I cannot tell you how people who are part of the Writers' Union of Canada or Quebec writers are doing, but I can talk to you about the people I come across.
Those people have been suffering for years. They have often questioned their desire to write. They have thought twice before deciding to continue writing. A huge amount of time and work goes into writing a novel. What is more, as we know, it is not a profitable endeavour.
Mr. Champoux, do you know that Quebec authors sell 350 books on average per year? That average takes into account the 1.7 million books I have sold, and it also includes the books of known successful authors.
Year after year, 40,000 new titles in French are released in Quebec annually. I don't even want to think about what is released in English around the world and in the rest of Canada. Clearly, people like me, who are managing to make a good living, are privileged. The fact that authors do not receive at least a little something to encourage them has a dramatic impact on authors' writing process.