Canadian Heritage Committee on April 9th, 2019

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

That is therefore your answer, minister.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

We are talking about helping the media. Advertising spending is being directed to new suppliers. Instead of using a loophole and contributing to the problem of declining ad revenues that our weekly newspapers and our traditional media are experiencing, why not attack the source of the problem?

Secondly, what would you say to the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting when they say that the government is currently complicit in this decline since it gives tax benefits to companies that buy advertising from Internet service providers and the Facebooks of the world?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

The problem is that—

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Excuse me, Madam Chair, but the question isn't for you. It is for the minister and I would like him to answer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

I know that, but you have exceeded the five minutes you were given.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Time always flies with Mr. Blaney.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Chair, I would like to receive written answers, if possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

The minister has already answered most of your questions.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

No, he didn't. I still don't know how much money the government invested in Facebook. I don't know what he'll tell the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting about the subsidies disguised as tax credits that the government is giving the Facebooks and Googles of this world.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

The minister answered the first question by indicating that it had to do with another department.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Blaney, if I were impolite I might say that you spent 10 years doing nothing, but I will refrain from saying that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

We will now move on to Mr. Long for five minutes.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair. That's hard to follow.

Minister, thank you for coming this afternoon. Thank you for your presentation, and thanks for your commitment to Canada and what you do for all of us.

As you know, my riding of Saint John-Rothesay is home to Canada's first and oldest incorporated city. Because of that, it has a wealth of nationally significant historical assets. When I ran, I ran on developing, re-energizing and remarketing those historical assets. One thing I learned when I travelled the world with my aquaculture job was that European countries embrace their history. They market their history. They celebrate their history and they put money into those assets. Obviously, in my riding, there's a keen interest to work with Heritage Canada and to get investments in preserving our historical heritage assets.

Can you speak, Minister, more broadly on how our federal government is investing in heritage assets through the Canada cultural spaces fund, and how those investments are already benefiting, and have the potential to benefit, communities across the country, including my riding?

Thank you.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Absolutely.

As you know, we've invested an additional $300 million in the Canada cultural spaces fund over 10 years. That's an extra $30 million a year. Why? It's extremely important to do so. This allows us to invest in small projects. I remember one in a region in Quebec that was for $150,000 to change all the lighting and sound systems in a venue in Lavaltrie, if I remember well.

We are also able to invest in larger projects, worth a couple of million dollars. For example, in your riding, we invested $925,000 in the Imperial Theatre in Saint John for renovations and upgrades to their stage and audio systems. The Saint John Theatre Company received $63,000. In your province, Fredericton received $500,000 for the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Those are very important strategic investments we're making.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Thank you for that. Thanks for what you do for all of us, Minister.

I'll turn it over to MP Dhillon.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you for being here, minister.

I would like to talk about multiculturalism. As a visible minority woman from Quebec, I have the following question: how will the funding to fight racism and promote multiculturalism help other people like me find their own place here and in other spheres of influence?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you for your question, Ms. Dhillon.

As I was saying to Mr. Hogg, I believe, we are seeing a resurgence of discrimination, hateful comments, and various forms of racism.

We have decided to do something about it. We consulted more than 600 people and 400 groups across the country. We met with experts, but also victims of racism and discrimination. We then implemented a program that I will have the opportunity to introduce soon, once I have submitted it to cabinet.

We are launching a number of very concrete projects. For example, in the area of justice, how do we reverse the trend of overrepresentation of certain categories of people such as blacks and indigenous peoples in the prison population? How do we make it easier for people whose name or skin colour are different to find employment? How do we promote social inclusion? All of that will be explained in detail in the anti-racism plan we are presenting shortly and for which we have already allocated significant funding of $45 million.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Do I still have a bit of time, Madam Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

You have one minute left, Ms. Dhillon.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Okay.

The plan you are unveiling soon, will it also address the intersectionality I was just talking about? I am a visible minority woman. Let's not forget people from the LGBTQ community either. Will all of that be addressed?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Absolutely. Intersectionality was raised quite frequently during our consultations. Parliamentary secretaries, federal MPs and people from across the country took part in those consultations.

Many people who experience this intersectionality came to testify. I remember one woman, who is black and gay. She deals with the cumulative effect of all these barriers that stifle her hopes, limit her personal growth, and reduce her choice of jobs. Without getting into the details, know that all these issues will be addressed in our plan.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you, minister.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you very much, Minister. It was wonderful to have you here.

Thank you two as well, Ms. Laurendeau and Mr. Francis.

It was good to have you all here with us again.

The meeting is adjourned.