Mr. Speaker, in December, the Prime Minister abolished the sponsorship program and asked Canadian Heritage to find another way to fund festivals. Today, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said that festivals that do not have a cultural component will not be receiving funding from her department.
While we totally disagree with the minister when she claims that the sponsorship program was a good initiative, how does she now intend to fulfill the commitment made by the government when the sponsorship program was abolished, to the effect that the government would find a way to provide financial assistance to festivals? How?