Canadian Heritage Committee on Dec. 6th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Good morning, everybody. We'll get started. Welcome to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and our study on Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.

We have with us today witnesses from the National Film Board of Canada, Claude Joli-Coeur and James Roberts. And from Library and Archives Canada, we have Daniel Caron. Welcome to all of you gentlemen.

We are going to begin with our opening remarks, so you'll each have 10 minutes for your opening remarks, and then we'll go into our rounds of questioning.

We'll begin with the National Film Board of Canada, and you can divide your time up however you see fit.

[Claude Joli-Coeur, Assistant Commissioner, National Film Board of Canada]

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of this standing committee.

I'll make my presentation both in French and English.

My name is Claude Joli-Coeur, and I am the Assistant Commissioner at the National Film Board of Canada. I am joined by James Roberts, the Assistant Director General of the Accessibility and Digital Enterprises division.

We're very glad to have this opportunity to offer our input for your study on the celebrations being planned for Canada's 150th anniversary.

But first, since it's the first time we have met, I'd like to outline the role of the NFB as an institution, its digital shift, and its involvement in commemorating events of significance to Canadians.

Here is a brief reminder of what the NFB is. It's a federal cultural agency established in 1939 to produce and distribute our regional and innovative audiovisual works that add to our understanding of the issues facing Canadians. These works also raise awareness of Canadian values and viewpoints around the world. We are recognized in particular as a leading producer of documentaries, animated films, and interactive works.

Today, the NFB remains a special organization in a rich and diverse audiovisual world. It is a creative laboratory, a leader in exploring areas the private sector has a difficult time getting involved in. It is also a voice for under-represented Canadians, a fundamental tool for ensuring the vitality of Canada's francophone culture and finally, and most importantly, a leading Canadian innovator in the digital world.

Our audiovisual content is 100% Canadian and reflects the country's diversity. It is available in French and English, and crosses all geographic borders. The NFB has one of the largest audiovisual collections in the world and is an invaluable heritage for all of Canada and the rest of the world.

For a few years now, the transition from analog format to digital format has been among the technological changes transforming the media environment.

Now in our fourth year of our five-year strategic plan, we have become the leading Canadian institution in the area of creative and innovative use of digital media. The shift to digital technology has helped us fulfill our commitment to our audience and once again win over the hearts and minds of Canadians through renewed access to our productions.

NFB.ca or ONF.ca screening rooms were launched in January 2009. They are the cornerstone of the NFB's digital strategy, which aims to provide the majority of Canadians with 24/7 access to the film collection.

Over 2,100 films, excerpts and trailers are available for private viewing free of charge on our website. Since the January 2009 launch, we have so far had almost 27 million viewings of NFB productions on various digital platforms in Canada and abroad. The screening room is also available as a mobile phone application and on platforms such as the iPhone, iPad, as well as the Android and BlackBerry PlayBook platforms.

The NFB also plays a key role by marking events that are significant to Canadian society and presenting them dynamically to Canadians. Here are a few concrete examples of NFB projects that have commemorated major events.

I want to describe those examples to you, since they will give you a solid idea of how the NFB is getting involved in those major events that help strengthen all Canadians' pride and sense of identity.

To mark Quebec City's 400^th anniversary, in 2008, the NFB produced an innovative 3D film, Facing Champlain. Thanks to a partnership with the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City, that film has been streamed daily since 2008. All schools, children and tourists inevitably drop by and watch that NFB production.

We also teamed up with the National Battlefields Commission to mark the 100^th anniversary of the Plains of Abraham Battlefield Park with the film My Park, My Plains, which has also been streamed since 2008.

Also, in 2008 we joined the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Defence, Rideau Hall, the Canadian War Museum, and the Royal Canadian Legion to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the armistice. We did a multi-platform project, and our film was screened in schools across the country, theatres, on television, and on the web.

In 2010, we were at the Canada Pavilion during the Shanghai World Exposition. For that occasion, we produced a wonderful movie, which was seen by 6.4 million people. Surveys indicate that this film was seen by the Chinese as a major event to remember Canada by.

In 2010 we explored new ways of celebrating sports in Canada in the context of the Vancouver Olympics.

In partnership with VANOC, we contributed to Canada's first Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition, Canada CODE. It was a national open-source website that let Canadians, wherever they were, help create a collective online portrait or mosaic of the country. This online souvenir album was accessible to everyone and was displayed on sites celebrating the Vancouver Games.

To ensure maximum participation, and especially to introduce young people to new media, the NFB organized over 60 online storytelling workshops in schools and community centres across the country, including in official language minority communities. An educational guide was also produced so that teachers could incorporate Canada CODE into their curriculum.

It is in that spirit that we intend to develop, over the next few years, a number of projects aimed at highlighting historical events that will lead up to the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of our Confederation.

Next year we'll be celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In preparation for the occasion, the NFB is currently working on the souvenir DVD, which will include two well-known films from its collection—Royal Journey, 1951, and Canada at the Coronation, 1953—as well as a new production, The Portrait, where we're filming the painting of the portrait of the Queen, which will be disclosed next year.

The NFB has several projects planned to mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. We are planning to co-produce an interactive project on the Battle of York. A DVD box set containing productions from our collection and an educational project are also in the works.

The Royal 22^e Régiment, whose 1914 creation was the determining factor in the integration of francophones within the Canadian Forces, will turn 100 in 2014. We are currently working on a documentary on the regiment in order to commemorate that important anniversary.

In 2014 we'll also commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Second World War and the 100th anniversary of the First World War. The NFB's vast, priceless collection of films about these two global conflicts could be distributed on multiple platforms to mark these anniversaries and help increase public awareness.

The NFB will also turn 75 in 2014, and we have a number of projects planned to mark that anniversary. We intend to get involved in the Pan-American Games Toronto will host in 2015. We also want to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Canadian flag in 2015. Our collection actually contains a special film on the first raising of the flag in 1965.

In 2017 Montreal will celebrate the 375th anniversary of its founding. The NFB has been an active presence in Montreal since 1956, and naturally we'll mark the occasion of this special anniversary.

As for the 150^th anniversary of Confederation, we plan to develop a concept akin to Canada CODE, which was tremendously successful at the Vancouver Olympic Games. A mosaic of many audio and visual accounts will provide Canadians with an opportunity to share their part of the country and their vision of Canada in their own way. That vibrant project, created by and for Canadians, will be coming together throughout the celebrations leading up to the anniversary and will be completed at the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of Confederation.

As you can see, the NFB intends to carry out many commemorative projects leading up to the 150^th anniversary in 2017. We are prioritizing partnerships with institutions that come under the Department of Canadian Heritage for all those major projects to mark important events in Canadian history. We also intend to work with as many partners as possible in order to make the most of our activities.

The NFB can join ongoing and evolving projects, to which it can add its artistic and technological expertise through new productions. The NFB can also promote films from its collection that will be put together and broadcast to accompany those anniversaries. The NFB has some hidden treasures for each important anniversary, from 2012 to 2017. Those treasures truly reflect our history. It is important to make that available to today's Canadians.

That concludes our presentation.

Thank you very much. We're pleased to discuss all of these projects.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you.

Mr. Roberts, are you going to be presenting at all?

[James Roberts, Assistant Director General, Accessibility and Digital Enterprises, Director of Asset Management, National Film Board of Canada]

No, there's just one presentation for the two of us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Okay, that's great.

We move on to you, Mr. Caron.

[Daniel J. Caron, Librarian and Archivist, Library and Archives Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee.

My presentation will also be in both official languages.

Let me begin by thanking you for giving me the opportunity to appear today. I am here in my capacity as Deputy Head and Librarian and Archivist of Canada. I want to share some of my observations and comments about Library and Archives Canada's role in Canada's 150^th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2017.

The 1967 celebrations had a considerable and undeniable impact on our sense of pride and national identity. I would like to remind you that, on that occasion, a new building was inaugurated to house the National Library of Canada. That gift to Canadians was in keeping with the times. A monument built to honour Canada's documentary heritage became the ideal place to preserve a collection of works that Canadians could easily access in their national capital. From then on, an important part of Canada's documentary heritage has been under the same roof, safe in a physical space.

It was also during Expo 67 that we were astounded by rapidly evolving technologies. Who does not remember the very popular telephone pavilion, where, for the first time, a film was projected on a 360-degree screen using technology that was more advanced than even that of Disney Studios? Since then, technology has not ceased to amaze, surprise and especially transform us. Among other things, the evolution of information and communications technology has had a profound effect on how Canadians create, archive and access their documentary heritage. Since those celebrations, times have changed considerably.

Beginning with my appointment in 2009, as exemplified by my participation in the Canada 150 event at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, I have been working to ready Library and Archives Canada for the 2017 celebration in two ways.

First, I believe that Library and Archives Canada's contribution to the nation's 150^th anniversary should focus on greater access for all Canadians to all their documentary heritage, no matter where they live. To that end, we are working on two fronts. The first is to put into place many partnerships with organizations throughout the country. That would allow for a gradual connection of more Canadian communities to their documentary heritage. The second front on which we work is the optimal utilization of digital technology. That would make it possible not only to digitize and make available more documentary heritage on the Web every day, but also to treat digital documentary production in real time.

The other fundamental contribution the institution should make is preparing to become a modern institution capable of working in a digital environment. It must acquire, preserve, and make available the Canadian documentary production that has been largely digital for some 20 years already.

These two foundations are for me the most attractive and the most pertinent contributions to the celebrations in 2017. Indeed, Canadians have adapted very well to the arrival of the Internet and have learned to make good use of the great many communication tools that are now available.

As in other developed countries, we have flocked in great numbers to social media websites and exchange in ever-increasing volumes our own thoughts, stories, opinions, reactions, photos, and videos, and we circulate within our networks those items we find of interest.

No longer are Canadians simple consumers of information. More than ever, an important number of Canadians are also creators and even curators of cultural content. This development has fundamentally changed the manner in which Library and Archives Canada must execute its mandate. Forty or fifty years ago it was relatively easy to identify the sources of documentary production of historical value and then to acquire and preserve what was produced. It was sufficient to simply acquire the physical document, the object: newspapers, films, photos, books, maps, government records, and so forth.

The extended life cycle of analog materials, combined with the relatively modest level of production and the slow pace in which they were released, made it possible to think that we could somehow capture a large part of it and then distill it into an almost comprehensive collection to be made available to Canadians.

This is no longer the case. So 2017 has thus become a year of celebrations for Library and Archives Canada, but 2017 also represents a milestone in the modernization of the institution. The exponential growth in the number of information resource producers and the subsequent astronomical increase in the level of production make it impossible to acquire all the documentary production. Like never before, the majority of Canadians are now actively participating in the process of telling their stories and documenting their lives.

Library and Archives Canada must adapt and consider the new sources of documentary production and their widespread democratic distribution.

Our mandate offers us all the necessary flexibility to meet this adjustment that will permit us to become an institution of the 21st century of which Canada could be proud. Identify, acquire, preserve, and make accessible the best possible representation of Canada's documentary production in all formats, from all sources.

As well, thanks to the digital age technology, we can gradually transcend our historic geographic challenges by making this heritage accessible to all Canadians. In fact, in 2017 we will permit all Canadians here and in Canada and around the world to access a quantity, without precedent, of their rich documentary heritage, past and present, any time.

Nowadays, the privileged place of consultation for Canadians to access their documentary heritage is less and less a physical place like a library or an archive. If there remains a place of consultation, these are found among other connected places and become more and more places of animation and interpretation. For more and more Canadians, it is on the web that they expect to find their documentary heritage. Moreover, the current documentary production of Canadians is increasingly, if not exclusively, created in digital format and stored in digital repositories somewhere and then downloaded from the information cloud.

Information produced by the government doesn't escape this widespread societal tendency. Presently, government records are produced in digital format. Library and Archives Canada intends, by 2017, to gather government records through the use of a digital portal and to preserve them with the help of a trusted digital repository that meets international standards. In doing so, we will be playing our national role by making the transition to digital just in time to celebrate Confederation's 150th anniversary.

Mr. Chairman, I would now like to underscore a number of more targeted initiatives that Library and Archives Canada is leading at present, which reflect at the same time not only our society's transition from an analog to a digital environment, but our readiness for and contribution to the 150th anniversary of the country.

First, modernization at LAC is going well and placing us in a better and better position to deal with the changes brought about by the digital environment. We have reviewed how we identify, acquire, preserve, describe, and create access to our documentary heritage. All of these processes are now part of a framework for determining how well they reflect our society itself, what we call the whole-of-society approach. This new approach underlines the way we will be conducting all our main lines of business at LAC.

I will give you a quick example. Given the environment in which Canadian society is evolving, we have widened our societal watch to better identify the documents we should acquire in order to reflect not only the documentary heritage that has been created, but also to understand the context of how that heritage is created.

This is a transparent approach, one in which we are working collaboratively with a number of different players in Canadian society, taking into account the vast range of experience and expertise they offer. We hope Canadians will be able to celebrate not only their 150th anniversary but also their 200th and their 300th, with ready access to the documentary heritage created today and in 20, 50, or 100 years.

Next, and equally important, we are gradually making our holdings accessible to a greater number of Canadians. Our efforts in this area are targeted towards 2017 and beyond, but with a view to celebrating 2017, we will of course be making the extra effort to validate our heritage. The Lest We Forget project was a beacon for us in terms of programming that was not restricted by geographic location and that made excellent use of the entire network of public libraries across Canada. This great success demonstrated the importance of our military heritage using digital technology, with both documents and a step-by-step teacher’s guide to related workshops easily available online. Through this program students are able to access more than 5,000 military records from individual soldiers, doctors, and nurses who served in the First World War or of those who were killed in the field of battle during World War II.

In addition, the number of libraries that participated in the project doubled. The Lest We Forget workshops are now offered from one end of the country to the other. Over the last six months, more than 25,000 records have been downloaded from our website. I think these kinds of results augur well for the future. For 2012, we are working on similar projects based on the themes of immigration, first nations, and transportation. Each year we intend to create and organize programming based on new themes. By 2017, Canadians will have enhanced access to a large part of the documentary heritage that has shaped their history.

Other projects under way include the digitization of tens of thousands of portraits and photographs, which will be accessible online using new descriptive approaches that will make them easier to find. As well, Library and Archives Canada recently completed the digitization of the first maps of the Yukon, rendered in the late nineteenth century by the renowned surveyor William Ogilvie. Previously, these maps were not available at any library in the Yukon. A couple of weeks ago, I received a message of encouragement from a librarian in Whitehorse who congratulated us on the initiative and invited us to keep moving in that direction.

I would also like to stress that we are moving further away from the concept of a traditional institution, one that would serve as a stand-alone monolithic entity solely responsible for providing Canadians with access to documentary heritage. To that end, we are actively participating in the emergence of the Pan-Canadian Documentary Heritage Network. Along with our provincial and territorial counterparts, and partners in the academic and civil sectors, we are working hard on joining our forces. Our goal is to share our knowledge in order to make as much of our documentary heritage available as possible—with the best possible access. These partnerships have already begun to bear fruit. Beyond those I have already mentioned with the Canadian public library board in the interest of making our documentary heritage known, we are also working to improve our practices. For example, we recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. That agreement enables us to share bibliographic records of Quebec authors published in Quebec and of Canadian authors published elsewhere in the country, thereby avoiding unnecessary duplication.

Finally, we are working with our colleagues at Parks Canada, the National Capital Commission, various museums and other federal partners to promote our documentary heritage. Our contribution to the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812 is but one example.

Mr. Chair, the act of commemoration, as you know, is extremely important for Library and Archives Canada because it gives Canadians the opportunity to increase their knowledge of Canada's history and its institutions. It is also an opportunity to foster a greater sense of belonging and to encourage Canadians to get involved.

I now want to talk about how Library and Archives Canada should contribute to the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of Confederation. I think the best way to do so is by making Canada's documentary heritage as accessible as possible, while taking into account the context of the times. Fifty years after receiving the gift of a national library in the nation's capital, Canadians will receive an equally wonderful gift in 2017—a digital framework that will help build a modern institution for their documentary heritage. I hope that this gift will be appreciated, not only by citizens from coast to coast to coast, but also by future generations of Canadians who will gain a better understanding of how we adapted to the arrival of the digital information age.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That concludes my presentation. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you very much.

Now we will move to our questioning.

We begin with Mr. Gill.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for being here with us today. I'll start with my question for the National Film Board.

The National Film Board invited productions for a series on Canadian history in 1967 for the centennial celebration. Many of us were recently impressed with John A, so it seems there is an interest in reviving some of our important historical stories.

Will the National Film Board be considering a similar series for the 2017 celebrations?

[Claude Joli-Coeur]

It's a little bit early, because we are constantly developing different projects. We don't yet have that plan. Our plan so far is more in building that road to 2017. We produce roughly 100 films a year. In our current production we are approaching different themes that may lead to that concept, but so far we don't have that plan.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

How will the National Film Board be partnering with other Canadian arts and media institutions in the lead-up to the 2017 celebrations? Do you have a plan for that?

[Claude Joli-Coeur]

The examples I was giving, with museums or broadcasters—the CBC, for example, or private broadcasters—are things we do on a constant basis. We really believe that to get as much leverage as possible, since our means are limited, we need to do that.

Two years ago we did an exhibition with the National Capital Commission, a photo exhibit in front of the Chateau Laurier. That was a partnership.

I'm part of a committee of the Department of Canadian Heritage, a portfolio organization, where we meet on a regular basis, and every time we can find a way to collaborate with other institutions, we do it.

We have a partnership with the Canadian science museum. We're currently completing a partnership with the Museum of Civilization. We did some projects with the national archives. We're currently working with the new human rights museum in Winnipeg, establishing a partnership for their new exhibit. When Pier 21 in Halifax was inaugurated, some of our films were screened on that occasion as part of an ongoing relationship.

So it's really part and parcel of how we approach a project. The example I was giving you for VANOC, the Vancouver games, was a perfect one. We were partnering with the organization, and that's the way we're able to have so much success.

That's really our approach.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Good.

Would you also be able to share with us the process the National Film Board uses when choosing the productions it produces?

[Claude Joli-Coeur]

Basically, it's a development. At the NFB we have two production entities, the French program and the English program. Under each production unit we have producers. Those producers are full-time employees of the NFB, and they develop projects that are in line with our strategic plan, our strategic approach of programming in documentaries and animation. The decision is made for each project at the level of the executive producers, and ultimately the director general of each project. That's the normal production state.

Sometimes, when we decide to go...and the projects I mentioned—Shanghai, VANOC, those projects.... When there is national importance the commissioner gives some direction and input, and it's a collaborative approach of all the divisions at the NFB. For example, in production, the English and French program can co-produce. Distribution is involved. That's the process when we all team up to decide to go ahead on some project.

An example is 1812. We are currently doing that interactive project. That's something that was not in the regular mill, but when we saw the opportunity, when we saw the importance of it for the government and the country, it was part of our mandate and we decided to do something special for it.

Shanghai was exactly like that. It was not in our standard production process, but when we were invited by Canadian Heritage and the Cirque du Soleil to partner there, it was an opportunity we could not put aside and we decided to do something special.

But globally, our programming is directed by that strategic plan that was established four years ago.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Thank you.

My next question is for Mr. Caron. Could you tell us if Library and Archives Canada has a plan for dealing with materials submitted by Canadians for the 150th anniversary?

[Daniel J. Caron]

Do you mean submitted by Canadians?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Yes.

[Daniel J. Caron]

Could you expand a little bit?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

If Canadians choose to submit any materials that they feel may be relevant for the 150th anniversary, do you have a plan in terms of...?

[Daniel J. Caron]

I see your point.

We have an approach to acquire material. For the 150th anniversary and other events, we have the whole-of-society approach. We look at the material and we decide on the historical value of the material to be acquired by the national archives. It's not a specific plan. It enters into our overall approach to acquisition.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Would you also be able to tell us a bit more about the Lest We Forget project and how Library and Archives Canada utilized the network of public libraries across the country to create awareness and participation in the project? Also, given its success, are you considering similar projects in the lead-up to 2017?

[Daniel J. Caron]

The Lest We Forget program is a very good program. It was developed by a professor of history. We adapted it so we could use our material and offer some sessions within 395 Wellington. We decided to expand. First was through the web. We developed a user guide the teachers can utilize to offer the program in various classrooms across the country. It's extremely popular because people don't have to come here. We provide them with the digital files of the various soldiers from their community, so they can build a program.

The other very popular aspect of it is that we have called upon the contribution of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council to work with us in order to be able to offer the program in the major big cities of the country. If I'm not mistaken, it's offered in 10 major cities across the country. Again, we support the libraries in offering some training in preparing the librarians to offer the program. As an example, we launched it last year in Burlington. I was told that within four or five months they had 700 to 800 participants within the city. It is an extremely popular program and an extremely popular approach to reach out.

To your second question, absolutely, we are currently working on developing a similar program for immigration files, for first nations, and for transportation. It's going to continue. We discuss these topics and themes within what I call our stakeholders forum, which is a gathering of main libraries and archives across the country, held twice per year. We discuss what topics are the most interesting for the country. We go into our files and develop those programs with thematic guides and everything.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Madame Boutin-Sweet.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, gentlemen.

Both of you talked about the transition to the digital age, especially you, Mr. Caron. A good part of your presentation covered that topic.

I studied archeology. I am an archeologist. I have to admit that I am very concerned about the material culture itself.

My question is for Mr. Caron.

Your acquisition budget has decreased considerably. In 2009, if I am not mistaken, your acquisition budget was $1 million. In 2011, it is $300,000 or $400,000.

First, why is that? Second, do you not think, with all the events planned that will culminate in the 150^th anniversary of Canada, the budget reduction may make it difficult to acquire important documents?

[Daniel J. Caron]

Our acquisition budgets are fairly stable. I should probably explain how our acquisition budgets work. Yes, there is cash involved. That's probably what you are talking about. However, there is also a lot of material we pay for using tax receipts. That represents perhaps $5 million, $6 million or $7 million a year, I think. This method of payment is used for most of our acquisitions.

You need to understand that acquisitions are made through digital media more and more. That means that the budget you are talking about does not cover the efforts invested into developing a trusted digital repository. That repository is increasingly becoming the way we acquire our government documents, which account for 80% of our business. We are in charge of managing government documents. Most of our efforts go into that. We are developing a trusted digital repository that will also apply to legal deposit.

So we are trying to figure out how we can acquire what is produced in Canadian society so as to be as representative as possible. Documents have not been produced in analog format for a while now; they have been produced digitally. I will give you an example. Legal deposit follows certain rules. We realized that, in order for us to obtain two copies of each publication, a certain number of copies must be produced. In the digital world, it is becoming increasingly common for people to print on demand and not reach the standard figure of 200 copies. So, we don't have those copies. We need to find digital mechanisms to collect that information on the Web or elsewhere.

Those approaches are currently going through a transformation. As for your concerns, I would like to say that we are currently developing a completely innovative method I call the “whole of society approach.” It is being developed with historians, anthropologists, archivists and librarians to try to have the best possible representation of documents produced in Canadian society.

It is completely different. We are used to archives and libraries that receive documents through editors and so on, but all that's finished. That world is still somewhat existent, and we are still a part of it as well, but that is not the direction in which society is currently headed. Everything is being produced digitally, so we need to move forward and change our approaches if we want to be able to build our archives of the future.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

I was referring more to old documents. So the acquisition of old documents could be negatively affected.