Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to speak on behalf of Bill C-55, an act that will ensure that a vibrant and successful Canadian magazine industry continues to provide Canadians with stories that reflect our values, our culture and our points of view.
I also rise to speak on behalf of all those Canadians who want to see themselves, read about themselves and learn about each other from other Canadians and not to do so vicariously through others, most notably the Americans.
Bill C-55 is in keeping with the longstanding policy of this government of promoting and investing in Canadian culture. It is a policy that over the past 40 years has clearly been a success as there are currently 1,500 Canadian magazines on the market.
It has often been stated that the question is not whether we ought to support Canadian culture, but how best to support it. As the Right Hon. Kim Campbell, our current consul general in Los Angeles said in a speech in March 1997, “Cultural industries are our national defence. A country must be able to articulate its own reality in its own voices and it is not always easy in Canada”.
Support for culture is needed in Canada as the U.S. and Canada share the world's largest bilateral trading relationship at over $1 billion a day, 365 days a year and the world's longest undefended border.
As Robert Lantos, the former chairman of Alliance so eloquently stated last Monday evening, “We must never forget that our economic and cultural sovereignty are inextricably intertwined”.
Yet 95% of Canadian movie screens are showing American films. It is almost impossible for a Canadian film to be shown on a Canadian movie screen. Eighty per cent of English magazines on Canadian newsstands are American.
Bill C-55 ensures that Canadian magazine publishers continue to have access to Canadian advertising dollars. Advertising revenue is the lifeblood of this industry, with advertising accounting for an average of 60% of total revenues in the magazine sector. This is an economic fact. At the same time, Canadian publishers are using advertising dollars to produce Canadian stories for Canadians. If this revenue were to decline, it would not be long before Canadian publications and the Canadian magazine publishing industry would suffer and become less viable.
If this bill were not in place, Canadian magazines would not be able to compete with split-run editions of foreign magazines that have no editorial costs. This gives foreign publishers an unfair competitive and economic advantage. These foreign magazines would be in a position to scoop up Canadian advertising dollars by offering lower advertising rates than their domestic competitors. Canadian magazines simply cannot survive without sufficient advertising revenues.
One must not take a short-sighted view of this issue. If this situation were to perpetuate, this would inevitably lead to a reduction in the number of Canadian magazines. A reduction in the number of magazines would also lessen competition and could lead to higher advertising rates in the future.
Those who advocate a completely unfettered free market should consider the potential long term implications on Canadian culture and on our economy. We care about the survival of our culture and our economy.
Last spring in a mailing survey of 50,000 Canadians conducted by 12 magazines, 84% of respondents said that it is important to them to read Canadian stories. This government wants to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to their own ideas, stories and information. This is why Bill C-55 is so important.
The act will only prohibit foreign publishers from supplying advertising services directed primarily at the Canadian market to a Canadian advertiser. Canadian governments have long maintained measures to prevent this from happening. As a result of these measures, U.S. publishers have not had access to the Canadian advertising services market for over three decades.
Some U.S. publishers are not satisfied with their already very generous share of the Canadian magazine market. They also want to dominate our advertising services market by producing split-run advertising editions of the magazines they already sell here.
I cannot overemphasize the fact that this measure deals only with supplied advertising services to Canadian advertisers. It will not affect the importation of foreign magazines. It will not affect any Canadian reader's ability to purchase foreign magazines at newsstands or through subscriptions. The Canadian market will continue to be among the most open in the entire world.
In addition foreign publishers such as Time magazine currently operating in Canada will be exempt from this new bill. They will be able to maintain their current level of activity.
My colleague was absolutely correct that this bill is fully consistent with our international trade obligations under GATS, the agreement on services. Yet culture, as this government has said many times, cannot be seen as simply another trade issue. This bill is about preserving a Canadian voice in a country that shares the world's largest bilateral trading relationship with the United States.
This bill does not affect the content of magazines. Publishers will continue to produce editorial content that they consider attractive to Canadians. Nor does Bill C-55 affect the price of magazines. Canadians will continue to enjoy access to foreign and domestic magazines that are competitively priced.
Bill C-55 provides a mechanism to promote and support Canadian culture with no new cost to taxpayers. Bill C-55 has also received strong support from the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association and the Canadian Business Press, which together represent some 450 consumer magazines from across the country.
For over 40 years measures have been in place to prevent split-run editions of foreign magazines. New measures have been announced, not new policy. This law is in keeping with longstanding cultural policies. It ensures that Canadian magazine publishers have access to the funds that they need to survive.
This bill takes nothing away from Canadian advertisers. Advertisers will continue to have all the advertising opportunities they had in the past, including the right to purchase advertising services from foreign publishers, as long as the advertising service is not directed primarily at the Canadian market.
In closing, Bill C-55 will guarantee that Canadians continue to have access to stories about Canada, written by and for Canadians and confirms this government's commitment to, and investment in Canadian culture.
