Finance Committee on Oct. 19th, 2006

[Bill Jeffery]

Well, there is, and in the footnotes I've cited the relevant provisions of the Excise Tax Act.

I'm sure you're aware that if you eat a restaurant meal, regardless of what the food is, you pay, in most provinces, 14% tax, federal and provincial. If you buy a fruit or vegetable tray at a grocery store, you pay tax on it. For club soda, bottled water, depending on the size of the bottle, you pay tax on it. So what we're advocating is just rethinking the rules to ensure that they always reflect nutrition recommendations and don't interfere with people's decisions to purchase healthy foods.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Okay, thank you.

Ms. Gordon, I would like to clear up the facts a little in your recommendation here. You're requesting an immediate investment of $5 million by the Government of Canada to gather essential data. How about research? Isn't that a more important aspect, or are you still at the stage where you don't have enough data to conduct your research?

[Joyce Gordon]

Well, we would have liked to ask more for research. The Parkinson Society is the only organization in Canada that is singly focused on funding research. We fund ourselves about $1.2 million annually. We would like to see that increased. We have recently partnered with CIHR to launch a psychosocial research stream with Parkinson's, and I've been talking to them about increasing the research complement. So yes, we would like to see more money for research, there's no question that much more can be done, but what we do know is that the lack—

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

I'm sorry, our time is limited. Does the research money come from CIHR?

[Joyce Gordon]

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, yes, and we provide—

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Okay. And is this money you're requesting a separate envelope that you'd be requesting directly from Health Canada?

[Joyce Gordon]

Yes, it is. This is epidemiological research that is really looking at gathering prevalence and incidence data around the state of Parkinson's in Canada and being able to project out, on economic models, what it will cost and what the savings can be and to develop strategies for how we can manage the doubling of people with Parkinson's in the country.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Great. Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you.

Ms. Rivet, for the biotechnology...your first recommendation is quite complex, so perhaps you can word it in simple English. When you say that a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral approach led by industry would provide the ability to remain flexible in a rapidly evolving environment, this, to me, requires no involvement by us. I don't see where the recommendation would be for us to help you. Can you just help me with that?

[Colette Rivet]

Yes. I appreciate that most of the time, when you talk about biotechnology, everybody envisions scientists only, PhDs and those who are creating new and innovative ideas. The biotechnology sector, in order to be competitive and to grow, absolutely needs other skills that are in other sectors as well. You may have gained them in other sectors by experience, things like business skills, human resource skills, marketing, etc. As they're growing, as they're getting their organization going, they need some other different skills, so what we're trying to do is build those skills. Someone with a PhD will invent something, will start off with a little company, and all of sudden, as it becomes successful, it's growing and it needs that additional assistance. And that's what this organization does. It has industry help us.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Brian Pallister]

I was just telling him he was done, not you.

We now move on to Mr. St-Cyr.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Thank you very much.

Thank you for your presentations. I'd like to ask Mr. Fournier a few questions.

You referred to the scandal involving the communications agencies. I think the search for visibility was one of the problems in the case of the sponsorship program. From the moment the funds were granted to meet visibility needs rather than to support the festivals or develop our economy, the program went off on a political tangent and suffered the abuses we now know about. That was specific to that program. When the government grants funds to unemployed workers, artists or any other group, it doesn't ask that an enormous banner bearing the word “Canada” be used.

Having regard to that, do you think that an ordinary grants program the purpose of which would simply be to support festivals and our local economies rather than achieve visibility could meet your needs?

[Luc Fournier]

Yes. We're proposing a program including standards.

As for visibility, you shouldn't think it will disappear completely. The provincial governments and municipalities are asking that their contribution at least be announced or presented, which is normal. If that were done for partisan purposes, that might be another matter. However, for the festivals or any kind of program subject to standards, we have no objection to the government's demanding a certain visibility.

Moreover, I'd like to point out that Canada is not that generous from the standpoint of public funding. Mr. Del Mastro mentioned 40%. However, the average is approximately 20%, all categories considered. Whatever the case may be, when governments make a financial contribution, it's normal to point out that they've done their share.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

If I understand you correctly, a festival that meets your criteria would automatically receive eight percent of its budget.

Is that what you're proposing?

[Luc Fournier]

That's what we're proposing, but I must admit quite honestly that we still don't have the figures to complete the Canadian picture. As soon as we have them all, we'll be able to work with the government. However, we're talking about a quite similar order of magnitude.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

According to your first criterion, you require that an event be recurring for three years. So you won't support festivals that have just been established.

[Luc Fournier]

A separate envelope could be allocated to emerging festivals or start-up festivals. We think a different dynamic is involved in those cases. In economic development terms, we can't show that the event has an impact starting in the first year, when there hasn't been a single customer on the site. You have to wait at least three years.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

What do you mean by a minimum of 10% tourists?

[Luc Fournier]

Studies are now being conducted everywhere in the context of events, and these analyses show how many people come from outside.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

We're talking about outside the city, province or country?

[Luc Fournier]

We're talking about people who live more than 80 kilometers from the site of the event or who stay in the area for more than 24 hours.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

It's quite well documented.

[Luc Fournier]

Yes, it's documented everywhere.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I'd like to ask Mr. Jeffery a question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Brian Pallister]

I'm sorry, sir.