Canadian Heritage Committee on June 2nd, 2026

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I love that. I hope you're going to talk to Grumms afterwards about bringing the creepy clowns there.

[André Myette]

Absolutely. I'm looking forward to that.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I have a few seconds left.

How can the federal government help the municipality preserve cultural spaces and identity?

[André Myette]

I'm fairly new to this position. I started acting on an interim basis in September and was given the position in January.

The CAPF funding that we get, the creative presenter fund, has been very helpful. There's lot of work in the way that can supplement bringing in larger acts to keep ticket prices low. That has helped a lot.

Say we bring in something like a ballet. We recently had Ballet Kelowna, which is a beautiful, amazing show. We did not sell out the theatre, but there were 80 people there. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive show. We are very happy to present them. The 80 people who came loved it. They saw something they wouldn't normally get to see in our area. However, the cost of that is significant to us. It would be nice to have something in place. I love the idea of tax incentives, which was mentioned earlier. That sounds wonderful.

Funding like that tends to help so that we can supplement a high-cost show but offer an option to keep those ticket prices low. That's the most important thing.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

We're out of time.

Thank you.

[André Myette]

We need more of that, please.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Mr. Champoux, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you.

I'll come back to you, Mr. Messier.

Earlier, at the end of your response to my previous question, you raised a point that I found very interesting. You talked about the state of the troupes, if you will. You said that more and more people in your sector are starting to find it difficult. There's a sense that the burden is heavy and that conditions are becoming increasingly difficult.

As I said earlier, one of your recommendations is to recognize presenters as an essential link, a partner.

Do you get the impression that the people who create the programs designed to support the sector and performing arts presentation, such as the Canada arts presentation fund, are aware of the state people who work in this sector are in?

Are they also aware that a very high percentage of cultural consumers consider access to the performing arts essential to maintaining good mental health?

I think all of this is quite interconnected, as you pointed out earlier. I would like to hear you expand on this a little more.

[Frédéric Messier]

To answer the question, I would say no, we don't always get the impression that the situation of people behind the scenes in performance spaces and in the cultural community in general is assessed fairly. Nor is the quality of their work assessed fairly; these people are true cultural professionals who are on the job and doing exceptional work, with exceptional results.

It's also true that we can have a tremendous social impact in our communities. I can tell you about my performance space, because I'm also the executive director of the Maison de la culture de Waterloo, near Granby, in the Eastern Townships. We really are the social heart of our town of 5,800 residents. A group of about a hundred volunteers helps welcome audience members and they are there throughout the year. The community is really involved, and this gives great meaning to its involvement in the municipality.

So the impact on the social fabric is truly significant.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I completely agree with you about cultural centres. Often, it is precisely the municipalities, the regional towns, that must support these cultural organizations. At some point, it becomes a huge burden, and this withdrawal of federal government support is also felt at the local level.

Do you notice this in your area, in Waterloo, as we do in mine, Drummond and L'Avenir, among other places, where we have a very lively cultural centre?

[Frédéric Messier]

Absolutely. We feel that right now, it's extremely difficult for municipalities to honour their commitment to provide financial support to performance spaces, because they, too, are facing challenges related to maintaining infrastructure, which is in a rather dire state across Quebec. So, we feel that it's difficult for them.

We've managed to build close ties with the municipalities, which allows us to keep them well informed and on our side, but their resources are so limited that they can't keep up either. So, everything's difficult.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Messier.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Mr. Hardy, welcome to the heritage committee. You have the floor now for five minutes.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you to everyone for being here today.

Dear witnesses, I think the parallel we have been able to draw for the past little while is that everyone ends up saying that life is very expensive, that everything ultimately costs too much. You talked about building renovations and venue rentals. Ultimately, the price of just about everything has gone up.

Being an artist is a tough job. Artists are having a hard time making ends meet. They sometimes work part-time. They're trying to get by.

The reality is that we're in a recession. There are 2.2 million people lining up at food banks. Everyone, including artists, farmers and workers alike, is being hit hard by this reality.

However, I think that culture is essential. Culture has to be there. People have the right to dream; people have the right to create and entertain. It was said earlier that access to culture is essential and that it's important to share our view of life, maybe inspire the world to dream in more difficult times. I think everyone agrees that the cost of living is out of control and that our money maybe needs to be invested better.

My first question is for S.E. Grummett. Out of respect for taxpayers, how can we ensure that every dollar spent will be seen as profitable and that all taxpayers will take pride in it? People can say that they're investing in it and that they're very proud to have done so, because it raises our international profile, which enables Quebec and Canada to take great pride in it around the world. How can that be justified?

[S.E. Grummett]

One argument is that with all the funding we received, we were able to pay a lot of Canadian artists. It wasn't just going to Airbnbs in Edinburgh. I think that's why our show was so successful: We were able to field a really big team. I think there's one justification there. It actually creates a lot of jobs.

The other justification is—

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

I'm sorry to interrupt. I have a quick question for you.

Earlier, you said that if it hadn't been for the subsidy, you would have been short by $10,000. You would have lost that amount.

Was it still positive in the end? Are taxpayers going to say that it was profitable or that, without their money, you wouldn't have succeeded?

[S.E. Grummett]

I think that is profitable in the way that we are seeing these ripples year after year. For the two international tours we are doing currently, we are now getting to a place at which our touring can be supported by presentation fees from international partners and ticket sales in a way that, two to three years ago, we weren't seeing. It has taken us years.

It's similar to the venue question of what is the small to mid-range support we need, as we are playing to small and mid-range. We're still playing to small and mid-range, but we have now built an audience internationally. We have built a repertoire of reviews and awards internationally such that our shows can be successful without taxpayer funding. It can be profitable without taxpayer funding, and it can get international recognition without needing to be subsidized, but it has taken years of building to that place.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Basically, what you're saying is that the initial investment enabled artists to live independently, without having to continue receiving funding. It helped you launch your career, and today, you're able to make a living from your art without constantly having to ask the government for money. Is that correct?

[S.E. Grummett]

Yes, absolutely, and particularly because we aren't playing to 400- to 700-seaters every night, we need to show presenters and venues that our show has merit and has reviews. Oftentimes, when you're premiering a new work, you look at it as a loss, because you're investing in something that's going to keep touring five to 10 years down the road. We look at other industries and we go, “Yes, that's worth the creative investment for that period of time.” The life cycle of these shows and these artists is a lot longer than we necessarily assume.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Santiago Keenan, you received $151,000 for an immersive experience in the form of murder-mystery dinner shows presented in the United States and London. A four-course meal was served, so people also go there to eat.

How many Canadian dishes were served at that event? Basically, I'm just trying to see what part of our culture and know-how here is exported and ends up on the international stage.

Do people get to taste Canadian dishes? Are they experiencing Canadian values? What is ultimately exported for $151,000?

[Christina Santiago Keenan]

Thank you for your question.

We do partner with local restaurants both in London and in Boston, but what we're exporting, I think, is a new genre that we made up—invented—because this funding was very supportive of that. Making food part of the puzzles is part of this experience. It is a murder mystery inspired by Murdoch Mysteries to some extent and by that genre of entertainment. While there's not a specific Canadian beef, necessarily, that we are exporting to these restaurants—

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

The person who's going to experience it there—

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy. You're out of time for questions.

Ms. Auguste, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Tatiana Auguste, Liberal, Terrebonne, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Mr. Messier, thank you for being here today. You really have a vast network of people and rooms across Quebec and Canada. The Terrebonne cultural development society, which is now called La nouvelle société, is part of your network. As mentioned, it too is experiencing problems related to infrastructure and all of that. You're also everywhere in Lanaudière or in more remote places.

Could you tell us a bit more about maintaining assets in communities that are a bit more rural or farther away from urban centres?

[Frédéric Messier]

There are various cases. In fact, many venues in the regions are in pre-existing locations that have been converted. For example, churches have been transformed into theatres. In some cases, newer buildings have been planned out and designed to serve as theatres. Certainly, when it comes to operating in more remote locations, in buildings that have been “recycled”, it's harder to meet safety standards, technical standards and other standards, because the buildings weren't originally designed for that.

Requirements are gradually increasing. Things are moving forward; it's 2026. Standards are becoming more and more present, and that leads to a lot of new spending. There's also universal accessibility, the ecological shift and green energy, to name a few. Keeping up to date on these things inevitably takes major investments. Funding for that is harder to find at the moment. Sometimes, we're really forced to use our surpluses—which should instead go toward our mission—so that we can maintain our assets.