Mr. Chair, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about a subject of great interest to me, literature. I know that a good number of my colleagues here share the same passion.
You all know that Canadian literature has grown remarkably over the past 25 years. Thirty years ago, foreign editors had taken over nearly the whole market, and foreign books dominated on the shelves of Canadian bookstores. Today, Canadian owned publishing companies have recovered a substantial part of the Canadian market.
They have increased their share by 26% in 20 years and they now control more than half the domestic market. Compared with 25 years ago, there are three times the number of publishers owned by Canadian interests, four times the number of books published every year and five times the number of Canadian authors recognized nationally and internationally.
As Alice Munro said in her words of thanks Thursday night at the Giller Prize ceremony—and the minister was there—Canadian literature has come a long way since the time when she was working in a Victoria bookstore and clients were telling her, with some pride unfortunately, that they were not reading Canadian authors.
Today, Canadians are proud to read Canadian literature and understand the importance of Canadian fiction. Nowadays, Canadian literature is one of the richest in the world. In both official languages, our children's literature tells stories taking place in Canada, illustrates our values and is a testimony to our history. In addition, our fiction publishing is of unparalleled quality thanks to the major publishing firms belonging to Canadian interests, such as Boréal and McClelland & Stewart. The Canadian stories published by these firms are of vital importance to our nation because they reflect the regional, linguistic and ethnocultural vitality of Canada and remind us of our common values.
The money paid by the government to Canadian authors and publishers has contributed to creating a niche for these stories and, by and large, to the success of Canadian books.
Canadians are now thrilled by Canadian literature and celebrate our authors and their work through award presentations including the Giller Prize, the Athanase-David Prize and the Governor General's literary awards as well as through literary festivals and book fairs held throughout Canada every year. It is important to mention that.
In fact, this week, on Thursday, November 18, the 27th Annual Salon du livre de Montréal will open its doors. I will certainly be there. This bookfair is not only the most important French fair in North America, it is also the second largest francophone event of its kind in the world. The ever-increasing interest for awards and fairs, such as the Salon du livre de Montréal, is another monument to the success of Canadian literature.
Canadians love Canadian books because they are diverse enough to please all readers.
The unprecedented success of Canadian literature and the important part played by the government in that success are absolutely undeniable. However, the problems that our publishers face while developing literary content for a population as small and diverse as Canada's are also very real.
I would like the Minister of Canadian Heritage to tell this House how the government can ensure that our book industry can continue to meet these challenges and to maintain its status as a world-renowned producer of literature.
