Thank you, Chair, and thank you for being here, Minister, with your deputies.
Minister, one question I wanted to ask is this. A number of agencies and organizations that depend on funding from your department have raised concerns about a 5% overall cut to the budget of the department. The other day the president of the CBC mentioned that there was talk of such a reallocation—I think that was the word he used—that was coming over a four-year cycle.
Can you tell us, if that is under way in your department, how you see it affecting the budget and the programming of your department?
I also have three other very specific questions around funding. My understanding is that funding for the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada was denied earlier this year, in June, for a continuation of the work they've been doing in anti-racism work and racial profiling work. It's been very important work to many people, and yet the funding they requested to continue that program was denied.
Can you tell me why that was denied and how this important work will be carried on without that program?
I also want to know what the government's position is on the CBC request for $25 million of capital costs and what the government's position is on $25 million a year to extend their local radio network to include the eight million Canadians who don't have access to CBC/Radio-Canada local radio.
The last question is around the Canadian Federation of Municipalities' concern that there's a $40 billion recreational infrastructure deficit in Canada. A lot of the projects that were built during the centennial year are now 40 years old and in serious need of repair and upgrading.
Does the government, does your department, have a plan to address that growing deficit in recreation facilities?