Mr. Speaker, the arts and culture industry plays an important role in the Canadian and Quebec economy. According to a UNESCO study, a $1 billion investment in this sector generates several billions of dollars in economic activity over two years.
The vitality of this sector depends on its craftsmen and women. Through their work, their imagination, their passion, these people enable producers and cultural industries to provide us with a range of cultural products: books, sound recordings, radio, television, films, videos, paintings, plays, dance and other forms of expression that nourish and define us.
The film and television association is right in reminding us: "With the exception of the United States, no western country has succeeded since World War II in developing strong national cultural industries without active, growing and multiform state support. Despite the efforts made, maintaining strong national cultures and identities has become more difficult than ever with the globalization of markets increasingly dominated by the big transnational conglomerates".
The association goes on to say: "Unless they react with vigour and imagination, national states may be powerless to stop the gradual disintegration of their cultures and identities to be replaced by a single transnational culture and be forced to witness the slow disappearance of what made human cultures so precious: their diversity. It is therefore essential that the government pay particular attention to this sector in preparing its next budget".
Let us look at some figures on the arts and culture industry to realize how much they contribute to the Canadian and Quebec economy. In 1990-91, this industry injected into the economy a total of $22 billion or 3.7 per cent of the GDP. The Canada Council made the following statement: "Recent comparisons with other industries show that arts and culture contribute more to the GDP than agriculture, mining and forestry".
The arts and culture industry helps to create 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. Employment in this sector has gone up by a phenomenal 122 per cent since 1971, while the average growth rate in other sectors of the economy over the same period was 58 per cent. This means that in 20 years employment in the arts and culture industry rose from 1.8 to 2.5 per cent of the Canadian workforce. The federal Treasury alone collects some $650 million in annual taxes from cultural industries.
Finally, creating one job in the cultural sector costs about $20,000 compared with $100,000 for light industry and $200,000 for heavy industry.
However, this information can hide the fact that most of the artists, creators and craftsmen active in the arts and culture industry live in poverty. In 1986-87, Jean-Guy Lacroix surveyed 6,170 artists and creators in the field of music, theatre, dance and writing and found that the vast majority were experiencing considerable economic hardship. Their average income was $8,170. Seventy-eight per cent of them earned less than $10,000, 15.3 per cent lived above the poverty line, and only 2.8 per cent had incomes above $50,000.
Moreover, the employment status of artists and creators is precarious as they mostly work on a part-time or contractual basis, which means that they constantly face an uncertain future, since their self-employed status makes them ineligible for unemployment insurance.
Cultural and artistic industries have two main characteristics. They are risk sectors and are vulnerable to imports, especially imports from the United States.
Since these industries are chronically underfunded, if projects are to get off the ground, regardless of the field, the producer needs to put together the necessary funding. Succeeding in this endeavour is quite a feat and as everyone knows, many worthwhile projects never see the light of day for lack of funding.
This vulnerability to artistic and cultural imports is confirmed by the $4.4 billion trade deficit recorded in 1991. It should be noted that this is a trend. In fact, the trade deficit recorded by artistic and cultural industries is growing every year. Since 1988, it has increased by 12 per cent.
Yet, consumers are asking for more. In 1991, the people of Canada and Quebec spent $35 billion on cultural products. The Canada Council reports that, since 1982, while overall consumer spending has increased by 7 per cent, the increase in the area of arts and culture has been 9 per cent. This means that more and more Canadian and Quebec products must be supplied to meet consumer demand and eliminate the deficit in the trade balance for that area. I must remind the hon. members that it costs less to create employment in that sector than in any other economic sector, hence the importance of investing in cultural industries.
The previous government made cuts in the cultural and communications industry without thinking about the long-term effects of its action. They are even suspected by some of having tried to challenge the principle of government support to the cultural industry.
Between 1984 and 1992, while overall government expenditures increased by 41.9 per cent, the GDP rose by 52.7 per cent and inflation climbed 36.6 per cent, the portion of the federal budget allocated to culture increased by only 3.7 per cent. This apparent increase actually translated into a 24.2 per cent decrease in constant dollars. By the way, most of the cuts affected the CBC.
Finally, further cuts are planned, based on the 1993 budget, at the rate of 10, 10, 15, 20 and 20 per cent for the five years remaining.
This is clearly the work of a short-sighted government, especially when we know that the government recovers almost every penny invested in that industry.
Granted, the government has very little financial flexibility. Where then can we find the necessary funding for the cultural industry in Quebec and Canada?
For its part, Quebec has long demanded respect for its exclusive jurisdiction over culture. In the field of culture, Quebec can no longer afford having two departments, two councils for the arts and literature, three film development agencies that provide grants and whose officials do the same work and even contradict one another at times.
What the federal government is now doing is outside any sub-agreement between Canada and Quebec. The agreement on cultural facilities expired in March 1991. Without consulting the Government of Quebec, Ottawa is giving grants left and right for cultural facilities projects, while leaving it to Quebec to pay their operating expenses.
However, the Harpin Report submitted to Quebec's Minister of Cultural Affairs is clear on this point. It said: "We can conclude that the two levels of government clearly overlap in the area of program structures, clients served and even legislative and fiscal measures. We can even say that duplication leads to one-upmanship".
So one of the first ways to free up funds is to end the overlap and duplication, to give Quebec back its jurisdiction over culture and to include the funding that goes with it.
In the meantime, we want the government to cancel its decision to reduce funding for the Canada Council and Telefilm Canada by 10 per cent and also to cancel the $250 million in cuts planned for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Finally, if through some misfortune, the measures implemented by the previous government were to be maintained, the Official Opposition would ask for the development of a program especially geared to members of cultural industries. These people who, so far, have been living mainly off their passion, must not be the victims of the clear-cutting measures taken by the government; the latter must provide them with the means to overcome the crisis which it will impose upon them.
Performers make us dream; they make us cry; they make us laugh. Creators constantly surprise us and stimulate our imagination. I ask the government to not let them down. Nobody can afford that.
For all these reasons, the Minister of Canadian Heritage must not be content with maintaining the status quo. He must take the initiative and explain to his colleague the Minister of Finance that artistic and cultural industries need active, growing and multifaceted support from the government, because the decisions made today will shape tomorrow's society and will determine, to a large extent, our collective future.