Canadian Heritage Committee on Jan. 31st, 2008

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Thank you.

On a happier note, I agree with you that I think we've seen some really positive changes at Telefilm Canada over the last little while, and I think the recent Oscar nominations speak to that.

I have two quick questions. One is on the difference between the English Canadian and French Canadian industry. The success of each is very different. Until probably this week or last week, if you opened an English-language newspaper and looked at the movie pages, you couldn't find a Canadian film at all, unless it was a French one with subtitles.

If you opened a French-language newspaper in this country, it would be covered with films of their stories by their people. I would love you to tell me how you think Telefilm can help with this over the next little while--around distribution, the serious problems with the competition with Hollywood, and being able to tell Canadian stories that Canadians will want to go to see or even have up on the screen long enough to be able to see them.

Will you tell me a little bit about how you see your relationship with the public broadcaster, with the National Film Board, and if there needs to be some collaboration among these institutions?

Then I'd just like you to tell me maybe your favourite three movies in French and your three favourite movies in English that were Canadian productions.

[Michel Roy]

Madam, you asked three questions. I'll try to remember all three. The first concerned the market.

As a result of Quebec culture, the French-language film market is a captive market in Quebec. Quebec has managed to establish a star system. It has its star producers, its star directors and its star actors. When people open a magazine in a supermarket while grocery shopping, they see a list of Quebec films. They watch Quebec programs, sitcoms in English, but which are also québécois. They enjoy productions like Un homme et son péché, Le Survenant and so on.

It's very different in English Canada because of the invasion of the U.S. film industry. When people shop for groceries and open a magazine, in many cases, it's a publication belonging to an American business. So it contains a lot of advertising and promotion for U.S. films. Very often, those who become the best Canadian actors and directors ultimately cross the border and go to work in the United States. It is really very difficult to establish a star system that would create enough interest in English-speaking Canadians for them to discover their own stars and watch their productions and films. These are two very different markets.

However, the Quebec market remains very small because it is captive. So it's a limited market. My thinking isn't based on any solid foundation yet in view of the fact that I've just arrived. However, I am of the view that co-productions would satisfy both markets. First, it would be a way to secure foreign investment. That would also make it possible to add private funding to public funding, which could help finance productions. In that way, we would reduce the percentage contribution of public funding to film production. That would also be a way of having Quebec and Canadian actors work with American actors, who are already established major stars. That would help increase the credibility of actors here.

Let's take the example of Marie-Josée Croze, who makes films in France and who has become an international star. She's excellent. That's also the case of Roy Dupuis. When these people make films in Quebec, they aren't less good than if they were filming in Paris. So people are encouraged to go and see their films, their productions. That, I think, is what is currently lacking in the English-language film industry.

You had two other questions. Would you help me?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

What are your favourite films?

[Michel Roy]

I watch a lot of films, especially on TV, because I live in the country and I'm far away from the movie theatres. I have a satellite television system and that's how I watch films. My wife and I are in the habit of watching films every time we have supper together. I see an average of four or five films a week. I watch a lot of films.

I also have a very bad habit: I tend to forget the titles of the films I watch. The films that have struck me more in recent months include Soie, or Silk, by director François Girard, a film based on the book by Alessandro Baricco, whom I like very much. I also read Novecento by Alessandro Baricco, and I saw the film that was made of it, but it's an American film. Silk is a film that I loved, that I found extraordinary.

I've seen a lot of others. I saw La Grande Séduction, Maurice Richard, Bon Cop Bad Cop and Saint Ralph, in English. I can't wait to see Away From Her and Eastern Promises. There are a lot more. I'm thinking of Un dimanche à Kigali. I read the book by Gil Courtemanche, which I thought was extraordinary, but I loved the film Un dimanche à Kigali.

I've seen a number of others. If I had to remember all the films I've seen in recent months, we wouldn't have enough time for me to name them all for you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you for that.

Mr. Malo, do you have any more questions?

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

As we know, the Quebec film industry has experienced a slowdown in the past two years. Earlier, Mr. Bélanger referred to the record of certain years in which the Quebec film industry represented 20% of theatre admissions. You mentioned that an increase in funding for the French-language film industry was a tool in an attempt to stem this slowdown, to slow the loss of progress that had been made in going after our national audience.

Are you contemplating any other ways of stemming that slowdown?

[Michel Roy]

I don't think we can say there was a slowdown. The year the Quebec film industry recorded its biggest box office success was scarcely two years ago. That was in 2005 or 2006. My experts tell me I'm right. That's not very long ago. You can't see that as a downward trend. As you'll understand, we are dependent on the quality of productions made by producers. It isn't Telefilm Canada that makes the productions.

The years when films like those of Denys Arcand, for example, are hits around the world, the Quebec film industry obviously increases its box office percentage. I don't think we're looking at a trend.

I also sense in your question that you're concerned about the future of the Quebec film industry. I think an additional cash contribution is important, although I wouldn't say that it's the best solution. I think a co-production fund is a more permanent measure.

It's good to add money, government funding, to an industry, but that money, if it is added, must generate funding from the private sector and the outside. This industry must not become dependent on “social assistance”. No one wants that, and that's not what we're aiming at either. We should ensure, if there is an additional injection of money into the film industry, whether French-language or English-language, that we have programs to provide a framework for that new cash injection so that it stimulates other investment in the industry in question from outside Canada or from the private sector.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Is the creation of a new fund to stimulate foreign French-language co-productions, for example, something that could be considered?

[Michel Roy]

In my opinion, a fund that would have the effect of stimulating co-production, whether it be for French- or English-language films, is, as I'm speaking to you now, a vision for the future of Telefilm Canada.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Do you intend to submit a plan in that area to us in the coming months?

[Michel Roy]

I know that the Department of Canadian Heritage has previously worked on the development of a policy. It's not just a matter of presenting a program. That program has to be given a framework by a departmental policy. I know that the Department of Canadian Heritage has already started working on a co-production policy. We've also worked on a co-production program with a potential request for additional funding in order to be able to support it.

Those plans are already on the drawing board and will be submitted to senior authorities—

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Is there a timetable?

[Michel Roy]

—as soon as possible, I hope. I haven't seen the timetable.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Is there a timetable?

[Michel Roy]

I haven't seen one.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Roy.

[Michel Roy]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

I thought I saw Mr. Siksay here for a minute.

I'm going to go to Mr. Fast, and then as soon as Mr. Fast is done I'll give Mr. Siksay a chance to ask some questions.

Mr. Fast, please.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Monsieur Roy, for appearing before us today. So far I've been quite encouraged by the testimony you've given to us.

I did notice from your opening comments that you understood very well the mandate of Telefilm Canada, and I'll just quote that back to you. You refer to its role as being “to support the development and promotion of an audiovisual industry and of talented Canadians who...seek to attract audiences at home and abroad, using all broadcasting platforms available to them”.

That's correct. Much of the focus in the mandate is an industrial-cultural focus, making sure that our industry is healthy. But you also acknowledged earlier, when you responded to my colleague's comments, that in fact there also has to be accountability to the public, because it is taxpayers' money. There has to be a level of understanding of what the public values are that Telefilm Canada should reflect.

I'll tell you quite frankly that I don't believe it's the role of this committee to act as a censor. I will say this, though. When there are public moneys involved, we want to make sure that the product the taxpayers pay for is one that taxpayers in general consider to be reflective of the values we have.

There was a suggestion, actually, from my colleagues on the other side of this table that perhaps we didn't understand the content of the films my colleague referred to. We are very well aware of them. We've seen significant portions of at least one of those films. Unfortunately, my impression was that the content was degrading to women. It focused more on recreational sexual activity than loving relationships. It was not redeeming. At the end of the day, I'm not sure Canadians would have been left with something that would improve them as human beings.

I was really encouraged to hear you acknowledge that there is a set of public values Telefilm Canada must take cognizance of. So thank you for that.

I will say this. You're going to be challenged fulfilling the mandate, because you have so many stakeholders you're responsible for. You're responsible to the industry, you're responsible to government, and you're responsible to the public.

Can you let this committee know how you're going to determine your response to these various stakeholders? Will you have a consultation process on a regular basis? And what will that consultation process look like to ensure Telefilm Canada is strong and actually fulfills the mandate, the vision, and the mission that's clearly articulated, certainly on the website that I viewed?

[Michel Roy]

Thank you, sir.

As Chair of the Board, I am accountable to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. My relations with the minister are direct and will go through the appropriate channels, through the officials of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Mr. Wayne Clarkson, whom your committee has previously heard, has in recent years established advisory committees on which industry people sit. I'll mention two in particular: the committee on French-language feature films and that on English-language feature films. There's also one that deals with new media. I know that, when he appeared, Mr. Clarkson talked about those advisory committees and that that left a number of members of your committee skeptical. However, I must tell you that, after a few years of operation, those committees are working admirably well.

When I started reading documents on Telefilm Canada, I was impressed by the fact that the organization had operated in a changing environment, but that it had done so together with the industry and its clientele. I think that's an important factor and that things will continue in that direction. For the moment, these mechanisms play an absolutely fundamental role. They make it so the industry is generally satisfied with the actions taken by Telefilm Canada.

As for the films you mentioned, I believe I have nothing to add to what I've already said.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Thank you.

Are there some films that you would like to see funded by Telefilm that haven't been funded in the past? I'm thinking of a genre of films that you would like to see more of in terms of funding by Telefilm Canada.

[Michel Roy]

Yes, there are documentary films. I'm not answering you in my capacity as Chair of Telefilm Canada. My role is generally not to determine whether we should fund such and such a film. That concerns operations, and that's not my department. I'll leave that to Telefilm Canada officials, who, I think, do their job admirably well.

However, in recent years, I think certain documentary films have had a great deal of success, in both the United States and Canada. This is a personal wish, but I'd like us to be able to allocate more financial support to documentary films. How? I'm not in a position to answer you today. If you remind me in six months, eight months or a year, perhaps I'll have a more specific answer to offer you. For the moment, I'm simply answering your question, as to whether I have a wish. That's one.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Perhaps a biography or documentary on your son, Patrick Roy, would be appropriate.

I'm just kidding.

[Michel Roy]

That will probably be a good reason to give on the day I want to tender my resignation to Telefilm Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you.

I'm going to now slip to Mr. Siksay.

Welcome, Mr. Siksay, and we'll give you some time to ask Mr. Roy some questions.