That would be me. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Mark Jamison and I am chief executive officer of Magazines Canada. Jim Everson, our executive director of public affairs, is with me. Due to illness, my colleague Jocelyn Poirier sends his regrets. Jocelyn is a member of the Magazines du Québec board as well as the Magazines Canada board, and he is president of the TVA group, but unfortunately he is ill and he cannot be with us.
We appreciate that the committee is focusing on digital media. This is an environment that magazine publishers have embraced. We thank you for having us.
Canadians have benefited considerably over the years from progressive federal policies in the magazine sector. As the digital economy and new consumer demand evolve, policies need to be updated to continue to provide value to Canadian readers.
We would like to spend a few minutes talking about magazines today and tomorrow. Different monitors have the slides in French and English.
First, I have just a few words about the industry and Magazines Canada. Our national association provides advocacy, marketing, and professional development services for Canada's consumer, cultural, and business magazines. Members are mostly independent titles located in all parts of Canada, publishing in French, English, and aboriginal languages as well as many other languages.
Member magazines are Canadian owned and controlled, and that's a point we want to stress, plus the fact that most of our magazines have 80%-plus Canadian content. Together, our magazines deliver 700 million print titles annually and attract millions of readers online. The $2.2 billion Canadian magazine industry provides direct and indirect employment to some 13,000, and that includes all our creative people—writers, designers, illustrators, and so on.
Are we tanking on the French slides here?