Evidence of meeting #4 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 sector.
A recording is available from Parliament.
National President, Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists
Do you want to help me out, Lisa?
Lisa Blanchette
Of course.
For employment insurance we definitely are excited about the review that is being undertaken and the opportunity of broadening the system so that self-employed workers can participate. Our members want to work. They want to be contributing to the system so that they have a safety net if something like this were to happen again.
With respect to the status of the artists, again this is a great piece of legislation that we would like to see looked at again. For example, in Quebec there is the income averaging that's available to Quebec artists. Is this something that could be introduced federally for artists across the country? The possibilities are endless with status of the artist and we're very keen to be part of the consultation.
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you, Ms. Blanchette and Mr. Champoux. I'm sorry. Your time is up.
We will go to Mr. Julian from the NDP for two and a half minutes. Thank you.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I’m going to ask Ms. Charette a question, but first I would like to respond to Mr. Bittle’s comment.
The banking sector has received $750 billion in liquidity support, which is 1,000 times more than the culture sector has received. So it’s clear that there is a lot of work to be done and that the government has not prioritized the culture sector as it should have. This sector is extremely important, not only for our economy, but also for us to tell our stories, both on the national and international stage.
Ms. Charette, you raised some extremely important points. If I understood correctly, you said that nearly 80% of your members have an income of around $21,000 a year. What should we do, on the one hand, so that artists can overcome the pandemic, and on the other hand, so that they can have a basic income to maintain an adequate standard of living, regardless of where they are?
President, Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture
I think the first thing we need to do is to take a different position on the work of artists. We need to recognize that they are the foundation, the raw material of culture, and provide significant accountability when public money is invested to ensure that it gets to the artists.
There are many programs as well. COVID‑19 has added to an already present structural crisis. We talked about Bill C‑11, which is very important to us. I also heard the ACTRA representatives say this, but it is important for the entire cultural community, because we know the losses generated by the lack of contribution from the Web giants.
As we have just said, there is a real need for self-employed people to have access to EI benefits. We understand that it will be difficult to create a new framework, but we need to work on it and have a clear intention.
We should also review the funding of public corporations such as the National Film Board, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Canada Council for the Arts. It is by supporting our own arts institutions and private investors in the culture sector that we can improve things. As I said, you need to have a vision. Programs are not enough; you need a vision. I hope that this vision will be built by everyone.
Liberal
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Some play to lift a trophy. We play to lift the country.
As the father of one of the athletes who took part in the summer games, Ms. Paul, I'm surprised that you never talked about mental health. We have been in the House of Commons for over a year asking for help on a three-digit mental health line. We are told by this government that it's coming; the CRTC is coming. Now we have Bill C-11, the online streaming, which will controlled by the CRTC.
As a father who watched an athlete struggle mentally to and from the games, I would like to know your position on this, as Niagara was cancelled last year. It's been moved up to August 6, but the adjustments on age eligibility and the requirements for qualifying will certainly change.
What is the mental aspect of your athletes coast to coast in this country as they prepare for 2022?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Games Council
This is where we cross jurisdictional lines with the provinces and territories. However, we do talk to the provinces and territories about mental health in making sure that they're taking care of their teams.
As an organization, we don't have any impact on their mental health at this time. With respect to age categories, that was extremely difficult. We worked with our national sport organizations and made the best decisions with respect to the sport programming and the prior decisions that had been rendered.
When it comes to the Canada Games, though, sport, as we know, is extremely important, and then the mental health of all the participants at the games is important. We do make sure that we take care of the teams at games time with respect to mental health.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Going on with this, in Regina this month, they cancelled the Saskatchewan Winter Games. Many of these athletes will never have another opportunity to compete. What do you say to that?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Games Council
It's extremely disappointing, and it's something that we don't ever want to see happen at the Canada Games. Obviously, we were reaching out to our provincials here. Actually, all four provincial games this winter were cancelled in this country. We do have a network with them, and we have been working with them to support their recovery in any way, shape or form possible.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
But you know that many athletes will not get another chance, through qualifications, through eligibility.... There are many in this country who had a chance in the last 18 months to compete, and now they won't have that chance.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Whether they move forward on eligibility and just plain.... I've seen from 12- to 20- to 30-year olds. Some move on. Some can't, as you know, wait for that time.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Games Council
Yes, absolutely. One of our three recommendations to government was that the federal government could support bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories to support the return to sports, because they are dealing with new norms. They've lost training opportunities and competition opportunities to help them return to sport.
We think the federal government could take a lead and support the return to sport and the success of Canada's first multisport games in this country after the pandemic.
Conservative
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Games Council
This is something we're actually talking to you about today, but we are happy to continue this messaging.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
I had Special Olympians in my office two or three weeks ago in Saskatoon. They're distraught. They, too, haven't been able to participate in any kind of activity. Your thoughts on that group...?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Games Council
Yes, on the Special Olympics, we work with Special Olympics Canada. They took a different approach to safeguarding health and safety. They're missing a huge window—absolutely—but they felt that it was in the best interests of their athletes and their organization.
At the Canada Games, we're inclusive, so we do have opportunities for athletes with an intellectual disability or a physical disability, as well as the able-bodied. We will continue to do our best in the Canada Games in promoting inclusion opportunities through sport.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Thank you.
I'm going to go to you, Mr. Wallace. You haven't had time to speak to committee today because you had some trouble Zooming in, but I'm going to give you an opportunity now, because the museums in this country are really suffering. We all know that. I think Ms. George said that only two closed, which kind of surprised me. I thought there would be more.
On digitizing and creating virtual exhibits for visitors online, in the last 18 months have you made any improvements?
Michael Wallace President, Canadian Museums Association
“Improvements” is an interesting word.
On the notion for digitizing, I think that all falls in, as Heather was pointing out, on the need for us to have a policy so that we can figure out from coast to coast to coast how digital fits into what museums are trying to do and—rather than having an ad hoc approach where each individual museum is trying to launch digital projects—the ways we can do it together as a country.
Conservative
