Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I appreciate the opportunity to meet with all of you. Many of you are new members of the House, while some of you I have known for quite some time. I'm looking forward to working with all of you in this session of Parliament.
I've had the opportunity over my four terms in Parliament to be a member of many standing committees, some good, some less than good. The heritage committee has a reputation of being one where folks can come together and have good, frank, and honest discussions and work productively for the betterment of all Canadians.
I want to start by saying that this is my first visit to the committee. It certainly won't be my last. I look forward to this session and working together in the future.
I'd like to begin by sharing with committee members the work that has been ongoing since I was appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages in the fall. I'd like to talk about my meetings with stakeholders and what I've learned since becoming minister. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can work together to be proactive in shaping the arts and cultural scene in Canada. I will also be very happy to answer questions that you may have. I hope that today's session will be the first of many productive meetings.
Building stronger communities has been a priority for our Conservative government since day one. It is stable, vibrant communities that will provide opportunities for individuals and contribute to our great country's health and identity. That's why we've committed to our Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality.
This investment of $1.1 billion over five years will be spread across 13 government departments and agencies. This amount is unprecedented and includes $14 million to preserve and promote linguistic duality in the arts and culture sector.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the Official Languages Act. This is something to celebrate and which all Canadians can be proud of.
We are also investing in festivals and historic commemorations. Our programs provide opportunities for Canadians to become involved in their communities and to have access to arts and heritage. For example, in our first three years, we increased funding through Arts Presentation Canada by 37%. With Budget 2009, we're continuing that strong track record by investing another $100 million over two years in marquee festivals and events.
We are investing in communities right across our country. We invested in Quebec City last year to commemorate its 400th anniversary. We are investing $2 million through our Cultural Capitals of Canada program to help Trois-Rivières celebrate its 375th anniversary. These milestones are of national significance, and we know the local economic and societal benefits achieved from these events.
Just two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Halifax to announce that our government is investing more than $160,000 in the Atlantic Jazz Festival and the 2009 Scotia Festival of Music. We're also investing in the Lockport Children's Festival in Manitoba, and in the Festival du Bois in British Columbia. Festivals and commemorations bring communities together, make them stronger and richer, and in turn contribute to the well-being of our entire country.
Another priority for our government is doing our part to support museums. That's why we've invested $100 million in our national institutions since 2006. We're ensuring that our national museums have the resources to maintain and operate the buildings--and the collections they hold--on behalf of Canada.
In December I had the privilege of joining the Prime Minister and Premier Gary Doer in Winnipeg for the groundbreaking of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. This was done through an act of Parliament, and is the first investment in Canadian history for a national museum outside the national capital. This is record funding, and it is an example of a project where we're working with various partners, including the private sector, the Government of Manitoba, and the City of Winnipeg.
Let me also mention the work we have done with aboriginal people to celebrate and strengthen their culture. We support the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, which recognize the outstanding achievements of members of the community in various fields.
Arts and culture is another area of this diverse portfolio. I would like to reiterate our firm commitment in this area and our recognition that cultural creativity and innovation are vital, not only to a robust Canadian culture but also to our economy. I also know, through my travels and consultations across the country, the importance of arts and culture and how closely associated they are to our heritage, identity, and quality of life.
Since coming into office in 2006, we have increased spending by 8% for the arts and culture sector. Our government has made significant increases to programs across the department. We've doubled the funding for Cultural Spaces Canada for the coming year, and extended the program by an additional year. We've increased funding for arts training by 42%, and for museums by 28%.
Our government is continuing our record of increased spending in budget 2009. We're continually working to meet the concerns of the creative community. We're doing this by sustaining cultural funding with $540 million in this budget. This includes investments in training programs for young artists and creators.
Many of you will have personal memories of, or have heard of, the remarkable impact of the celebration of the country's centenary in 1967 and the impact it had on our pride and sense of identity. Canada's 150th birthday is now approaching. I believe it can and should be a landmark event where we shine as a country and invoke in each and every Canadian a sense of belonging to our country.
This committee may wish to play a role as we look forward to 2017. Canada fifty years after 1967 is in many ways a very different country. I would ask this committee if it would consider how we could build momentum toward 2017, and finally how to mark 2017 itself. I would welcome such work from this committee, because I think it would be of interest to all Canadians.
Our government is promoting Canada on the international cultural scene. We invest $21 million annually on international promotion and export through organizations such as the Canada Council for the Arts, whose budget we have increased by 21% since 2006. The Canada Council for the Arts now receives over $180 million a year; this means more money is going directly to artists.
Add to this our new investment of $25 million for arts prizes, which will showcase Canadian artists to an international audience. This will cement Canada permanently as a cultural hub in the world. We believe that Canadian artists are the best in the world, and that's why we have made these investments.
Our government recognizes that when we invest in culture, we get a lot back. The Conference Board of Canada estimates the cultural sector generated $46 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2007, and it supports more than 650,000 jobs in our economy. However, as we all know well, while culture generates compelling economic data, it is about much more than that. It is an intangible yet powerful part of what holds us together as a country. Based on values we hold dear, our culture is fundamental to our way of life.
Creativity and innovation are vital, not only to an enriched Canadian cultural life, but also to Canada's economic future. Our government recognizes the importance of arts, culture, and heritage, and has devoted more than half a billion dollars to it in this year’s budget. This includes $100 million for festivals and events, $60 million for local theatres and small museums, new money for national arts training.
Sport is part of our Canadian identity and is an important work in my department as well. Physical activity is part of a healthy lifestyle, and sport is part of a healthy society. This is one of the reasons why we are the largest contributor to sport in this country. Our investments are supporting participation in excellence from the playground to the podium.
We know an investment in culture is an investment in our future, and that's why we have committed more money to arts and culture than any government in Canada's history.
In 2008-2009 our government's investment in the Canadian sports system will have grown to an all-time high of $166 million annually. This is a record level. Canada has a sport heritage we can all be proud of. As someone who calls British Columbia home, I'm obviously particularly proud and enthused that we will be hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Right from the outset, when it was announced that Canada would host the 2010 games, I began to attend as many games-related events as possible. And I am pleased to say that our government's $55-million “Own the Podium” initiative is helping to ensure that our athletes have the financial support they need while they prepare for the games.
With one year to go, I am sure members of this committee, and indeed all Canadians, share our enthusiasm. Our communities gain tremendously from these and other high-stature sport events, from improved sport facilities to increased volunteer capacity and sport participation. The social and economic legacies of the 2010 games will benefit the country for many years to come.
This opportunity of a lifetime extends beyond athletes and spectators and into the arts and culture community as well. We will have a wonderful occasion to showcase our Canadian heritage to an international audience. It is estimated that 3.2 billion people around the world will be watching the opening ceremonies of the 2010 games.
Recently, not far from my home in Port Moody, the Cultural Olympiad 2009 opened in metro Vancouver. It's a six-week-long festival that will feature 400 performances and exhibits featuring 120 artistic projects taking place in close to 70 different venues. Our investment in the Cultural Olympiad is just one of many events we have been able to fund through our government's 37% increase in the arts presentation Canada program.
We are also investing $24.5 million in the Olympic torch relay, as approved in last year's budget. This incredible event will see the Olympic torch travel more than 45,000 kilometres over 100 days across this country. It will go to over 1,000 communities in this country and is the longest torch relay in Olympic history.
We've set aside $12.5 million in funding for community celebrations at stops all along the way and we'll be engaging francophone and minority language communities as we do this. This will showcase real local artists on the ground as part of these torch events and is an example of how sport and culture can work together to improve the quality of life of Canadians.
Since I was appointed Minister of Heritage and Official Languages last fall, I have been working hard to meet the needs of artists from across the country. I have enjoyed visiting small towns and cities alike and touring institutions such as the Musée d'art contemporain, Wychwood Barns, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and many more. I've spoken to all my provincial and territorial counterparts and I've met with the heads of organizations like the Canada Council for the Arts, l'Union des Artistes, Orchestras Canada, and the Vancouver Art Gallery, to name a few. My goal was, and it continues to be, to connect with the arts community and establish a relationship that will be beneficial to all Canadians.
While I've been able to see first-hand that the cultural sector is innovative and dynamic, I also recognize there are tremendous challenges ahead. First and foremost is the global economic situation. Cultural business and not-for-profit organizations alike are feeling the effects of the credit crunch. Rapidly changing technologies are having a huge impact on the sector; they are bringing challenges, but also, of course, opportunities.
There are now more ways to reach more audiences. For instance, there are social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace. In fact, 34% of Canadians under the age of 20 use such sites to discover new art and new music. The cultural industry is reaching them there and is building artists' profiles online instead of advertising through traditional means like flyers, radio, and television.
Fewer people are buying CDs because they want more flexibility and choice. Instead of buying a whole album, they want to pick and choose their songs. This is something the industry is starting to deal with. They need to do more, of course, and I will continue to work with them to ensure that we have a sustainable policy framework to adjust.
In this rapidly changing environment, we need to take a careful look at how we invest in culture. We need to re-examine our cultural policies because many of them are rooted in traditional approaches that may not fit anymore.
I believe we need cultural policies that respond to our unique heritage and put Canadians' interests first, as citizens, creators and consumers. Canadians want and should have information about the world through books, magazines, films and exhibitions. We want to see films telling our stories, like Passchendaele, and Ce qu'il faut pour vivre. We want to read books like Guy Vanderhaeghe's best selling The Englishman's Boy, or Marie Laberge's trilogy Le Goût du bonheur.
As well, we need policies that focus on innovation so that the cultural sector can continue to be a strong driver of economic growth.
I believe the National Film Board is on the right track here. In honour of its 70th anniversary, the Board has put the better part of 900 films on line free of charge. Day or night, anywhere in the country, Canadians now have access to this important part of their cultural heritage.
We want Canada to continue to be a global leader in developing video games. Among the top-selling video games in North America, 20% were developed in Canadian studios. In fact, this innovative sector had estimated revenues of $2 billion in 2007.
Last but not least, we need policies that help our creators to showcase their ingenuity, build their brand, and contribute to Canada's image outside of our country. We have a small domestic market and many of our artists owe their success to strong international sales. For example, the rock band Nickelback has sold more than three hundred million dollars' worth of CDs internationally over the past ten years.
When we see Cirque du Soleil or Céline Dion appearing around the world, not only do Canadians feel a sense of pride, but it also helps build our reputation abroad as a strong, competitive country. This image is central to attracting tourism and investment to Canada and stimulating economic success across all sectors.
I want to review our existing cultural policies with a view to modernizing them. I hope that this committee, in establishing its agenda for the coming months, will consider some of these issues as well. In the coming months we have much to do, and we will prioritize, starting with the implementation of budget 2009.
I also want to reiterate our commitment to the television and interactive digital industries, with investments of $134 million over the next two years. It is through these investments that we are helping to strengthen the economy and create jobs for Canadians. We believe that sectors of broadcasting and new media will continue to contribute to the economic welfare of Canada. We are aware of the hardships the industry has experienced and, rest assured, I am closely following its evolution.
In closing, let me say that our government understands that support for arts and culture is not a want, but a need. I have been very clear on this since my appointment as Minister of Canadian Heritage last fall. The mandate of the Canadian Heritage portfolio and specifically arts and culture is important for our government.
I see great opportunity for all members of this committee to work together to make change possible in this time of fast-paced innovation in the cultural sector. The needs should be considered not only in a productive way, but in one that is respectful to the economy and to the challenges that we face ahead.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. I look forward to hearing your questions.
