Mr. Speaker, on January 28, 2005, a number of well-known arts organizations joined with the Conseil québécois du théâtre in sending a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs, in which they expressed their serious concerns about the possible impact of a 35% cut to the arts promotion program of that department.
Is it the minister's intention to protect our culture abroad, either by increasing the funding to support international tours outside of the public diplomacy program , or by allocating specific funds for this to the Canada Council for the Arts?