Mr. Speaker, there are so many fallacies in the hon. member's statement that I am at a loss where to begin. Let me try to tackle them one by one.
I am not surprised by the limitations of the member's discourse, as his party refused an earlier briefing on Bill C-103. Had they been briefed on that bill and this bill they would be more erudite in their comments.
There are very few programs that are not vulnerable to abuse. We are not going to abandon our cultural institutions because there is one dishonest person or maybe two who might be participating in fraud or tax schemes. However we will make every effort to safeguard programs that have value. We are not going to paralyse all our programs in support of the Canadian cultural industry because of abuse to a program that has on the whole served museums and the Canadian cultural institutions well.
It is important-and this is the limitation of the member's argument-to understand that cultural property is not just paintings and fine works of art; it extends to our natural history.
I know the hon. members of the third party really do not appreciate our heritage and our history and would perhaps prefer to adopt a Fahrenheit 451 policy to literature.
I remind the member that the hotels in Ottawa are packed with people who come to see our works of art and our museums. They are not coming here for the Reform Party. As much as they might have delusions, there is nothing much artistic about their arguments, as abstract as they may be.
On their attack on the wealthy, what they forget is that people who have money do contribute and sponsor the arts. They make a considerable contribution in that regard. The best possible treatment a donor may receive is a refund equivalent up to 50 per cent of the fair market value of the object or collection they are donating.
We understand that the members of the third party would rather see all our collections of art shipped to the United States or elsewhere to foreign markets. However, we feel there is merit in keeping them in this country, because Canadians appreciate them even if members of the third party do not.