Canadian Heritage Committee on Sept. 24th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Welcome to meeting number three of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room, and no one is remote.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee is meeting for a briefing on the mandate and the priorities of the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture.

It is a true pleasure to welcome the minister, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages. He is accompanied by senior officials. Luckily, they are all named Andrew, except for Isabelle.

We have Andrew Brown, associate deputy minister; and I understand that Mr. Ron Hallman from Parks Canada wasn't feeling well, so Andrew Campbell will be sitting in for him.

Thank you all for being here.

Minister, you have five minutes.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Chair, I have a point of order. I apologize, Minister. This will only take a moment.

The motion that was moved for this study asked for the minister to be here for two hours. I want to make sure that it is in fact what the minister has agreed to.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

It is my understanding that the minister is here for one hour.

Minister, over to you for five minutes.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Chair, on a point of order, I would seek clarification, then. The minister did agree to the motion that was sent to him, and it did say two hours. Is that correct?

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

I would not say that the minister agreed to the motion that was sent to him. The minister was invited to come, and he agreed to come for one hour.

Minister, the floor is yours.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages]

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.

I'm very pleased to appear before you for the first time in my new role as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, conservation and Parks Canada. I'm honoured to have this new title. The Prime Minister entrusted me with an important role, which is to protect and promote what's at the very core of who we are and of what makes us proud.

Last spring, Canadians chose a new government that is ready to defend our country in the face of the geopolitical changes and challenges that lie ahead. Now is the time to come together to face them, to pull together and, above all, to be proud Canadians, proud of our values, our history, our natural treasures, our diversity, our languages and, of course, our favourite Canadian teams.

As we come together to address these challenges, it's essential to protect our identity. We all share a common identity, and my role is to celebrate what unites us and enriches our country, our greatest assets as a nation: our culture, our languages and our natural heritage.

In his mandate letter, the Prime Minister set out our government's priorities for meeting the challenges we face: defending our sovereignty, strengthening our country on the international stage and creating a Canada worthy of our children and grandchildren.

In this context, the protection of our cultural and natural resources becomes an absolute priority. These pillars of our society are not only who we are but also what unite us, shape our identity, drive our economy and inspire pride and innovation. Indeed, when we invest in Canadian creativity, in our cultural industries, in sharing our stories in the digital age, in showcasing our natural heritage, or in promoting and respecting inclusion and diversity, we are investing in a strong, united and resilient Canadian identity. We are investing in a strong Canada.

To achieve this priority objective, our government has quickly taken action in several areas of activity, including culture. The digital age is profoundly transforming our society, and in the cultural media and information sectors in particular, technology is evolving at an incredible pace.

At the Mondiacult conference, which will be held in Barcelona in a few days, we'll have the opportunity to discuss how emerging technologies are transforming and can support the cultural sector. Indeed, this evolution brings not only challenges but also immense opportunities, both domestically and internationally.

In Canada, we've chosen a balanced approach that fosters innovation while protecting the rights of artists and rights holders. We underscored this last June in the “G7 Leaders' Statement on AI for Prosperity”.

The implementation of our historic Online News Act and Online Streaming Act is ongoing, as is our commitment to fighting against disinformation and strengthening local news.

Ensuring that Canadians have access to local, unbiased and timely life-saving information is essential. That’s why we are committed to supporting strong, independent newsrooms across the country, with the strengthening of CBC/Radio-Canada as a key priority. Now, more than ever, we must remain firm in supporting our own creators and promoting Canadian content. We promised Canadians a strong public broadcaster and better access to local news, and that is what we are focusing on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

We will go first to Mrs. Thomas for six minutes.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Thank you.

Mr. Travis Dhanraj was employed by the CBC as a news broadcaster. This summer, he launched a human rights complaint against the CBC, alleging that it had created what he called a toxic work environment. He said that he faced discrimination, bullying and harassment as a person of colour. In an email he sent out announcing his new podcast, he stated that it had been the hardest period of his life, and that what happened at CBC really broke him.

Minister, according to the Government of Canada's own website, the CBC is a Crown corporation that operates at arm's length from government, but it is ultimately accountable to Parliament through the responsible minister, which in this case would be you.

Have you reached out to the CEO of the CBC regarding this situation and the toxic work environment that is being accused there?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you for your question.

First, I want to condemn what happened to that Canadian Broadcasting Corporation employee. As a government, we expect all corporations and organizations under federal jurisdiction to create a healthy work environment for everyone.

It obviously isn't the government's role to interfere in the organization's day-to-day affairs and management. Those are the responsibility of the public broadcaster, which also has a board of directors. Our role is to ensure that the public broadcaster plays its role and properly represents Canadian values and culture as a whole, from coast to coast to coast.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Minister, I understand that your role isn't to get into the nitty-gritty day to day, but this is not the first employee who has come forward with concerns. There have been numerous concerns brought forward with regard to the toxic culture that exists at the CBC. Ultimately, you are responsible for having appointed the CEO, and she does answer to you as the minister. You have the ability to move her out should that be needed.

Have you had a conversation with the CEO with regard to the toxic culture that exists there?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

As you probably know, the new CEO took office last December, and I've had the pleasure of meeting her once since our respective arrivals. As I've said, we as a government expect that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or any Crown corporation or any department will do everything in its power to implement a healthy work environment—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Minister, I'm sorry, but with all due respect, my time is limited. I'm going to take that as a no. I think it's incredibly shameful that as a minister, you wouldn't take enough interest in the well-being of the employees at the CBC to pick up the phone and have a conversation with the CEO and figure out what the heck is going on there.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

You asked me if I've met with her, and I'm saying I have.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

I'll share my time with my colleague, Kerry Diotte.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Minister, I heard you say that you believe in the principles of diversity and inclusion. Is that correct?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Yes, that's correct.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

That's good, because one of the core stated responsibilities of the heritage department is diversity and inclusion. However, Travis Dhanraj said he was used as a token of diversity, and, in his own blunt words—and I will repeat his blunt words—the CBC “didn't get the brown guy that they thought they were going to get.” He said he discovered this when he tried to be inclusive of conservative views on his news show. What steps have you personally taken to address these systemic issues?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I think that we, as parliamentarians, have to be very careful about not using an isolated event or a few isolated events as a basis to generalize practices.

If we look at everything the public broadcaster has done in recent years, whether with radio or television, we see that significant efforts have been made in terms of diversity and inclusion. Is it perfect? No. I don't think anyone is perfect in that area, but there have been significant improvements. That will certainly be part of the conversations I'll have with the new president and CEO of CBC to see how the public broadcaster can continue to improve on this issue.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

This employee also described the CBC as “a workplace...defined by retaliation, exclusion and psychological harm.” That workplace, the CBC, received nearly $1.4 billion in taxpayers' funds from your department last year.

As the minister responsible for the CBC, are you concerned that your department is funding a workplace that has been described in this way?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Once again, I'm truly sorry for the work experience this person has had, but I refuse to generalize this situation as applying to all the public broadcaster's activities. I know a number of people from diverse backgrounds and minorities who work there and have told me on a number of occasions that there's a very good work environment. However, it's possible that it went very badly for this individual, and I'm sorry about that.

As I was saying, I think it's always possible to do better, and we'll work with the public broadcaster to achieve that.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Canadian Heritage plans to spend $281 million on diversity and inclusion in the coming year. Will any of this money go towards ensuring there are diversity and equity in the opinions broadcast on CBC?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I think the government has to be very careful. In Canada, we have a public broadcaster. It isn't a state broadcaster. The government doesn't tell CBC what to say or what not to say, unlike what's done in authoritarian or totalitarian countries. In democracies, whether here, in France, in Germany, or in Australia, where there's the ABC network, the government doesn't intervene in programming or broadcasting. We ensure that the public broadcaster is well managed, that it properly manages public funds and that it's accountable to the government and, ultimately, to Parliament. However, it's out of the question for the government to interfere in the public broadcaster's programming. It's absolutely out of the question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

Ms. Royer, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Zoe Royer, Liberal, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Minister.

Ethnic media outlets play a crucial role in ensuring that Canada's diverse communities see themselves reflected in our media landscape. In Port Moody—Coquitlam we've heard from groups like the Canadian Ethnic Media Association and local outlets such as Parvaz Media and KTV Media, about the need for sustainable funding. What steps is the government taking to support ethnic media organizations so that they can continue serving their communities and contributing to Canada's cultural fabric?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you for your question.

I think the government is doing a number of things to try to foster these particular Canadian ethnic media producers across the country.

We have the changing narratives fund, the CNF, which is a $10-million investment over three years to support diverse voices in Canadian media. It's to support diverse communities like indigenous, Black, racialized, ethno-religious minorities and people with disabilities.

We also have the Canada media fund, which supports diverse communities in television, digital media, the screen industry and cinematic production industries. In fact, the CNF is a stream of the CMF; the changing narratives fund is under the Canadian media fund. They prioritize projects that foster development of an inclusive audiovisual sector.

We also have the local journalism initiative, which supports diverse communities in written press, community radio, community television and online news services. It's delivered by a not-for-profit organization to protect the independence of the press, so the government doesn't decide who gets money through that. There's a priority to hire diverse journalistic representation.

The last example I would give is the collective initiatives component of the Canada periodical fund, which supports diverse communities in the magazine and newspaper industries.