Evidence of meeting #102 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was media.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Be very careful. We're getting close with the language we're using, Mr. Julian.
Mr. Noormohamed.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Madam Chair, we asked the minister to come so that we could get answers to questions. We did not ask the minister to come so that we could listen to diatribes from members of the opposition and Mrs. Thomas in particular.
I took great umbrage at the fact, although I didn't say anything about it, that when we were having the last exchange, Mrs. Thomas chose to say to me that it was okay and that she had already clipped her request. We're here to do work. We're not here to look for sound bites and clips.
Perhaps we might consider the decorum and demeanour that we are using so that we can have respectful conversations. I am very concerned, as Mr. Julian is, about the degradation of the dialogue in what should be an important conversation with the minister and with one another.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Mr. Noormohamed, I think I commented on that already, so I would like us to move on.
Now, with regard to imputing thoughts to people before they speak, I think we should move away from that. None of us can read minds. I'm learning. I'm trying to learn how to do that, but I don't think that anybody here has learned quite how to do it.
If the minister smiles, which I notice she does a lot when she's answering her questions, I don't think we should impugn her motives for that.
Go ahead, Mrs. Thomas. I've been stopping the clock. You have 33 seconds.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
We have four minutes and 10 seconds that we've used up.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We have been stopping the clock every time there was a point of order.
All right, I will give you another two minutes, Mrs. Thomas.
November 30th, 2023 / 9:10 a.m.
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
No, you only had five minutes. You cannot have four minutes and 10 seconds left. I'm sorry.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Madam Chair, I'm giving myself less time. You're giving me two minutes. I'm saying that I only have 50 seconds.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
I'm sorry. I thought it was minutes that you were showing me. I couldn't read it very well from a distance without my glasses.
Go ahead and have your extra seconds.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Okay.
Minister, why are you allowing Mr. Marouf to get away with continuing to use taxpayer money to post heinous comments with regard to the Jewish community? Why aren't you going after the $130,000 that he must pay back to taxpayers?
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Madam Chair, I'm here in good faith to answer my colleagues' questions, and I refute all of the member's claims.
The deputy minister made it very clear that legal proceedings are currently under way against Laith Marouf. We have always denounced anti-Semitism and hate speech. We do not tolerate it in the Department of Canadian Heritage or in the government.
I've spent my life defending minorities and others, including members of the LGBTQ2+ community, and I will not allow my colleague to say just anything about me. I refute all her claims. It's shameful to sit here and have to listen to that, Madam Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Order. You have 22—whatever you have on your thing—seconds. Are you finished with your questions?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much.
Now I'm going to go to the Liberals.
Ms. Gainey, you have five minutes, please.
Liberal
Anna Gainey Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, thank you for joining us and for your contribution today. It's a pleasure to see you here with your colleagues.
I would like to talk a little bit about CBC/Radio-Canada.
Cuts were made during the Harper years. You've been talking about rebuilding these institutions for some time now.
We continue to hear rhetoric about defunding the CBC and about the value of the CBC. I would like to hear your thoughts on that. Why is the CBC important? What are the potential impacts of that kind of rhetoric on those institutions and on our country?
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Thank you very much.
Actually, I have also been a staunch defender of our public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada. All democratic countries have strong public institutions to ensure high-quality journalism all across the country. I also defend it to ensure that our public broadcaster supports our producers, creators and artists. We want it to showcase Canadian stories by and for Canadians, and we want people to discover them.
Unfortunately, like all media, our public broadcaster is facing the media crisis, and its revenues are currently affected by the situation. Let's not forget the constant attacks by the Conservatives on our public broadcaster, which unfortunately has to defend itself. I'm very proud that, as soon as we came to power in 2015, our government restored to the public broadcaster the funding that had been cut by the Harper government.
We need to have a discussion about the future of CBC/Radio-Canada because the media crisis has had a profound impact on everything. We must ensure that our public broadcaster continues to fulfill its mandate and represent media in both official languages across the country, in addition to eight indigenous languages.
Liberal
Anna Gainey Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC
Thank you very much. I share your point of view.
I'm curious to know your opinion on the following question.
Are the platforms better with news on them?
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Yes, I certainly think so. In fact, by participating in our system and talking to the government to make sure the regulations work, Google is demonstrating that it is a better platform, by delivering Canadian news and ensuring that Canadians can continue to access this information.
All platforms should do more to combat hate, disinformation and misinformation. We know the consequences this can have on our society.
Meta should do the same, that is, take responsibility for what happens on its platforms and recognize the repercussions on democratic life and society. At the very least, Meta should ensure that, to combat disinformation, it disseminates quality information produced by journalists who comply with codes of ethics.
Liberal
Anna Gainey Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC
Thank you very much.
I have no further questions for the moment.