Thank you, Mr. Chair and colleagues.
Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you again today. And thank you for the work you have been doing over the past nine months on this committee.
The new Government of Canada takes seriously its commitment to the arts, culture and heritage. That is why we have taken a proactive stance in regard to meeting with organizations in the arts and culture sector.
I recognize that the question and answer session to follow my opening comments is very important. So I will allow ample time for discussion.
In Budget 2006, Canada's new government promised to begin reviewing our programs to ensure that taxpayers' dollars were being well spent. This meant that the new Conservative government was ready to make real choices on behalf of Canadians. We recognize that as a responsible government such choices are necessary to fulfill our commitment of accountability and ensure that Canadians are given value for their tax dollars.
As a result of this review, our government has found savings of $1 billion. The end result will be more disciplined management of public funds. We promised we would undertake this review, and in less than a year we have delivered.
Some of the choices our government had to make affected the Department of Canadian Heritage. First, we believe that government has an important role to play in preserving Canada's heritage, and we have allocated over $245 million annually to support museums across Canada. We did, however, find a cost savings in the museums assistance program of $2.3 million per year over two years. The MAP program will retain an annual budget of $9.6 million, which will continue to help museums across the country.