Evidence of meeting #43 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
3:40 p.m.
Executive Director, RIDEAU
I won't answer on behalf of the artistic community. Unfortunately, I don't represent creators. We therefore aren't directly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
October 25th, 2006 / 3:40 p.m.
Executive Director, RIDEAU
We come under the Department of Canadian Heritage.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
So your funding would be separate. It wasn't quite clear to me.
3:40 p.m.
Executive Director, RIDEAU
There are two ways of doing things. Sometimes funding can come from the Canada Council. However, in multidisciplinary presentation, which includes our network of presenters, which includes all artistic disciplines—because there are specialized presenters who deal with specific disciplines—our federal funding essentially comes from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
That's right.
I understand that the federal government funds the arts to the tune of about $2.3 billion overall. You receive a portion of that funding, I assume?
3:40 p.m.
Executive Director, RIDEAU
The funding that we receive directly from Canadian Heritage, in this case, is in the order of approximately $3 million for presentation programming support. For presentation as a whole, that corresponds to approximately $7 million, if you include the major presentations and events. In addition, the funding is intended for both programming support and public development and networking. So there are other programs that support these parts of things.
There are also programs that support training and skills development. In the case of Tomorrow Starts Today, there's one program that also supports infrastructures and infrastructure improvement.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Thank you. I appreciate that.
I just wanted to let Mr. Morency know that a presentation has been made to the finance minister with respect to this idea of a 16% credit for people who invest in regional development, and he found that very interesting.
If that went ahead, how would it benefit the region? I just need a little bit more information about that.
3:40 p.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Desjardins Group
Two sectors are affected by this measure. First, there are the businesses in the regions far away from the major centres. It has been proven that businesses in those regions do not receive venture capital commensurate with their population. So this represents an investment in regional businesses.
Second, the cooperative sector is very much involved in all this. This cooperative sector, in both Quebec and the rest of the country, is very much concerned by this measure and pleased that venture capital investments are set aside for it.
That will help to improve efficiency and productivity, to maintain the businesses in the regions and to develop them, as well as to create jobs and wealth. So this provides future prospects for young people in those communities.
This is a form of support that accompanies what we were telling you about the measures promoting growth and productivity improvement.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Brian Pallister
Merci beaucoup, monsieur.
There's time for two very, very short rounds, from one short and one not so short member of the committee.
3:40 p.m.
An hon. member
Oh, oh!
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Well, it depends on whom we're comparing each other with.
Ms. Blum, I'm also an alma mater of McGill, as you know, which I have to put on the record. It's a great institution.
I was not asking about whether I was wrong or not, because I was there when Mr. Axworthy spoke, but about whether you were aware if the amounts were the same. That's all I was asking. Was it a yes or a no?
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
I believe that if you count the shortfall that happened in the mid nineties, the federal government has not invested at that level. That's my understanding.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Well, it's because they threw all kinds of money into the millennium fund. They threw in almost $1 billion—
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
No, no, I'm saying I understand your question.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Yes, there was a whole package, and I think if you looked at the whole package—
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
I understand Mr. Axworthy's assertion, and there's no question that the federal government came to the fore towards the end of the nineties and made a major investment, but if you look at the total investment that's gone into universities over that period of time, I do believe it isn't what it would have been had we—
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
That being said, it's been transformative.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Fine.
Something that's interesting me, and it works both from the educational side and the industry side, is the commercialization, which you spoke about quite eloquently. You were saying that McGill has the majority of the patents out there.
What happens? Do you make any money with them?
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
We have the most American patents of any institution in Canada. We make modest money from this, and I'd say even if you look at—I'd like to say “the system” of—universities and colleges, there's a big advance in commercialization. But it is not a silver bullet economically, and it isn't in any economy.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
We have two universities that have spoken about it, and there is a task force. They made some recommendations, but they didn't really include the universities.
Why are you only making modest sums? If there's money to be made, why can't a university make money? I understand it's not your field, but in partnerships with industry—
3:45 p.m.
Principal, McGill University
I served eight and a half years as a vice-president for research at another great Canadian university, and I know a lot about it. I'd just say that even when there is a big commercial breakthrough, it's rare, and you can't drive an economy on it.
I think our greatest transfer is the quality of our graduates, who learn in a research-intensive environment and take their ability to work with technology, to use new knowledge, and to create it out into whatever field they work in subsequently. That's the greatest form of dissemination.
That being said, we should optimize dissemination into the commercial realm wherever we can, and we have further to go than what we're doing currently.
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Brian Pallister
Thank you very much, madam.
The last speaker will be Mr. Mike Wallace.
I'm sure it's a thrill for all of us.