Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. In the midst of the Ginn Publishing controversy, the heritage minister, we will recall, proved to be incapable of adequately looking after the interests of Canadian publishers. One year later, the minister does it again, announcing cuts in excess of 33 per cent to Canadian publishing development assistance and 71 per cent to grants for the distribution of new publications.
How can the minister justify such extensive cuts, which will hurt publishers, after his gross mishandling of the Ginn Publishing issue?