Evidence of meeting #121 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 subamendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kevin Waugh
No, Mr. Noormohamed. Ms. Thomas gave the floor over to Mr. Lawrence—
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kevin Waugh
She didn't really ask a question. In my interpretation, it was a comment, and then it went to Mr. Lawrence, so—
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Is that how the chair is going to operate going forward, just so we're clear?
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you, Minister, and thank you for being here today.
On May 13, 2024, you announced the appointment of an advisory committee to help you in making future decisions about the CBC and to help determine the future. I think we would both agree that there can be partisanship in these halls. You might have even seen some today.
It's very important, though, that when we make decisions going forward about Radio-Canada and CBC, it is non-partisan.
Would you agree with that presupposition?
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
The public broadcaster is accountable first and foremost to the government, not to a political party. My thinking is based on the public interest and the role of the public broadcaster for all Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you for your answer.
However, I'm a bit challenged when I look at the individuals who are part of this, because I believe four of them are CBC insiders. They had a large amount of time with the CBC and are deeply connected with the CBC.
One is actually a Trudeau scholar, of course, bearing the name of the current Prime Minister but named after his father. We see deep connections with Liberal insiders and with respect to the Trudeau family. Obviously, we've seen a history of this.
Are you not concerned, as I am, about the partisanship of this advisory board?
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
First of all, you are the one playing partisan politics with the public broadcaster, not me.
Second, I find it a bit odd that my colleague is saying that no one who has previously worked at CBC/Radio‑Canada should have been on this advisory committee. We're talking about the public broadcaster, and it's important to have a good understanding of how it works. I'm extremely surprised to hear that.
The advisory committee is made up of experts whose fields of expertise are varied and who come from a variety of backgrounds.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
My assumption, even stepping away a bit from the partisanship stuff, is that you would want a fresh voice. We have a series of CBC insiders as well as a Trudeau scholar. Doesn't that give you some pause, Minister?
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
When you talk about CBC insiders, you are the ones who are engaging in partisanship, once again. You're exploiting a committee that is there to help us reflect on the public good and the common good.
That answers your question.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kevin Waugh
Thank you.
We move for five minutes to Mr. Coteau and the Liberal Party.
Go ahead, Michael.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister and officials, for joining us here today. This is a very important discussion about the future of heritage in general in this country.
Minister, you said that our Canadian heritage plays a huge role in keeping our country together and building a stronger country. I believe that 100%. I'm always happy when we have CBC officials come in, because I ask them questions about things like their budget and how they're using their money. I also ask them about what they're doing for our culture, for independent thought media, and to support young people and children in this country. In Ontario, we have TVO, which is an incredible public broadcaster, as well as CBC. I'm a big supporter of both.
I want to ask you this: We see a lot more misinformation and disinformation. In fact, even at this committee today, I heard that constant narrative about viewership being down at CBC, but it was clear, when officials came in and talked about it, that it has grown in other areas. Maybe it was different traditionally—the way it was broadcast via cable and antenna—but the viewership has picked up on how we use CBC on our phones, on the Internet and with many different types of sources. In fact, every morning when I get up, and halfway through the day and in the evening, I go to CBC Listen and catch up on the latest news on demand. I'm a user, but I may not sit down at six o'clock to watch the news when it's put forward.
My question to you is this: With misinformation and disinformation taking place not only in Canada but also around the world, how does our public broadcaster play a role in combatting it, and what are your thoughts on how we move this even further in the future to combat some of these challenges?
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
I'd like to thank my colleague for his question.
When it comes to combatting disinformation and misinformation, I think CBC/Radio‑Canada's role is fundamental. The first way to combat disinformation is to ensure that we have quality journalism. Despite everything the Conservatives may say about CBC/Radio‑Canada, it is our most reliable source of information and meets the highest standards of journalistic ethics.
It's true that habits have changed. People are watching less television. In fact, more and more people are disconnecting from cable. However, CBC/Radio‑Canada, through all its platforms, is more popular than ever. Each month, 17 million people, nearly half of the country's population, use CBC/Radio‑Canada's websites and digital services. Eight million people visit CBC sites every month. There are over 10 million podcast downloads a month. There are millions more visits to other applications and platforms, including online streaming services.
It must also be said that CBC operates the leading digital news service in Canada in terms of the number of users. It is the most visited because of its credibility. CBC radio is still very popular in Canada, and is number one in 17 of 22 markets by listenership, including Toronto, but also Calgary and Edmonton.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
It sounds like things are quite positive regarding impression rates for CBC and Radio-Canada.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
If we rely solely on television ratings, we obviously realize that fewer and fewer people are watching television. CBC/Radio‑Canada has become very prevalent on digital platforms, where Canadians are today. This is evidenced by the number of visits and the number of consultations on all of CBC/Radio‑Canada's various platforms.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
I want to say thank you very much, Minister, for the investments that have been made in our public broadcaster, for the work you're doing to ensure that Heritage plays a role in building a better and stronger Canada overall, and for being here today at our committee.
Thank you, Chair.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
It's a pleasure, Mr. Coteau.
Since I have a little time left, I would like to close by reminding everyone that CBC/Radio‑Canada is the only Canadian media that is present in all regions of the country, that provides services in French and English, as well as services in eight indigenous languages, and that provides international coverage. That's—
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kevin Waugh
Thank you, Minister.
We're going to move on to the Bloc for two and a half minutes.
Mr. Champoux, go ahead, please.
4:25 p.m.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, I would like to talk to you a little about festivals, because your mandate covers more than just CBC. You may think that some people forget that.
There are also other sectors that have been extremely hard hit for several years. In the festival sector, there are cries and cracks everywhere this year. Not a week goes by without a festival in some region of Quebec calling us to say that there's a lack of funding. I know that money was added to the 2024 budget, but there are a lot of applicants for financial support from the federal government.
What do you say to the requests from organizations such as the Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux and the Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants, which are major festival groups in Quebec and Canada? For some time now, they've been asking you, first of all, to make permanent the temporary support that has been granted. They're also asking you to give them multi‑year funding, for example over three or five years, to ensure predictability and to establish relationships with their partners that will be more profitable for each of the parties. I think that's a reasonable request. And yet we don't really see much enthusiasm from the government on this.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Pascale St-Onge Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
On the contrary, the government's objective is to eventually make the financial assistance to the sector permanent. We can see that it has beneficial effects on the entire sector and on accessibility for Canadians. There's a lot of talk these days about affordability, but you have to know that festivals are probably one of the most accessible summer activities for families.
Our government added $31 million over two years to the Canada Arts Presentation Fund. I know there is more to do. We have also added $32 million to the Canada Music Fund, which will benefit Musicaction, among others, and therefore the presentation of shows. My objective is to eventually make those amounts permanent.
4:25 p.m.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Right now, I'm thinking of the Festif de Baie-Saint-Paul, in a region that is recovering from last year's natural disaster. This festival is having trouble making ends meet, and this event is extremely important for the region's appeal. This tourism region needs its festivals. We've given you the opportunity to comment on that.
Other festivals in several regions of Quebec who say that this will have a negative impact on the quality of their programming this year. Do you have any money lying around to help festivals that are missing a few bucks left and right? Are you able to do something quickly this summer?