I gave a good example of musicians being paid after the costs have been covered by sales. In other words, artists start getting paid once the production costs have been recovered through sales. Unfortunately, albums are not sold very much today. Major album sales are more rare.
The Quebec market is special. The francophone market is a bit more restrictive, and it is mainly made up of independent companies. Major companies are not involved in production in Quebec. Local Quebec producers are mainly trying to branch out to all of francophonie, France, and so on. Albums with high sales are fairly rare. They often don't even break even. So artists virtually never receive royalties, and that's totally unacceptable.
Another point I wanted to stress is that it's absolutely important that, in anything to do with government subsidies for production companies, evidence be provided that artists have been paid according to the standards set by their associations. It currently cannot be shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, that everyone is being paid according to the best practices, the set standards and the collective agreements that provide a social safety net and protection. I think that is a very important issue.
A creator who applies for a grant must justify all their spending without exception—including plane tickets, music lessons, and taxi and studio costs. I think the same standard should apply to all producers. They should justify all the wages and social benefits provided. They should also submit copies of contracts they have with artists' associations. I think that's very important.