I might.
I just want to start by saying thanks for coming. Then I'll dispense with the formalities.
You made one comment about $1.95 per hit at culture.ca. You can answer this during your response, but you made the comment that no private institution would accept that sort of thing, at $1.95 a hit. I believe Ms. LaRocque brought up the same.
I would suggest that if that's your only yardstick for your department, you may want to reconsider the answers in the future. For instance, if you used the yardstick of $1.95 per hit as a way of judging the Canadian Television Fund, I think that would be an unmitigated cultural disaster, as is the case.
Now, before you answer, let me try to give my other questions in succession. I have quite a few here. Then I want to deal with an issue that will take about two minutes to talk about, and that's of course copyright. I meant that jokingly about the two minutes.
From October 2007 through to June 2008, in many speeches in the House you talked about copyright legislation introduction. Bill C-61 was introduced in June 2008. It died at first reading.
Now, in your election platform, you said--well, your party said--and I quote, that a re-elected Conservative government would strike the “appropriate balance”.
My question is when is the copyright legislation coming? Is this going to be a spring event or a fall event? Who owns copyright legislation? Would that be you or the Minister of Industry? And what will follow from that when or if it makes its way through committee?
Also, when it comes to the copyright legislation itself, I do want you to comment on striking that appropriate balance. What to you is appropriate balance? And don't forget my $1.95-a-hit comment.