Canadian Heritage Committee on Sept. 24th, 2025

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

Thank you very much.

In 2012, in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam, Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old teenager, tragically lost her life after relentless cyber-bullying and non-consensual distribution of her private images. Her story is a powerful reminder of the devastating consequences of online exploitation.

Today, with the rise of AI-generated deepfakes, women and marginalized groups are being disproportionately targeted. What can our government do to ensure stronger protections and supports for those who are most vulnerable to these evolving forms of online sexual exploitation?

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

As a father of three girls, my heart goes out to Amanda's family. What happened to her should never happen to anyone.

Online safety is certainly about protecting kids, but it's obviously more than that. We're committing to making it a criminal offence to distribute non-consensual sexual deepfakes and to increasing penalties for the non-consensual distribution of intimate images by strengthening the Criminal Code. In fact, as we're speaking, I believe my colleague Minister Fraser is in the House of Commons speaking to his new bill, Bill C-9.

In terms of platforms, we've made a commitment to combat online harms. I worked on that myself during my first period at Heritage, between 2019 and 2021. Many of my colleagues have continued on that. We tabled a bill in the last Parliament, Bill C-63, that was aimed not only specifically at online harms, but also at modernizing the Criminal Code. We will be introducing measures to address hate speech, terrorist content and the harmful distribution of intimate images.

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

Thank you.

I'll be sharing my time with MP Al Soud.

Thank you.

[Fares Al Soud, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, I'd like to touch on Heritage's economic dimension. Mississauga Centre sees it first-hand: Heritage and culture are not just about identity; they're about jobs, investment and growth. I think of the Mississauga Arts Council, for instance, which plays a key role in providing opportunities for emerging artists.

Could you speak to us about the role that heritage and cultural investments play in creating good jobs and strengthening our economy?

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

Yes. For obvious reasons, when we think about the heritage sector—the arts and culture sector—we tend to think, for very valid reasons, of its intrinsic cultural and artistic value, but we sometimes tend to forget how important an economic driver it is in Canada.

To give you a few numbers, in 2024, creative industries in Canada provided approximately 670,000 jobs in the country, which contributed $65 billion to Canada's gross domestic product. I think that, as a sector, it's one of the highest sectors in terms of its contribution to GDP.

Heritage and cultural investments are obviously about preserving our past, but they're also a powerful economic driver and a powerful unity, identity and community well-being driver. In communities like yours, where diversity and creativity thrive, these investments help create good, sustainable jobs across a wide range of sectors.

Canada is actually globally recognized for its high-quality creative content and industries, which are an engine of economic growth advantage. It used to be that it was Montreal and Toronto, but now we're seeing creative hubs being developed all across the country, from coast to coast to coast really, where foreign investments are coming to Canada to create jobs in the creative sector. That's a good thing for all of us.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

Mr. Champoux, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister and all of you who are here today.

We have a lot of questions for you, Minister.

Are you optimistic about culture in light of the next budget on November 4?

Do you have a positive outlook on what's coming?

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

I think you know me well enough to know that I'm generally an optimist in life. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing this work.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

It would be interesting if you could share some of your optimism with the organizations you meet. People in the cultural industry in Quebec are very concerned; I can't speak for the rest of Canada. Creators, broadcasters and festival organizers are all worried because they don't know what's coming. In addition, they can't get answers to questions and requests that have often been around for a long time.

I'm going to ask you a few.

For example, you know that the cultural sector in general, and festival organizers in particular, are asking for certain programs to be made permanent. The building communities through arts and heritage program, or BCAH, and the Canada arts presentation fund are programs that are periodically enhanced. However, organizations have long been asking for predictability. They want to be able to breathe a little and not waste their time constantly lobbying for the budget increases that are necessary to operate festivals and major events.

Can you tell them that this will be settled once and for all and that their budget will be permanent?

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

Thank you for your question.

I've met with many of the same stakeholders as you have on many occasions. In your question, you specified that the two heritage funds you mentioned have been periodically enhanced. I'm quoting you on that.

We've indeed enhanced those funds a number of times. Let's take the period from 2015 to 2024, for example. The federal budget for arts and culture doubled during that time. For example, there's the Canada Council for the Arts and the various funds from the Department of Heritage. I think that stakeholders in the arts and culture sector know that our government has been there for them. We supported them during the pandemic. We've increased the budget enormously, but I can't guarantee that it will happen again. I'm not the Minister of Finance.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

No, absolutely, that's precisely why everyone's concerned.

In fact, you even put it in your election platform, as recently as last spring. That platform provided for increased funding for granting agencies such as the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, or CMF, and the National Film Board, or NFB.

At some point, people need to hear that that will indeed be in the budget, given that it was in the election platform.

That's a promise, a commitment, right?

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

We'll all find out what's in the budget on November 4. The commitment is to make investments during the mandate, but not necessarily as early as the first year. Some things may be done in the first year, but there will also be things done in the second and third years.

Again, I think the industry recognizes my efforts and has done so publicly. In fact, I read a letter that really touched me and welcomed me back to the Department of Canadian Heritage, since that's still what it's called.

I think we have a good relationship with the various groups, and I understand why they're making demands.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

In fact, when there's an election campaign, the thought is that these are commitments. It's been getting harder to breathe for a very long time, and this means it's going to be resolved. That's kind of where—

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

Doubling the funding over 10 years is no small thing.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Once again, it's good to have increased the funding that previous governments had cut. That's good to do, but what organizations are asking for is really to do it permanently so that they can stop lobbying instead of spending their time organizing events and productions.

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

I understand that very well.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Me too.

You talked about newsrooms and increasing CBC/Radio-Canada's budget to improve news coverage, including in the regions.

We're very much in favour of that. However, it isn't just CBC/Radio-Canada that needs help, but also newsrooms everywhere, and particularly in the regions. Print media newsrooms are already entitled to a tax credit. However, newsrooms for electronic, radio and television media have been asking for the same tax credit for some time now.

There have been discussions on the matter. You're familiar with this file. Are you able to tell them, then, that it's coming, that a little air will give them some breathing room? These companies, not just the public broadcaster, could then also operate their newsrooms and properly cover the regions of Quebec and Canada.

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

The role of the public broadcaster is very important, but you're right to say that it's part of a media ecosystem that also includes private broadcasters.

We've implemented a number of measures to help local media stay afloat to serve their communities. The Canadian journalism labour tax credit, the Canada periodical fund, the local journalism initiative—

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Okay, but do your plans include the tax credit for radio and television broadcaster newsrooms?

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

There was the $100‑million deal with Google. We're working to see if there are more things we can do for the media sector, particularly for private broadcasters. As I said earlier, we'll obviously see what's in the budget on November 4.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

You're unable to tell them that things are looking good, then.

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

Absolutely. No minister will ever tell you what's going to be in the budget before the budget is tabled. We don't know.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Have you read your mandate letter?

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

Well, yes, it's public.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Can you tell us if there are any boxes in that mandate letter that you'll be able to tick this fall?