Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 18th, 2006

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Some organizations were asked to prepare multi-year funding proposals and subsequently, this decision was reversed. I would simply like to know who made this decision and why.

Moving on to the film industry, when do are you plan to update Telefilm Canada's operating regulations in order to secure a quorum on the board of directors? Since March of 2005, they haven't had a quorum.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

They have had quorum. In eight meetings they've been able to conduct their business with a quorum.

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

I was unaware of that, but I'll check into it.

[Judith LaRocque]

There are four board members, and four members are required for a quorum.

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Two members were excluded, in light of Bill C-18. Were you aware of that fact?

When the updating...

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Excuse me, Mr. Kotto. Your time is up.

Mr. Warkentin.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Thank you, Minister, for being here this afternoon. I appreciate your willingness to meet with us again. You've been here before, and you'll see a theme in my question today.

Last time we talked about new technologies and their effect on culture. Since then you've announced a section 15 review of these new technologies. Canadians have been inundated, as have other countries, with new technologies like high-definition televisions, computers, and the Internet. We're accessing cultural types of media from other places. We have MP3 players, satellite radio, and the list goes on and on. You just have to go to any big-box retail store and find that we have just unlimited possibilities in accessing culture. There's no question that these new types of technologies are bringing in Canadian-based media, but they're also bringing in media that aren't necessarily Canadian-based.

I'm looking for specifics about the review and what types of technologies are being looked at. Are we only looking at technologies on the market today, or are we looking into the future at what might be coming on stream? I guess none of us can tell the future; if we could we'd maybe be in a different business. But we certainly have to look at what might be coming on stream in the future to ensure that we, as a society, protect the culture here in Canada.

So I'm wondering if you could elaborate a bit on the review and give us some specifics on the technologies that have been looked at.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Thank you for the question. In fact, I had breakfast this morning with the chair of the CRTC and was able to ask how the review was coming along. We didn't actually talk about the content of the information, but he reported back that he has received a very good response from all sectors of the industry. He started demonstrating the volume of it at the breakfast table.

That led us into a discussion, because the digital world is a technology that enables so many people to be able to develop new ways. We just heard about a major transaction including YouTube. Well, it's two young men in a garage, etc. So it's very hard to forecast future technologies, services, packaging, and how it will be delivered.

We then talked about the difficulty, when you're in an Internet age and a digital world, of ensuring Canadian content. How do you ensure a space and a place for Canadian creators? Those are the kinds of questions I'm committed to being concerned about, as is the chair. That's the environment we're talking about.

It's also a conversation, I'm happy to report, that actually happens at cabinet with my cabinet colleagues themselves, not only Minister Bernier, but Minister Flaherty, the finance minister. We had a dinner last night with heads of universities and colleges in the GTA. The head of Ryerson asked a very insightful question: Did we recognize the potential of Canada and Canadians in this new digital world and the place we could play? We have the talent and we certainly have the training. Now where are the jobs and the placements, etc.? So this is a discussion we are constantly having.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Are there any general themes that might be coming out of the review so far that might give us some direction as to where we might have to look in the future to protect our cultural sovereignty?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

As you know, the direction outlined the very areas that we wanted the commission to look at, and we tried to encapsulate them in broad areas. The chair reported back to me this morning that this is one of the major tasks, how to group the themes, that information, which is very diverse, very interesting, very intricate, into pieces that make sense, pieces that would be helpful to the government in its future work. They are struggling with that right now.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Madam Minister, perhaps we're not looking at the right spot, because you mentioned that there was a program review or an evaluation on the court challenges program on the website, and we can't find it. I look forward to receiving it.

But I do want to talk about a program evaluation. I understand the internal reviews you might have made, but a formal program evaluation is what I'm looking for, if there's been one.

Can you please give us the department's plans, intentions, vis-à-vis the portrait gallery or the portrait museum--whatever you may wish to call it. You know what I'm referring to.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

I do.

There was no final decision made on the portrait gallery. As you know, we are looking at various options. As you know, this is a collection that has been stored for decades, but we want to make sure this collection is made accessible to as many Canadians as possible and in a responsible manner.

Consequently, using the criteria of valuing our collections, making sure they can be preserved, making sure we do it in an efficient and responsible manner, and making sure it's accessible to Canadians rather than being kept in storage, we are looking at it and deliberating. So I cannot report that a final decision has been made.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Does that mean that the possibility of its being located in the old American embassy on Wellington Street has been eliminated?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Bélanger, as I said, no final decision has been made.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Changing the subject, I'd like to come back to Ms. Boucher's remarks. She congratulated, quite inadvertently I would imagine, the previous government, since it was the previous government that was the first to ratify the UNESCO Convention on cultural diversity.

Thank you, Ms. Boucher.

I'd also like to thank you, Madam Minister, for underscoring the previous government's initiatives in the area of official languages. The three initiatives of which you are so proud are, if I'm not mistaken, initiatives launched by the previous government as well.

I have a question about the boards of directors of the CRTC and the CBC. Even though it wasn't always successful, the previous government always tried to ensure that all regions of the country were represented on these boards, including minority linguistic communities. Positions will soon be vacant on the boards of the CRTC, the CBC, the NFB, and Telefilm Canada, among others.

Does your government intend to ensure that the makeup of these boards accurately reflects Canada's demographics?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

First of all, let me say, Monsieur Bélanger, as you know, when it's the right thing to do, we've always worked together. As I said, all of us--and you, particularly--who sit on this committee have a commitment to the arts, to culture, to diversity, and I was always very pleased to work with the former minister on advocating for the declaration and the UNESCO statement.

We recognize the work that has been done, and we are certainly going to build on that work in many areas.

Regarding your question about appointments, certainly we will make sure...because I think historically, Canada has always understood--because of the geography, because of the nature, because of the diversity of our country--that we are best served with the most representative kind of board in this governance.

I know personally that representation does have its benefit when it is diverse, when we make sure we have regional representation, large communities, small communities, minority communities; when we have the official languages represented. So certainly we will be attempting to respect those criteria, those guidelines that have been used historically.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

The clock is fast, Mr. Chairman. That's it?

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Yes, but I'm going to ask if the minister could stay for two more questions. That would even things out. If you could do that, Minister, I would appreciate it.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Chair, I appreciate your indulgence. I'm being told I can make my next meeting if I stay till a quarter to.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

I'm going to ask Mr. Fast for a question, and then I'd like Mr. Angus to have one more.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Thank you, Madam Minister and your staff, for appearing before us.

First of all, I want to commend you for the job you're doing, especially for taking action on the Chinese head tax. That was a horrific stain on the nation's conscience. I believe the steps that you have taken and that we as a Parliament have taken go a long way towards bringing closure to this sad chapter of our history.

I'd like to address the MAP funding. Maybe your staff has answers at their fingertips.

There has been a suggestion that we've virtually decimated the museum funding. I believe it was Mr. Kotto who referred to various associations scrambling to try to recoup the funds they felt they lost.

Do you have any idea how much of the total budget amount was actually spent in the last five years? Do you have a spreadsheet that would show that? I have one available, but I'm not sure it's accurate.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

I'm going to ask Bruce Manion. I believe he has those numbers with him. He has a lot of charts and numbers.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

I understand that the initial budget amount was $11.8 million per year, and this was cut back by about $2.3 million per year, leaving around $9.6 million available.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Durham, ON]

You're correct.