Vote 1 agreed to)
CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Vote 1—Payments to the Corporation for operating expenditures..........$1,101,551,846
Vote 5—Payments to the Corporation for working capital..........$4,000,000
Vote 10—Payments to the Corporation for capital expenditures..........$105,246,000
(Votes 1, 5 and 10 agreed to)
CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Vote 1—Payments to the Museum for operating and capital expenditures..........$25,502,953
(Vote 1 agreed to)
CANADIAN MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Vote 1—Payments to the Museum for operating and capital expenditures..........$72,188,284
(Vote 1 agreed to)
CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21
Vote 1—Payments to the Museum for operating and capital expenditures..........$7,895,183
(Vote 1 agreed to)
CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE
Vote 1—Payments to the Museum for operating and capital expenditures..........$26,811,201
(Vote 1 agreed to)
CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$5,053,157
(Vote 1 agreed to)
DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE
Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$203,230,981
Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$1,304,800,333
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to)
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES OF CANADA
Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$103,336,627
Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$21,753,850
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to)
NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE CORPORATION
Vote 1—Payments to the Corporation for operating expenditures..........$35,270,142
(Vote 1 agreed to)
NATIONAL FILM BOARD
Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$64,891,409
(Vote 1 agreed to)
NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA
Vote 1—Payments to the Gallery for operating and capital expenditures..........$38,673,922
Vote 5—Payment to the Gallery for the acquisition of objects for the collection and related costs..........$8,000,000
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to)
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Vote 1—Payments to the Museum for operating and capital expenditures..........$30,567,380
(Vote 1 agreed to)
TELEFILM CANADA
Vote 1—Payments to the corporation to be used for the purposes set out in the Telefilm Canada Act..........$101,878,949
(Vote 1 agreed to)
THE NATIONAL BATTLEFIELDS COMMISSION
Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$6,557,243
(Vote 1 agreed to)
The Chair: Now let's go on to the supplementary estimates (B).
CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Vote 1b—Payments to the Corporation for operating expenditures..........$36,700,000
(Vote 1b agreed to)
CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Vote 1b—Program expenditures..........$4,618,917
(Vote 1b agreed to)
DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE
Vote 1b—Operating expenditures..........$1,264,918
Vote 5b—Grants and contributions..........$57,487,060
(Votes 1b and 5b agreed to)
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES OF CANADA
Vote 5b—Capital expenditures..........$976,079
(Vote 5b agreed to)
The Chair: Third, the final vote, shall I report the votes on the main estimates to the House?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall I report the votes on the supplementary estimates (B) also to the House?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you so much.
That's it. Thank you, you are very kind.
Hélène Laurendeau
View Hélène Laurendeau Profile
Hélène Laurendeau
2020-10-30 13:07
I will make the opening statement on behalf of the department for all of us and then we will be open to questions.
Hélène Laurendeau
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Hélène Laurendeau
2020-10-30 13:07
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to apologize for my technical problems. We will have those fixed for our future appearances.
I'm speaking to you from Gatineau, Quebec. I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional Algonquin Anishinabe territory.
I would like to thank the members of the committee for inviting us here today to talk about this important initiative—the COVID-19 emergency support fund for cultural, heritage and sport organizations.
The focus today is on the cultural, heritage and sports sectors, which collectively employ 750,000 Canadians, contribute $61.9 billion annually to the national GDP, and whose products—arts, books, music and participation in sports—have provided Canadians with the comfort, community and sense of common identity that are so important in these turbulent times.
As you know, the cultural, heritage and sports sectors were among the first to suffer widespread closures, cancellations and associated losses due to the pandemic, and of course, public health guidelines, which imposed instantaneous containment on the entertainment and sports sectors from the outset of the pandemic. These sectors were among the first to experience the impact of the pandemic, and will likely be among the last to suffer. These sectors are already highly vulnerable, due to being overwhelmingly comprised of small-to-medium organizations, heavily reliant on not-for-profit models of operations. As a result, they have suffered severe damage.
Real GDP in the arts, entertainment and recreation sub-sector stood at $7.3 billion in July 2020 against $15.6 billion in February 2020. This is a decrease of more than 50% in just four months.
The total labour force in the performing arts, sports, entertainment and related industries decreased by 19.2% in September 2020 compared to September 2019.
The current situation demonstrates the fragility of sectors that are particularly vulnerable to the impact of this pandemic. Without financial assistance, many organizations would have ceased operations already, and many are still at risk.
As the pandemic unfolded, the government responded on April 17, 2020, when the Prime Minister announced $500 million to establish a new COVID-19 emergency support fund for cultural, heritage and sport organizations.
Very quickly after this announcement, the department went on to design the fund to complement the government's existing COVID-19 support measures, the Canada emergency response benefit and the Canada emergency wage subsidy. The department designed this to make sure that gaps left by those benefits would be addressed.
The key principles, besides the emergency support funding, were that the funds had to flow as quickly as possible, as time was of the essence, that the process be streamlined wherever possible and that applicants who are not normally recipients of PCH program funding be included in the disbursement of funds.
The emergency support funding built on pre-existing measures announced on March 25 to simplify the process for submitting and processing requests for 2020-21 funding for the Canada book fund and the Canada periodical fund, which allowed eligible beneficiaries to complete applications and access financial assistance much more quickly than usual.
The department also accelerated the distribution of its regular funding to eligible recipients in order to provide support quickly.
The emergency funding began in May 2020, and was disbursed in two phases—a first phase took advantage of existing funding mechanisms to advance approximately $307 million in temporary additional funding to recipients already benefiting from program funding, via a number of departmental funding programs and from the Canada Council For the Arts and Telefilm Canada.
Phase II funding was disbursed based on gaps identified after phase I, related to program coverage, diversity/equity and regional distribution—it included $45 million for special measures in support of journalism under the Canada periodical fund, $25 million for independent broadcasters investing in news and community broadcasts, and $52.1 million to arts and culture organizations that were not previously eligible for funding from regular Canadian Heritage programs.
In the distribution of these funds, the department was able to rely on the support of its partners, in particular the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, as well as FACTOR and Musicaction, for their assistance in distributing the funds through a streamlined process that facilitated the rapid distribution of funding in a consistent and equitable manner across organizations.
Apart from the COVID-19 emergency support fund, the government supported broadcasters by flowing funding to the CRTC to enable the waiving of part I licence fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The government also earmarked $25.7 million for national museums and the National Battlefields Commission to enable them to maintain their operations and offer some tours during the summer.
As the COVID-19 emergency support fund winds down, we are administering a survey to recipients of the emergency support fund to help assess the effectiveness of the funding in terms of financial relief, employment impacts and various social impacts. The results of this survey are currently being compiled.
Already, phase 1 COVID-19 emergency support fund recipients responded in high numbers to the survey and 77% of respondents said the fund helped them stay in operation to a large or moderate extent.
Just to wrap up and to give you an idea of the speed at which this all occurred, the Prime Minister made his announcement on April 17. Minister Guilbeault announced the launch of the program proper on May 8. Other measures I referred to were rolled out in parallel with the emergency support fund in the summer. Over 96% of the funding—which is $482 million—was distributed by the government-wide deadline of September 30. The remainder will be distributed by December 31. We're talking about approximately $18 million that is left to distribute between us and other partners.
The department is well aware that more needs to be done to support the sector during and following this pandemic. We are currently developing policy options regarding recovery. These options will be informed by the results of a series of 22 town halls and round tables that were conducted by Minister Guilbeault with stakeholders. These round tables occurred in September and October, and they highlighted the vulnerable state of the sector and potential areas to be acted upon going forward.
I'd like to thank the committee. This completes my opening remarks. I hope the sound was palatable. We would be happy to take your questions.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Jean-Stéphen Piché
View Jean-Stéphen Piché Profile
Jean-Stéphen Piché
2020-10-30 13:23
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Deputy Minister.
Thank you for your very pertinent question. As you know, at the beginning of the pandemic, the first reflex was to help clients known to Canadian Heritage, that is, those who were already benefiting from its programs. At the beginning of the pandemic, we made GDP projections for each category of the cultural industry to see which ones would be most affected.
For example, we knew that the sector that encompasses the performing arts and everything else related to entertainment would suffer enormously. Some of these components were already clients of Canadian Heritage, while others were not. So our first instinct was to work with our known clientele and make sure the money came out quickly.
Very quickly, we identified communities or arts groups that were more vulnerable, such as those involved in live music performances. We support music production in the department, but we didn't have a program that supported live music venues. So in the second phase, we earmarked about $20 million specifically for the live music sector.
Also, with respect to our existing client base, some of the organizations renew their applications for our programs from year to year, but not all are successful every year. In the second phase, we have therefore decided to provide additional support to those who did not get funding this year.
We have done the same by working with Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts. All three have expanded the accessibility of programs to allow a broader group of stakeholders to participate.
I have only given you an overview, but there are examples in all areas.
David Dendooven
View David Dendooven Profile
David Dendooven
2020-10-30 13:58
Mr. Chair, I can report that we allocated $72 million to sports.
As the deputy minister noted, the purpose of this funding is to help athletes and also sports organizations across the country, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, cover the costs associated with the postponement of the Olympic Games.
Gina Wilson
View Gina Wilson Profile
Gina Wilson
2020-07-16 15:29
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister.
Indeed, “sole-source contract” is incorrect terminology. I'll give a little bit of a flavour of the difference between a contribution agreement and a contract.
Contribution agreements are regularly used by the government to further policy objectives and to engage a wide diversity of skills and resources outside the government. Contribution agreements are not subject to procurement thresholds, like service contracts, and follow terms and conditions. They are subject to performance conditions specified in the funding agreement, audits, monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure that all results are received. Officials negotiated an agreement for the design of this program under Canada service corps, an existing contribution program. A contract is a completely different tool.
Hélène Laurendeau
View Hélène Laurendeau Profile
Hélène Laurendeau
2020-02-26 15:52
No, it's 5:30. I thought earlier that the question period would be longer.
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