Thank you, Minister, for your answer to my question. However, I am disappointed you didn’t answer with a yes or a no.
As you know, our speaking time is limited here, so I will move on to my next question.
I want to move to Bell Media. As Bell laid off 6,000 workers over eight months, we heard a number of condemnations from politicians in every party, including the Prime Minister, who made some very colourful remarks followed by no action. The lives of 6,000 people were irrevocably changed, all while Bell increased the amounts of dividend cheques it handed out to shareholders.
Media in this country is in crisis. Communities across the country don't have access to local journalism. It seems the Liberals are content to tweet out thoughts and prayers in place of real solutions. Bell received over $122 million from the Canadian emergency wage subsidy, only to lay off staff and pay out exorbitant executive bonuses. Besides big empty statements from the Prime Minister, your government has done nothing to respond to these massive layoffs concretely.
What are your plans as heritage minister in terms of concrete action in response to these major layoffs at Bell Media?