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Results: 201 - 300 of 372
View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I can't remember if it's $15 million or $18 million, but it's in that ballpark, and yes, we are looking at how this money could quickly be reallocated or invested. Trust me, we're not leaving this on the table.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, everyone, and have a nice evening.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his important question.
I want to point out that the federal government has made almost $3 billion available to the arts, culture and media sector in recent months to help it get through this crisis. We've contributed $2.5 billion through the Canada emergency response benefit and the Canada emergency wage subsidy. We've provided $500 million in emergency measures for the sector. In addition, we've committed to tabling a bill to ensure greater fairness for Canadian distributors—
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, my colleague and I agree on this notion of fairness.
I had committed to tabling a bill before June, but the pandemic obviously prevented this from happening. I'm committing today to tabling this bill when we return in the fall.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank the member opposite for her question and advocacy in this matter.
As she well knows, in the last mandate we adopted a new bill, the Indigenous Languages Act, to help save, promote and foster indigenous languages and the revitalization of those languages. We are doing so in partnership with indigenous communities across the country and we will continue to do so, Mr. Chair.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Madame Chair, and I thank the member opposite for his question.
As you well know, a healthy news and media sector in Canada is a priority for our government, which is why we have put in place a number of measures before COVID-19 and during COVID-19, and we will continue to be there for them after this crisis has gone by.
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Lib. (QC)
I'd like to thank the member for his question. However, I strongly disagree with him.
We haven't waited to develop a plan for the arts and culture sector. We listened to the community and we tailored our supports, as they were announced. We have an emergency plan for the arts and culture sector. We were asked to adapt the CERB to take royalties into account, and we did. We were asked to extend the CERB, and we did. We are fully aware that the recovery will take longer in the arts and culture sector.
We have been there, we are there and we will be there for the arts and culture sector.
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Lib. (QC)
I'm not so sure those who were protesting last week had issues with our government, but we'd certainly be happy to speak with them.
As for a long-term plan, we are currently consulting arts and culture stakeholders to contemplate together how the government can help the sector in response to the ongoing crisis.
We are working on finding solutions, but until we have long-term solutions, we have seen to it that our artists and organizations have access to funding until September.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Madame Chair; and I thank the member for this important question.
As stated by the Prime Minister on numerous occasions, our government recognizes that systemic racism exists in Canada, and we have made a commitment to do everything we can to combat it in whichever organization of the Canadian government.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question.
As she knows full well, the Canada Council for the Arts is an independent organization. The organization provides the funding. It is responsible for establishing its programs, free from any political interference or influence. In addition, grants are awarded with the help of a panel of experts in the field, meaning peers, artists, theatre administrators and other arts professionals from across Canada.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank my colleague for her question.
We have implemented processes to depoliticize the funding system in the arts. What my colleague from the Bloc Québécois is asking me to do is to make those policies more political and more politicized.
I am not sure that is what our artists and artisans in the arts and culture sector are asking us to do.
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Lib. (QC)
As I said, and I repeat, the grants are awarded through a peer review committee. The artists and artisans in the sector may or may not make favourable recommendations for funding. In the case of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, an expert peer review committee concluded that the grant should not be awarded.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, my thanks to my colleague for his question and for his interest in arts and culture.
We acted quickly at the very beginning of the pandemic. We put almost $2.5 billion into arts and culture through the Canada emergency response benefit and the emergency wage subsidy. As an emergency measure, we have provided $500 million to arts, culture and sport across Canada.
We have already started to help this sector, and we will continue to help the sector get through this unprecedented crisis.
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Lib. (QC)
First, Mr. Chair, I would like to offer my congratulations to the new Auditor General for her appointment.
On behalf of the government, I would also like to offer her our full support and collaboration—
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, her role is essential to our democracy. We are eager to work with her. She's more than welcome to share her concerns directly with the government. I can assure her that my—
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, our government has added 38 permanent staff positions to her office, while the Conservative government, under their leadership, cut the funding for more than 60—
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Lib. (QC)
With us, it was 38 new positions, Mr. Chair. With them, it was 60 positions fewer.
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, our government is fully committed to supporting the important and ongoing work of the Auditor General, an independent officer of Parliament. If the Auditor General identifies the need for additional resources, we will work with the Office of the Auditor General to ensure that they have all the resources they need to continue fulfilling their mandate efficiently and effectively.
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, maybe I'm not making myself clear in English. I will switch to my native tongue, French, in case it becomes clearer.
If the Auditor General identifies a need for additional resources, we will work with her to ensure that her office can continue to deliver its mandate efficiently and effectively.
In addition, our government worked with the Auditor General to increase funding in 2018-09. With this increase, the office was able to add the equivalent of 38 new full-time staff to its team. That's 38 more employees—
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, we have already increased the budget of the Office of the Auditor General in the 2018-19 period.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question and all the work he's doing in arts and culture.
From the outset, we've been there to support our artists and arts organizations. We introduced the Canada emergency response benefit, for example, but also the emergency wage subsidy, which we made available to non-governmental organizations.
To ensure that people who receive royalties aren't penalized under the Canada emergency response benefit, we have adapted it. We announced a $500 million fund to specifically help the arts and culture sector.
In fact, we understand very well that this sector has been severely affected by the current crisis. We've been there for our artists and artisans, and we will continue to be.
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, we've made it clear in the House numerous times that we have no intention of regulating the Internet.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.
As you know, we've announced a $500 million emergency fund that is starting to be deployed. The second phase of this fund, a portal, will be online in the next few days. Organizations across the country will be able to register and apply.
We are in a historic situation, a crisis that we certainly haven't experienced in a hundred years. It may take some time before we can roll out our programs, but we are working hard to do so.
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I deeply disagree with my colleague. Our government has invested $2.5 billion to help the arts and culture sector and our artists. We've done a lot.
I'm aware that we need to do more, and we're working on that.
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.
Our government will always protect our networks and ensure that Canadians have access to the latest innovations in telecommunications. A review of 5G technologies and their economic and security considerations is currently under way.
We will ensure that Canadians' security and personal information will never be compromised.
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, the government remains committed to maintaining the openness and transparency of our government during this challenging time. The Government of Canada, along with provincial and territorial governments, have implemented exceptional workplace measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, and to protect the health and safety of federal employees. These measures have had an impact on institutions' abilities to respond to access to information and personal information requests, since most employees are now working from their homes.
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Lib. (QC)
Treasury Board Secretariat has provided guidance to institutions to continue to make the best efforts to respond to Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests and to provide published content—
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Lib. (QC)
Mr. Chair, we value the important work of media across the country and the world. Attacking the integrity of hard-working journalists is not acceptable.
As many members on all sides of the House know, WeChat is a social media platform used to engage and share information with the Chinese-Canadian community. Participation in this group, much like Facebook, is guided by posted guidelines and a disclaimer. In this case, the individual who violated the guidelines of the group is no longer a part of that group.
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Lib. (QC)
As the member knows, we have done a number of things in the past weeks to help the arts and culture sector. We could talk about the Canadian emergency response benefit, or the wage subsidy.
We have provided advance help to a number of organizations from Canadian Heritage programs or the Canada Council for the Arts on top of the $500-million program, which has started to be deployed and will continue to be deployed in the coming weeks specifically for these types of organizations.
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Lib. (QC)
As the member said, these are allegations, and as you well know, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is an independent body. It's not controlled by the Minister of Canadian Heritage or the government.
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Lib. (QC)
Allegations are allegations, whether they are made in Quebec, Ontario or Alberta. As I said, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is an independent organization.
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Lib. (QC)
As the member is well aware, this program is a tax-break program. In order for organizations to qualify, they had to file their income tax forms, which they have done over the last few weeks. The program is in place, and we are confidant that media organizations will receive the money by the end of the summer.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would be happy to provide the list of those 1,400 media organizations that have received funding through that ad campaign.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy birthday.
Our artists have kept us strong and connected throughout this crisis. It is our turn to step up for them.
I want to thank you for your resilience and your patience. Your continuous feedback and inspiring work have helped us get where we are today.
Our government allocated $500 million to respond to the specific financial needs of the arts, heritage and sports organizations and help them be more resilient through these difficult times. Last week, I was proud to announce how this funding will be rolled out. In total, our cultural sector will receive over $422 million in this emergency funding. We are making sure organizations can continue delivering programs to Canadians, while protecting more jobs in our economy.
The funding process will be streamlined and will mostly use existing programs and partnerships to disburse payment as quickly as possible. Our government has always been there for our arts and culture communities. We continue to support them for our people and our economy during this difficult time.
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Lib. (QC)
I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.
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Lib. (QC)
I hope the member isn't suggesting that, because some members of the House are making an effort to speak French, they are unduly dragging out the time, as he seems to have said. Good for them, I say, for trying to speak a language they aren't necessarily comfortable in for the benefit of other members.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, I am very pleased to speak following upon the comments made by my colleague the Honourable Maryam Monsef.
I am speaking to you from Gatineau, on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people. I am delighted to join you virtually, to see you all, each of us in different corners of our beautiful country. I wish to recognize the important and essential work that you all are doing, even in the current circumstances, to continue the important work of Parliament and the committees.
We are all doing our best to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is important that we join forces and work together for the benefit of Canadian society. This of course includes culture, heritage and sport. Organizations in these three sectors are a vital part of the social fabric of our communities. They generate solidarity, and promote social integration and tolerance. They are also major drivers of the Canadian economy. The cultural sector alone contributes approximately $53 billion to Canada’s GDP, and the sport sector contributes $6.6 billion. Not to mention the 500,000 jobs they create, the visitors they attract, their international visibility, their reputation for excellence, and, quite simply, the pleasure they give us.
To quote the Prime Minister:
Since the beginning of this crisis, artists have brought us comfort, laughter, and happiness. Athletes have continued to inspire us, encourage us, and make us proud. Those who work in the arts, culture, and sports sectors allow us to live their passion and make us dream. And these days, when we are all at home, isolating, they help us feel a little less alone. These are just a few of the reasons why we must be there for them like they are there for us.
Today, with you, I would like, first, to summarize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts, culture, heritage and sports; review the measures our government has taken to support these sectors; and give you an overview of our approach, which is intended to provide quick and flexible assistance to these sectors in the coming weeks.
We are collectively facing the biggest crisis in our history, and organizations and workers in the arts, culture and sports sectors were among the first to be affected. Several factors have increased the pressure on them: the ban on gatherings; the unexpected cancellation of cultural and sports activities; the closure of museums and facilities; the uncertainty that has gripped Canadian and international subscribers and sponsors; and the lack of opportunities to train and qualify for athletic competitions. All of this has added to the pressure on our artists and athletes.
These sectors that we are talking about depend on their connection with the public. From the day containment measures were announced, these sectors have demonstrated exemplary solidarity and creativity, but without a stage, an auditorium, an audience, a season, tours, they cannot survive. If the situation persists, we can expect Canada’s creative industry to face increasing and significant financial pressure. Over one month, losses were estimated at $4.4 billion and about 26,000 jobs. Over three months, they are estimated at $13.2 billion and about 81,000 jobs.
Many organizations will be able to recover from these losses thanks to the measures already announced by our government, including the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada emergency wage subsidy, the business credit availability program, and the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance for small businesses, intended for small businesses and organizations. We also ensured that these measures, which apply to Canadian society as a whole, would be useful to SMEs and non-profit organizations, many of which work in the fields of culture, heritage and sport.
We have also worked hard to free up funds quickly and adapt to the realities of each line of business.
We announced the accelerated processing of funding applications to the Canada book fund and the Canada periodical fund, and we confirmed that income from royalties would not be a barrier for artists and creators seeking eligibility for the emergency response benefit. The Canada Council for the Arts will provide $60 million in advance funding to help its beneficiaries to meet their immediate commitments.
The federal government has paid for Part I of the CRTC licence fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year, providing immediate financial relief of $30 million. In addition, an independent panel of experts is set to make recommendations to the Canada Revenue Agency on the implementation of tax measures for print journalism, and we have made several adjustments to those measures to better meet the needs of the publishing and journalism communities.
Finally, the vast majority of the $30 million invested by our government in a national COVID-19 awareness campaign will be invested in Canadian media: in television, radio, newspapers and magazines, and digital media. All of these measures will provide our cultural, heritage and sports organizations with a breath of fresh air.
That said, we recognize that some of them may not be in a position to benefit from the measures already announced, for all kinds of reasons; for example, they tend to be characterized by cyclical revenues, high self-employment and contract work, and barriers to accessing credit. For others, these measures are not sufficient to allow them to cope with the current crisis.
That is why, on April 17, 2020, the Prime Minister announced $500 million in funding to establish a new COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations. This fund is meant to complement the measures already announced and to strengthen our safety net, which, I am sure you will agree, I have shown is needed now more than ever.
Last Friday, I announced how this new emergency fund will be rolled out. The fund will be distributed in two phases in order to meet the financial needs of affected organizations, maintain jobs and support business continuity. Canadian Heritage will divide the funding among select departmental programs and in collaboration with several partners. The breakdown of the funding has been presented.
Here is a summary. Over $198 million will be provided to the beneficiaries of arts and culture funding through existing programs; $72 million will be provided to the sport sector; $53 million will be provided to the heritage sector through the emergency component of the museums assistance program; $3.5 million will be distributed under the digital citizen initiative to help combat false and misleading COVID-19 information, as well as the racism and stigmatization that are often the result; $55 million will be distributed by the Canada Council for the Arts; and over $115 million will be distributed by the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada to support the audiovisual sector.
The use of the remaining funds will be based on needs. The rollout is already under way. Our program officers are in touch with organizations through the usual communication channels.
We will proceed in two phases. In phase one, eligible recipients will not have to apply for funding. We will use the most recent applications submitted to the program as a basis for topping up funding. Existing recipients of targeted Canadian Heritage programs will be asked to fill out an attestation. Once the attestation has been received and reviewed, the funding will flow shortly thereafter.
Phase two of the program will focus on eligible organizations with heritage collections, and other organizations that, for example, do not currently receive funding from Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada or the Canada Media Fund.
The second phase will provide temporary support as follows: funding for eligible organizations with heritage collections through the emergency component of the museums assistance program; and funding for other organizations, some of which do not currently receive funding from Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund. Further details on phase two will be announced over the coming weeks.
We want to find ways to broaden our support. Culture, heritage and sport are at the very heart of our plan. The challenge is to ensure that as many organizations as possible survive the crisis so that Canada’s cultural, heritage and sport ecosystems remain intact. This is essential to the recovery we all want for our creators, artists, curators, athletes and coaches; for our society; for our economy; and ultimately, for each and every one of us.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
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Lib. (QC)
As a Canadian, I would be one to believe in Canadian heritage from coast to coast to coast, but just last week, I was on the phone with the Alberta heritage minister, Minister Aheer, to talk about how we can collaborate to support the work that we do at the federal level, but at the provincial level as well.
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Lib. (QC)
I believe all parts of Canada's heritage are important to Canada: western heritage, eastern heritage, northern heritage, first nations—
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Lib. (QC)
If you have suggestions in terms of what it is we can do to help support different parts of Canada's heritage ecosystem, we would be happy to consider them.
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Lib. (QC)
I have tried to outline how our entire heritage ecosystem is under threat right now, from coast to coast to coast. Artists are finding it very difficult right now in Ontario, in Alberta, in Saskatchewan and—
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Lib. (QC)
View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I just finished one of her books.
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Lib. (QC)
My role is to support artists throughout this country. Many of our programs are available to organizations in every part of the country.
We're supporting artists in every part of the country. In western Canada as—
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Lib. (QC)
I can't give you an exact answer for the ratio. We could provide you with that information. As you know, that information is public. What I can tell you is that—
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Lib. (QC)
Over the last few weeks, I have spoken with thousands of people from across the country, from every corner of the country—thousands.
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Lib. (QC)
What I can tell you is that the Alberta heritage minister has saluted my leadership to help artists and athletes throughout the COVID-19 crisis on a number of occasions publicly, and—
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Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I believe I have. I believe I have a number of times, but—
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Lib. (QC)
I think I have answered your question a number of times regarding—
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Lib. (QC)
—western heritage. As I said, I had—just last week—a conversation with the Alberta heritage minister. I've had several conversations with the Alberta heritage minister—
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Lib. (QC)
—to see how we can help and support the heritage sector in Alberta and Saskatchewan, throughout Canada. I'm working closely with allies from across the country to do that.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you for the question.
I'm not sure. I haven't seen the article you're referring to. What I can tell you is that we have been supporting local journalism through an investment of $50 million over five years, which means that this year 200 journalists will be hired in communities that are not as well served from a media perspective as others. The ad-buy campaign we just did on COVID-19 for $30 million was distributed among more than 900 newspapers across the country, 500 radio stations and TV stations in 12 different languages. I think we value the diversity of the media ecosystem in Canada and—
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Lib. (QC)
Yes, we are looking very carefully at what France and Australia have done. As you may be aware, they've acted through their competition bureaus. We are looking at the mechanisms we have in Canada. Obviously, legislation and regulation among countries differs, so these types of bodies don't necessarily have the same types of powers, but we are looking at this very closely.
We've said for many months that we want the web giants to do their fair share, and clearly right now they're not. If we can use existing tools to make that happen, we will. If we need to create new tools, we will.
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Lib. (QC)
Thank you for the question. It's an important question and an important point. On what we're trying to do with this funding, this is not funding for the recovery, for when we are no longer confined. This is really emergency funding to help as many of our arts and cultural organizations as possible make it through the first wave of the crisis.
We clearly understand that we will need to do more. The Prime Minister has said it, and I've said it many times. We will do more to support our heritage, cultural and arts organizations as we rebuild, as we recover from COVID-19. That is not what those funds are destined for. They're emergency funds to help them make it through that first wave of the crisis.
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Lib. (QC)
As far as organizations are concerned, I would encourage you to send them to the Canadian Heritage website. Canadian Heritage doesn't directly fund artists. The Canada Council for the Arts does. As I said earlier in my remarks, they have received additional funding to support arts organizations and artists as well.
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Lib. (QC)
As someone who has published three books, I know a bit about the issue of copyright and editors. I've worked with many of them. This is an issue that's very dear to my heart. It is in my mandate letter. The Prime Minister has asked me to look into this. I'm assisted in that task by the member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth, who, you may remember, was chair of the heritage committee that worked on the copyright issue. The file is in good hands, and we will be moving on it as fast as we can.
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Lib. (QC)
This is entirely for local media. That fund is dedicated to local media.
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Lib. (QC)
We would be happy to provide you with the information as to how a media outlet could apply for that funding.
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Lib. (QC)
I could get you the breakdown. What I can tell you is that 97% of it went to Canadian media and, as I said earlier, to 900 print and 500 TV and radio stations across the country, in different languages—Farsi, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, French and English obviously.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank the member from Richmond Hill for the question. It is a really important issue, which is why, as I was just saying, the ad campaign we did for $30 million on the COVID-19 was done in 12 different languages.
As part of the $500 million, there is $70 million that was set aside for local news media organizations across the country to help support them through this crisis, including third-language media across the country. Beyond the wage subsidy and beyond the $30 million, there's an extra $70 million that will go to help support these news organizations, on top of the other $50 million that I was talking about earlier on, which we adopted in the 2019 budget specifically for local media.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank the member for Drummondville for his question.
With regard to advertising, you will recall that your party asked us several times about investment in advertising, namely that there was not enough advertising in the Canadian media, or that there was too much.
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Lib. (QC)
Yes, I'm getting to it.
We ran a publicity campaign that was 97% invested in Canadian media.
Advertising is one of the elements, but I could tell you about the $70 million that was set aside for local media in the $500-million envelope that was announced last week.
As far as the tax credit is concerned, everything is now in place to give access to the $595 million that will be available.
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Lib. (QC)
I'm always open to discussion with the member from Drummondville.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank the member for Red Deer for his question and for his passion for the arts and culture, which we have in common.
Heritage is an issue for all Canadians, in all of its diversity and distinction across the country. Our goal is to help arts and cultural organizations across the country to make it through this crisis, regardless of where they are.
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Lib. (QC)
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Lib. (QC)
As I said, last week we unveiled details of how the money would be spent to help many different types of arts, heritage and cultural organizations across the country.
I can give you a clear example of where we're helping Albertan organizations more than we would normally for the rest of the country. On the sports side of things, we decided to allocate the money to provinces, not in relation to the number of people in the province but in relation to the number of provincial sports organizations. To its credit, Alberta has way more provincial sports organizations than many other Canadian provinces or territories. Therefore, Alberta will be getting a bigger share of the sports money, that aid, than it would under normal federal-provincial agreements solely based on population.
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Lib. (QC)
You wanted a clear example of something that the federal government is doing to help Albertans, so there you go.
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Lib. (QC)
I thank the member for Saint-Laurent for the question.
As an environmentalist, I tend to look at things as ecosystems. Frankly, I would do the same with regard to the arts, hospitality sector and restaurants. They go hand in hand. They were among the first sectors that were hit—and tourism, obviously—and they are probably going to be the last ones to come back to normal, or a new normal.
That is why our government has been looking at this with an ecosystemic approach: What can I do on the heritage side of things in collaboration with what my colleague Hon. Mélanie Joly can do on the tourism side of things, and what my colleague Hon. Mary Ng can do on the small and medium-sized businesses side of things, so that once we make it through this crisis, our ecosystems are still intact and we are able to pick it up and start running again?
In answer to your second question, we do not know the scale of the economic impacts in the coming months. We are starting to have some idea, but we will need to have more information.
I want to quickly quote the Montreal board of trade, which saluted our $500-million aid package that was announced last week for arts, culture and sports organizations as something that will be significant for Montreal and the greater Montreal communities.
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Lib. (QC)
Yes, and thank you for the question.
As I said, of the $500 million, $72 million will go to the sports sector. Of that $72 million, roughly half will go to national federations such as Sport Canada and different types of sports federations. The other half will go to provincial and territorial organizations. Through our partnership with them, the money will be flowing through provinces and territories.
There's also $5 million that we set aside to help our athletes prepare for the next Olympics. The postponement of the Olympics created all sorts of logistical and financial problems for our athletes, so we wanted to set aside some money to make sure we could be there for them.
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Lib. (QC)
I can stay a bit longer.
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Lib. (QC)
What we're trying to do with this money—and obviously, it's not the federal government doing the work. We've partnered with three organizations across Canada: la Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick—
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Lib. (QC)
I'm trying to answer your question.
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Lib. (QC)
There is also la Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, to help Canadians have access to the best possible information on COVID-19, which I think—
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
As I was trying to say, Madam Chair, it's not up to the government to decide. We're working with these organizations so that they can help Canadians better understand and have access to the most important information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Again, Madam Chair, if it's the same question, it's going to be the same answer.
We are working with these organizations, such as the Quebec federation of professional journalists, so that they can provide Canadians with the best possible information and help them detect...because unfortunately there are people who are trying to scam Canadians.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Neither of us wants that.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Same question, same answer. It's not the government that's going to decide. We're working with organizations, third parties, so we have independent.... As a signatory of the Buffalo Declaration, you should understand what independence means from—
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I would point out that you are alleging that these statements are false.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
All I said was that the allegation came from you.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
They didn't come from these organizations is what I'm saying.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
They did not come from la Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick, la Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec or the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
There are a number of things that we've done very early on. When the crisis started, one of the things that Canadian Heritage announced—it's the same with the Canada Council for the Arts—was that we would honour our existing agreements with organizations for events that were planned, whether or not these events took place. What we told organizations was that, within reason, they could use the funds from the federal government to compensate some of the losses related to COVID-19.
We have accelerated the deployment of existing programs. Also, what we wanted to make sure of was that broader economic measures that were adopted by the federal government would be accessible for arts, cultural and sports organizations. We wanted to make sure that if an author receives a copyright cheque, it doesn't disqualify him from being able to apply for the CERB. As an author myself, and as someone who receives very small copyright cheques every now and then from my editor, that's never for money you've made in the last 14 days. It's for money you made six months ago, or a year or a year and a half ago.
We made sure that the more economy-wide programs we had were well adjusted and adapted to the arts and culture sector. On top of that, we've announced this $500-million emergency aid package to help where more help is needed.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
The answer to your first question—I almost interrupted you, my apologies—is yes, absolutely. Our programs are going ahead. Grants and contributions are continuing to happen within Canadian Heritage.
On the second part of your question, the answer is yes. One of the things we are doing is showing the maximum flexibility that we can within our current programs. They weren't designed for the COVID-19 pandemic, so we have to adapt them as quickly as possible and give the flexibility that our partner organizations need to make it through this crisis.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
If there is one piece of advice I would give Canadians, it's to go to trusted news information. Go to your local, regional, provincial and federal health care agencies to get the best possible information. We've seen all sorts of things on the web, many of them, unfortunately, misleading or simply wrong regarding COVID-19. It's important that people verify the source and verify the information they're getting.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
It's just like doctors, I guess. Get a second opinion.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I thank the member for Abitibi--Témistamingue for his question.
I'll be pleased to forward this question to my colleagues Ms. Monsef and Mr. Bains. As you know, this does not fall under the purview of the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Again, I'm not able to answer that question.
Can the deputy minister answer the question, if he is still present?
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
As heritage minister, I cannot answer that question. I believe Deputy Minister Kennedy is still on the call—
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I would like to remind the member from Windsor West that we are investing $6 billion in the deployment of the network.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I must leave. I could stay on a bit longer, but unfortunately I can stay no longer.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, we will be releasing the details of that announcement, and how the money is going to be spent, in the coming days.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, we have not been informed of these allegations. We will look into this, and we will get back to the hon. colleague if we do find any valuable information.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, I totally agree with my colleague. We need to get the information to Canadians on COVID-19, which is why we have started an ad-buy campaign of $30 million, which is being distributed in more than 900 local, regional and national newspapers across the country and 500 radio and TV stations in 12 different languages, including Farsi, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian and many more.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Chair, we have been doing a number of things for our media in Canada over the last few months and will continue to do so. On top of that $30 million ad-buy campaign, we have been investing $50 million in local journalism. Just this year, it means that 200 journalists will be hired in areas across the country where journalism is more poorly defined. The federal government has paid part I licence fees of our broadcasters to the CRTC. That means $30 million is staying in the pockets of our broadcasters.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
We are planning a number of other measures, some of which will be included in the $500 million. I will be announcing the details of that in the coming days. Of the $595 million that the media will receive, we have a tax credit that has now entered into force, and the cheques should be in the mail by the end of the summer. So there are a number of things we've done and a number of things we will be doing in the coming months as well.
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View Steven Guilbeault Profile
Lib. (QC)
I would like to remind my hon. colleague that in order for us to provide tax breaks for the 2019 period, media outlets had to file their tax returns so we could go ahead.
This will now be able to proceed, Madam Chair.
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