And the public is not informed of that.
It appears that everyone who came and testified, the majority of whom benefited from the PromArt program, received funds from both sides, on an alternating basis. All of them, without exception, told us that the funding they received, which was relatively small, made their organizations profitable, since the business that they conducted outside the country brought in funds here. They gave us any number of examples to show that, most of the time, it was Canada that benefited from that, since the expenses they incurred in order to travel out of the country were incurred here.
They said that these international activities were necessary to their survival. We know perfectly well that all theatre, ballet and modern dance companies cannot survive solely in a market like Canada, even less so Quebec, which is far too small to ensure their long-term survival. All those people told us they needed this funding. Today, it's being cut, and we don't really know why. There are apparently good reasons for doing so, and that is what we'll be looking at with the minister later.
You're telling us that these people have the option of requesting funding elsewhere, if that's necessary to their survival. However, all these people confirmed for us that there was no other funding or options. That's what I don't understand. Are all those people wrong? Have they not done a proper search or have they turned to the wrong place? They claim they are in danger, that they are dying. It is the entire Canadian and Quebec cultural industry that is at stake.