Canadian Heritage Committee on April 14th, 2016

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

As I said earlier, I am mindful of the work that you do as a parliamentary committee. I also know that the committee has previously conducted a number of possibly relevant studies.

Generally speaking, there needs to be a broad consultation process, open dialogue, with various stakeholders, about media and entertainment. In fact, few countries have truly understood how technological changes could be managed by governments and how existing models could be adapted to the digital reality.

However, I also think the digital era is a wonderful opportunity in the sense that it allows for much more content and much greater access to that content. In our case, this means a greater role in supporting Canadian content.

That is why the $675 million invested in CBC/Radio-Canada are vital. We are fortunate to have a public broadcaster, a public creator of content whose role will be more important than ever as it will provide local and national content tailored to the needs and expectations of various audiences and consumers of online information. Of course, the high quality of radio and television will need to be maintained as well.

At any rate, I will definitely look at your findings about local media.

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Thank you.

I have one last question.

You briefly talked about your approach to official languages. Your mandate letter mentions the need to develop a multi-year plan to support official language minority communities.

Could you briefly provide an overview of your plan in the coming years to support those communities?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Although the current roadmap expires in 2018, I wanted to go on the ground at the outset of my mandate to meet with organizations all over the country, from Yellowknife to Vancouver, from Halifax to Toronto and Calgary, organizations that support the various official language minority communities. Naturally, the response to our approach was very positive. I wanted to take the pulse before starting to work on the new multi-year plan you mentioned. The plan will likely be developed over the next year. I also wanted to use a different approach in helping arts and culture and official language organizations, meaning that I wanted—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Could you please wrap up? We're over the five minutes. Thank you.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I will have an opportunity to answer your questions later.

I am not sure whether you have seen The Globe and Mail and La Presse articles this morning about our innovative approach to ensuring that people have access to their funding more quickly and predictably. I am talking about multi-year funding.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

We do have some time left, so according to the rotation on which we agreed as a committee, we will have room for two other questioners, but they will be for three-minute rounds, not five-minute rounds.

I will go to Mr. Waugh, for the Conservatives, please, for three minutes.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

I want to re-emphasize that the 61% increase on the CBC budget that you have outlined in your budget is over five years, but here's what my question is really about. I know now how you are paying for this.

Our previous government had what was one of the best plans in this country. It was the children's arts tax credit, and I see that you have done away with it. That was $105 million that helped families in Canada. It helped families for culture, history, dancing, and music, and you've done away with it. It was $105 million, so I can see that now we're going to have everyone on the couch watching our public broadcaster instead of where they should be.

Maybe you could talk about why you would cut that when it was bringing people out of their homes and giving us the arts and culture that we need in this country. That arts tax credit was a great plan, and you've taken that $105 million and given it to the public broadcaster.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

If I may, I'm very happy to say that, as a government, we launched the most innovative and—how can I say it?—

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Ditched it all—

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

—important program to support our families since universal care, and that's l'allocation canadienne pour enfants, the child benefit plan. Just to reassure you, our families, for example, that earn $90,000 per year—

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Yes, I know, Madam Minister. I'm going to interrupt because I only have three minutes here.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

—will get up to $2,000, which is way more than the former tax credit, to really support them in their needs—

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Yes, we also did that.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

—including making sure that children have access to arts and culture activities.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

We also did that.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I just want to reassure you that our families will have the right—

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

I know. We also had the universal child care benefit—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Order, please. You are talking over each other, and that's not the way to do it.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Yes, and we only have three minutes.

We also had the universal child care tax plan, but we also had the arts and the sports, and both have been taken away. Both of these are great for families and have been taken away. We forced kids off the couch with this, and now you've taken this $105 million and given it to public broadcasting and to digital. You're forcing people to use this instead of getting off the couch, and I want you to realize that. Families are going to feel this in their homes.

As you know, we're trying to get our kids to be active, and you have taken away this arts tax credit for arts and culture, for music, and for dance. I brought up two kids in my family on that, and I'm not the only one. Millions across the country have used it, and now it's gone.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Three minutes are up. Thank you.

I'm sorry, Minister, we have to move on.

The next one is Ms. Dabrusin for the Liberals, for three minutes, please.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

I was really happy to see that we included reconciliation in the Canada 150 themes. We've talked a lot over the past week about the need to really move forward on that.

Do you have any plans specifically to support indigenous artists and their contributions to our national culture?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

As I said a bit earlier, it will also be under the purview of the Canada Council. The $550 million to be given to the Canada Council will help support not only indigenous artists and their own ways of addressing different arts and cultural activities and their own governance, but indigenous people will also have access to all the programs. These may include programs for international exports, and maybe cultural and artistic creativity, and there will be much more for research. They will have access to a big pool of programs and money to really better support indigenous art and culture.

Also, for CBC/Radio-Canada, as I understand it, their plan will also be to better support information online on what's happening in the indigenous communities across the country, and also to showcase the great cultures that are present in our different indigenous communities. Also, in general, in the 150th anniversary because we've highlighted it as a priority—and that was really not the case before, which is sad—we will be able to promote the great arts and culture of first nations, the Métis nation, and the Inuit of this country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

There's less than one minute left, Ms. Dabrusin.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

In my own community we hear stories about people having a hard time getting access to funding in time. For example, somebody may be applying for Canada Day funding, and then the money arrives in August, after the event has occurred.

I recently heard about some of your plans regarding delegation of authority. Perhaps you can quickly discuss that.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Yes. When I was first appointed I realized that I had 8,000 contributions to sign myself, or my political staff did, which really didn't make sense. It was creating a backlog back in Ottawa, and because of that, organizations were getting their cheques even after the events they were organizing had taken place.

I decided to do a massive delegation of power—