Carole Lavallée

House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

Her favourite word was quebec.

Last in Parliament March 2011, as Bloc MP for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert (Québec)

Lost her last election, in 2011, with 28% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Mr. Speaker, copyright expert and president of the Association littéraire et artistique internationale, Ysolde Gendreau, told members of the legislative committee that Bill C-32 violates the international treaties signed by Canada. According to this leading academic, the bill introduces three exceptions that do not comply with the treaties: the education exemption, the YouTube exception and the reproduction for private purposes exception.

Does the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages understand that those are three more good reasons to significantly amend Bill C-32 so that creators are not only protected, but also compensated?

Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer my question. Does he agree with these three points? We all agree that piracy should be illegal. It is all in how you do it. Artists must be compensated.

The education sector currently pays $40 million a year to authors. Bill C-32 is cutting off this compensation. Royalties paid to artists are not gifts; they are their income, their pay.

Does the minister agree with the Quebec minister of culture that the education sector should set an example for our children by teaching them to respect our creators and their works and pay them?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage says that he is working with Quebec minister Christine St-Pierre on improving Bill C-32 on copyright. Ms. St-Pierre believes that the education sector must pay copyright fees, private copying must be modernized, and Internet service providers must be made accountable. Passing Bill C-32 without these substantial amendments would result in enormous losses for Quebec creators.

Did the Minister of Canadian Heritage respond favourably to the minister's three concerns when he met with her?

Mr. Speaker, this bill is unbalanced and irresponsible. Yesterday the artists said so themselves.

Among this delegation of artists was Claude Robinson, who fought a 15-year battle to have the courts recognize his copyright. He is a real symbol for copyright in Quebec. His presence reminded us that Bill C-32 transforms all creators into thousands of Claude Robinsons who will be left on their own to fight for their intellectual property rights and for fair compensation.

Is it not time to make significant changes to Bill C-32 to establish a fair balance between distributors and creators?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, about 100 Quebec artists came to Parliament Hill, calling for protection of their copyright. The Conservative government, as insensitive as ever to Quebec's concerns, rejected their basic demands with respect to digital levies.

A Conservative organizer in northern Montreal, the former riding president in Montcalm, even wrote on his Facebook page, and I quote, “I am sick of artists...take your demands and shove them.” That is the end of the Conservative quote.

Is that not the very essence of the Conservative government's position?

Mr. Speaker, we would like the minister to say who this artist is. His parliamentary secretary said that 400 businesses, 37 multinationals, 300 chambers of commerce and 150 CEOs support this bill.

Will the heritage minister listen to the artists and creators who are on Parliament Hill today and fix his bill to give them justice and protect their copyrights?

Mr. Speaker, this is not a tax. These are royalties that go to the artists.

According to a coalition of consumer associations, Bill C-32 will also penalize consumers. By giving in to demands from big business, the Conservative government is allowing artists' rights to be restricted, denied even.

Does the government understand that if it deprives artists of their copyright royalties, consumers will be deprived of new artistic works? If artists starve, culture starves.

Points of Order November 25th, 2010

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to raise a point of order. I would like to go back to the offensive statement made by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. While he was answering my questions, he took a gratuitous shot at a group known as ATSA, or Socially Acceptable Terrorist Action.

ATSA is the organizer of État d'Urgence, an artistic installation for the homeless in downtown Montreal. ATSA has received close to $70,000 over two years from this department as part of the building communities through arts and heritage program. ATSA has also been supported by Canadian Heritage for a number of years and received $7,000 through Young Canada Works.

Not only did Canadian Heritage cut their funding, but the answer came very late, just a week before the start of the installation, which is very important for the communities and in which a number of homeless people participate. Around 13,000 people from the general the public and hundreds of up-and-coming and established artists have participated in the last 11 editions of État d'Urgence.

For all these reasons, on behalf of the artists and the 13,000 consumers of art work, I ask that the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages apologize for showing his contempt once again for the arts and artists and for adding insult to injury.

Arts and Culture November 25th, 2010

Mr. Speaker, in making such arguments, the minister demonstrates obvious contempt for culture and for artists. This government has cut funding for touring; it is introducing an unbalanced reform of copyright that is causing a great deal of concern among creators; and it has slashed cultural programs. This demonstrates clearly that the recognition of the Quebec nation and its cultural specificity means absolutely nothing to the Conservatives.

When will this government treat our artists and creators fairly?

Arts and Culture November 25th, 2010

Mr. Speaker, several of the people who promote our artists abroad note that abolishing the programs for artists touring abroad has adversely affected the competitiveness of our artists and the dissemination of Quebec culture. Younger artists are particularly affected by the Conservative cuts. CINARS estimates that the cuts over the past two years have generated losses of $15 million, and the cancellation of approximately 1,600 performances abroad.

Will the government finally understand that the decision to abolish the support programs for promotional tours was a very poor decision indeed, both from the cultural and economic points of view?