Debates of May 30th, 2006

Opposition Motion—Cultural Diversity

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, because my colleague says she belongs to a party that will defend culture, I would like to ask her some questions. Why does she still have to fight? Why would francophones not be able to stop fighting some day? Why would the government not accept that Canada has two distinct cultures? With the aboriginal peoples, there are three.

We would not need to fight these battles. We would not need to ask for funding because it would already be available. Organizations like the ones that represent Canada's Acadian and francophone communities would not have to ask three levels of government for money.

I take the word of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages, who says she has always fought for the French language. That means that she has had to fight. She also says that she will keep on fighting. Is she not tired of fighting?

And lastly, like her government this evening, she will say no to a good motion. On the one hand, she says she wants to fight, yet on the other hand, she says she will vote against this motion. I do not understand the parliamentary secretary's position.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

The parliamentary secretary has five seconds to reply.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will answer my hon. colleague, for whom I have a great deal of respect: I have always fought, I am a fighter, and because French is very important to me, I will continue to fight with those people who do not understand that at some point we have to stop wearing a straightjacket.

That is why I will not vote for this motion: because I cannot move forward, and I want to move things forward.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the question to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment is as follows: the hon. member for Surrey North, Hepatitis C.

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Beaches—East York.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this afternoon with the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

Canada has both the right and the duty to protect its cultural identity. Last October, we had the pleasure of seeing a Canadian-led initiative on cultural sovereignty come to fruition as a binding international treaty, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This treaty recognizes the dual nature of cultural goods and services which have both an economic and a social value. It emphasizes the right of states to take measures in support of diverse cultural expressions.

I represent the riding of Beaches—East York, with a vibrant, diverse and growing arts community. I can say that this international agreement was a very important development for many of my constituents. Under the terms of this convention, cultural products will not be subordinated to commercial agreements, such as those of the WTO. This means that governments will be able to continue to support the cultural and artistic communities without fear of commercial reprisals.

Our representatives at UNESCO, led by the Liberal minister of heritage, Liza Frulla, worked long and hard to build international support for this treaty. It was a great day for Canada when this Canadian idea became an international reality. On November 23 of last year, the former Liberal government approved the treaty, making Canada the first country in the world to ratify it.

Canada must now build on this leadership, not only by working hard on the international stage to persuade other countries to join the convention so that it can come into force as soon as possible, but also by moving to protect and promote our own cultural industries here at home.

In addition to their enormous contribution to our quality of life and our sense of national identity, the cultural industries in Canada employ thousands of people. The Canadian cultural sector generates more than $40 billion per year in economic activity and provides jobs to nearly 600,000 Canadians.

In order to help protect these jobs, we need to make sure that Canadian broadcast media remain in Canadian hands. The previous Liberal government was firmly committed to maintaining existing limits on foreign ownership in the cultural sector. In light of conflicting reports from two House of Commons committees, we firmly reiterated that we had no intention to modify foreign limits on broadcasting or general content.

Our work on the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has made it possible to keep this promise without fear of commercial reprisal. I hope that the current government will follow suit and maintain the current limits on foreign ownership.

It is not enough to protect our cultural identity or to set rules for a minimum level of Canadian content. Without the right incentives and investments, these rules will not have their desired effect of fostering the development of high quality Canadian programming. Canada's writers, directors, producers, actors, musicians and other artists are second to none, but the resources have to be there to allow them to practice their trades.

The approach of the previous Liberal government was to provide incentives to private broadcasters to invest in high quality Canadian content and to invest as a government in the development of Canadian programming. We need to continue as a country to pursue both of these strategies and to reinforce them as we learn more about how to make them effective.

Canadians are best served by a broadcasting system that offers an ample supply of high quality, distinctively Canadian content that enlightens, entertains and informs its citizens. We need to make sure that we are creating a climate that enables our best creative minds to flourish and to produce high quality, made in Canada television content.

A recent report prepared for the Canadian Film and Television Production Association showed that while broadcasters in Canada have increased their profit margins in recent years, these gains have not translated into equivalent increases in the amount these broadcasters invest in made in Canada television content. The study also showed that the profit margins of those who produce Canadian film and television content have decreased substantially.

This leads me to think that it is time to think about some changes to the policy framework for Canadian television content. Some ideas have been put on the table by stakeholders and they deserve careful consideration. They include: reinforcing compulsory expenditure thresholds, which would require conventional broadcasters to invest a certain amount in Canadian programming; raising the tax credit rate to 30% of producers' eligible expenditures; increasing the government's contribution to the Canadian Television Fund; and changes to the fund's eligibility criteria that would increase broadcasters' level of investment. These are all initiatives that I would be happy to support.

Any strategy to protect and promote our cultural industries in Canada must include strong and adequate support for public broadcasting. I am a strong believer in the value of a national publicly funded broadcasting network. Canada needs a strong CBC and I have consistently pushed for increased CBC funding.

Among other things, the CBC plays a unique and central role in developing and promoting Canadian dramatic programming. In budget 2005 the Liberal government committed an additional $60 million in 2005-06 to help ensure that Canada's stories reflect the ever increasing diversity of Canadian society and find their way into Canadian homes in the form of high quality programming.

The CBC needs stable and predictable funding, so that it can continue to operate at the highest level and continue to uphold the principles of Canadian content legislation.

I also support the CBC's proposed local and regional programming strategy. It is my understanding that the strategy as proposed would be implemented over three years with estimated costs rising to approximately $83 million annually. This is not too high a price to pay for high quality public broadcasting coverage of local and regional news, culture and current events.

Closely related to the issue of CBC funding is the issue of funding for the Canadian Television Fund. The CBC and the CTF work closely together and can feed off each other's success. The CTF needs stable, long term, predictable funding and there should be an envelope of funds set aside within the CTF to support CBC projects as the Liberal Party proposed during the recent election campaign.

The previous Liberal government also announced in November 2005 that we would double federal funding to the Canada Council for the Arts to $300 million by 2008. The Canada Council for the Arts provides the most efficient and fair way of ensuring that public funds get to where they can do the most good for artists and arts organizations across the country.

I was saddened to see that in the recent budget the new Conservative government has committed only $50 million over two years to the Canada Council. This is only one-third of the increase we promised and without any indication of sustained funding at that level.

The development of the next generation of Canadian artists depends upon the level of support we offer to the Canada Council for the Arts. I urge the government to do better in this area because it is through arts and culture that Canadians reflect each other back to themselves. Without that a country has no soul.

I truly believe that without a strong cultural policy a country does not have a soul and that is how a country tells its stories, how it reflects itself, and how it communicates itself abroad and to each other. Without that it is woefully sad that this government has not decided to commit to culture in this country.

The CBC, as the House knows, is a public entity which I have supported for many years. I visited a few years ago a major arts promotion event in Acadia, in Atlantic Canada. I must say that as a Canadian I had never seen the kinds of things as the beautiful songs, culture and music that were presented to me entirely by Acadians. Actually, they were all New Brunswick performers. This was La Francophonie and it was absolutely fantastic. I had never seen such talent and energy. They could have been on any stage anywhere in the world and would have done just as well or outperformed anyone.

Canadians do not see this. We have to see this on CBC. We have to see this more in each other's houses across the country. The different parts of Canada must be reflected as well as the different cultural entities in order to see the different ethnocultures that we have in this country, whether they be Italian Canadian, Portuguese Canadian and so on.

There are distinct cultures in the arts that are being developed in this country by these communities which are very distinct in themselves. Again, they have to be reflected and public broadcasting is the only way to carry these messages from one corner of the country to the other.

Therefore, it is fundamentally important for us to maintain strong Canadian content and strong Canadian public broadcasting in this country.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the member's commentary. I know that she has always been a strong advocate of the CBC and cultural diversity. She comes from one of the most culturally diverse ridings in the country. As a matter of fact, the member, before being a parliamentarian, was the head of a major cultural organization which probably had some influence on the development of the convention, I would think, so I do want to thank her for her insight.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage said this morning that we have a public broadcaster that does not have the support of the public. I recall that when we had that last lockout at the CBC, Canadians made it very clear that they wanted the CBC back on the air. They made it very clear that they relied on the CBC and Radio-Canada for essential news about the happenings in their country, news that they could not hear from any other source.

I wonder if the member could share with us the expression of her constituents with regard to whether there is public support for the CBC and how this ties in very nicely with the whole aspect of protection of cultural diversity.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do in fact support public broadcasting.

In my riding alone, when there was talk of possible cuts to CBC, I was receiving close to 1,000 letters constantly. Some of my colleagues were telling me that they were getting mountains of communications, for instance, around that same time with respect to the gun registry. I was getting letters regarding the CBC. To me, it says something about its importance.

I was on the picket line a couple of times during the lockout because I felt strongly that there needed to be proper negotiations. I felt strongly that the CBC had to get back to work because Canadians relied on it for their information and for their cultural input.

We need to have radio and television programming that is able to reflect back to us what our nation is about, whether it is in the small regions of Ontario that private entities do not go to. That is why I support the regional programming that is being put forward by the CBC.

There are fantastic regions within this country with a tremendous amount of capability to produce a tremendous amount of music, arts, dance, song, theatre and authors. It is absolutely phenomenal, but they need to be nurtured. If we do not nurture our own artists and our own cultural entities, and then expose them to Canadians across the country so that we can share and support them, then we have lost. We actually have no way of giving ourselves some identity and really express who we are to each other and to the world around us. Quite frankly, without that, we do not really have a face to our nation.

I thank the hon. member for the question because I believe that Canadians do support public broadcasting and, in particular, the CBC, and this is why I continue to fight for it and continue to support it.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am an avid supporter of the arts in my own community. I am on the board of directors of the Sound of Music Festival, which is the largest outdoor music festival in Ontario. I have been working for a number of years to bring a performing arts centre to the city of Burlington and I have also been on the board of directors of the Burlington Art Centre.

Does the hon. member not agree that the motion before us today is really just the status quo? There is no chance for growth and no chance for enhancement. It is really just restating a position we are already at and does not move the arts and cultural agenda forward.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the motion says “maintain or expand”. He should read the motion. It is not talking about maintaining the status quo. It is talking about moving forward and expanding our commitment to Canadian culture.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is my first time speaking since the beginning of this Parliament, following the election earlier this year. I would like to begin by thanking the voters in my riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine for granting me the privilege and honour of representing them for a fourth term.

I am especially pleased to speak to the House today on the Liberal Party's motion on the ratification of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. One reason for my enthusiasm is the fact that I had the honour and privilege of accompanying the hon. Sheila Copps, then minister of canadian heritage, to Cape Town, South Africa, in the fall of 2003 for a UNESCO meeting with our partners, the members, to discuss such a convention on cultural diversity.

Ms. Copps was also joined by the Quebec culture minister. As a Quebecker, I was especially proud to see both my federal and provincial ministers address their counterparts from other countries and highlight the importance of protecting cultural diversity by means of an international convention and ensuring that cultural goods and services do not become part of international trade or an international trade body. Both ministers highlighted the importance of cultural diversity in ensuring a country's cultural sovereignty.

Bearing in mind the question posed just now by a Conservative member to my colleague who spoke before me, I would like to read the Liberal motion:

That, in view of the ratification by Canada of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the House insist that the government, its departments and agencies maintain the program policies and regulations in support of Canada's artistic sector and cultural industries, in particular, by maintaining or enhancing: (a) existing Canadian cultural content requirements; (b) current restrictions on foreign ownership in the cultural sector; and (c) financial support for public broadcasting in both official languages.

I must say that our critic in this area, the member for Ottawa —Vanier, is quite concerned by the attitude of the current government regarding the protection of our cultural diversity, our artistic expressions and our artistic and cultural industries. We have no guarantees that the current government will protect, maintain and promote these industries, or promote cultural diversity.

For example, let us take a look at the CRTC, the central Canadian agency responsible for regulating and monitoring Canada's audiovisual sector. The Liberals continue to believe that the CRTC helps our national audiovisual system achieve its objectives. However, we believe that, in the current era, the CRTC must continually and systematically review its regulatory policies and regulations in order to assess whether or not they meet the established objectives and whether these objectives remain valid with the passing of time.

We Liberals, we in the Liberal Party in this House, have a Canadian content strategy. Our Canadian content strategy is to place more emphasis on high-quality Canadian content that is of interest to large French-speaking or English-speaking audiences, in which Canadians see themselves reflected and which embodies the full diversity of our country.

When we talk about the diversity of our country, we are also talking about linguistic diversity. Canada has two official languages. We are also talking about ethnocultural diversity. Canada has many ethnocultural communities, whose members come from virtually every country in the world.

We are also talking about our aboriginal people, the first nations. In almost all respects, Canada is the embodiment of the word “diversity”, at every level.

Our strategy is also to promote spending on Canadian theatre, children’s programming, cultural programming and documentaries that reach large audiences, as a priority.

It also provides for giving the CBC/Radio-Canada specific funding to enable it to broadcast a wide range of programming, as it is directed to do by its mission, to serve the public.

And our strategy involves a number of measures for simplifying funding, to improve profitability and prioritizing.

The Liberal Party has proposed that the CRTC be asked to prepare annual reports on what it has done to simplify its rules, regulations and decision-making processes. In addition, we, the Liberal Party, also want to look into the possibility of providing for financial penalties in addition to the methods now available to the CRTC to enforce the regulations governing the audiovisual industry. This is important because it is the CRTC that regulates the entire audiovisual aspect of the cultural industry, and so it would be reasonable for it to have the means to ensure proper compliance with the regulations by the industry and the companies that make it up.

In a letter dated September 30, 2005, the President of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association proposed a new policy framework for Canadian television content. Among other things, he called for structural changes to the Broadcasting Act; a revision of the CRTC’s 1999 Television Policy to bring back mandatory minimum spending on programming by conventional broadcasters; an increase in tax credits to 30% of eligible spending by producers; a $95 million per year increase in the government’s contribution to the Canadian Television Fund; and adjustment of the eligibility criteria for the Canadian Television Fund to raise the level of broadcasters’ investments in programs that receive funding from that fund.

This is one example. If the government adopted the recommendations made by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, it would have another method of ensuring that Canadian cultural diversity, in artistic expression and in our cultural industries, not only is preserved and protected, but is also given the opportunity to grow, to develop, to expand, and to play an even more important role in our society and our economy, with all of the implications this would have.

I will close by saying that we also need financial support for the audiovisual industry in both official languages.

The motion is an important one. In my opinion, this motion would be supported by a large majority of Canadians in all ten provinces, including my own, and the three territories. I ask my colleagues to support this motion.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Acadie—Bathurst.

I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to the motion. All members of the NDP will be supporting this motion, which deals with the ratification of the UNESCO treaty on the protection and promotion of diversity and of cultural expressions in Canada, an important convention.

However, the amendment put forward by the NDP member for Timmins—James Bay is the operative clause of the whole motion. It insists that the government also provide direction to trade negotiators to ensure that domestic cultural rights are not undermined in any trade talks. While we support the motion, the amendment, which directs our negotiators in terms of upcoming and ongoing trade talks, is very important.

I think a lot of Canadians may wonder what our Canadian culture, what we see on television, read in books and magazines and see in shows, has to do with trade talks. We do not think of culture as a commodity, as a tradable item. The reality is there is a very strong interface between cultural, telecom and broadcasting services. In fact, there have been very serious concerns about whether our cultural rights and sovereignty will be traded away as they become part of larger trade negotiations now taking place under GATS. Many fear this will become a reality. I reference a briefing paper from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It states:

Culture is in need of protection in the trade negotiations because unrestricted competition in this arena would replace local and national cultural expression with powerful international media conglomerates....Culture and telecom are being treated very differently, as if they were distinct...This approach needs to be revisited, because in Canada these two sectors are rapidly merging and becoming inseparable. As a result, trade negotiations to promote more foreign involvement in the provision of telecom services, including foreign ownership, threaten our cultural expression.

We have the link between these two issues and how much our cultural sovereignty is now threatened by the negotiations under GATS. Therefore, the NDP amendment is very important if we are genuinely concerned about protecting and enhancing cultural identity in Canada.

This is a very broad area and it is something that we have spoken about a lot. However, over the last decade we have seen a significant erosion in Canadian culture in the institutions of public delivery and public funding. We have seen a significant erosion of Canadian ownership. There is always a looming threat of these massive conglomerates moving into Canada, commercializing our culture and Americanizing it. I think people are very fearful about the rapid pace at which this is taking place in Canada.

Much of this took place under the Liberal watch. I listened to the speeches of Liberal members who purported to protect Canadian cultural sovereignty. Yet it was under the Liberal government that so much was given away in terms of ownership and public funding.

People spoke today about the lockout at the CBC and the turmoil that our public broadcaster and those who worked for it went through. Why was that? For 13 years we had a Liberal government that did very little to protect those institutions by way of legislation to ensure Canadian content and ownership and most of all to ensure stable, long term funding.

Is it any wonder that we now are moving into a new crisis arena because our culture is being threatened in trade negotiations under GATS? The political talk is there, but we need to see strong institutions. We need to see the funding, the framework, the policies and regulations and the laws that will protect Canadian content.

I am proud to represent the riding of Vancouver East, which is home to many individual artists and community-based organizations. They give us the stories of our lives. They give us community expression and a vision of who we are. They speak to the experiences that we have both locally and nationally. These artists struggle to make a living. Many are working other jobs to support their creative endeavours and many are living below the poverty line. It breaks my heart to see individual artists and organizations surviving on so little. Yet they keep doing their work because they have a dedicated and strong commitment to Canadian artistic expression and our cultural sovereignty.

I not only want to see the motion approved, but I also want to see an environment where we respect the rights and dignity of individual artists and organizations. I want to see support for the call from the Canadian Arts Coalition for a $5 per capita increase for the funding of the arts in Canada. I want to see incentives for artists. They are jammed with enormous taxes on the little amount of income they receive. This is being done very well in the province of Quebec and we need to do it across the country.

I want to see long term stable funding for the CBC. Just a couple of days ago, a news advisory came out about the CBC's television design department being under threat of closure. Why is this happening when we are debating the UNESCO treaty and supposedly the idea that we support protecting and promoting the diversity of culture in Canada? Why would we close that department? It has had a long history of protecting and enhancing original programming in our country? This measly cost saving measure of $1 million will have a significant impact on original productions in Canada.

The debate today is important. If we are serious, we need to pass the motion. We also need to ensure that the amendment put forward by the NDP is adopted. We need to give clear direction to the trade negotiators, who are acting on behalf of Canada, to ensure that they do not negotiate away our cultural sovereignty as part of so-called competitiveness.

I am glad to support the motion today, but it is just a first step. We need to do much more to ensure that we support our artists, our cultural institutions and bilingualism in public broadcasting. We need to support organizations like the CBC to ensure they are not threatened each and every year by what the government plans on doing. Otherwise we will find ourselves in a void. We will find ourselves in a country which has lost its identity, its cultural expression and its voice. These issues are important in protecting our identity.

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how would the hon. member view the introduction of new technologies in terms of our traditional view of defending Canadian content? Specifically, I am thinking of the Internet and the international nature of it and the whole question of streaming broadcasting.

I assume that she would view the preservation of Canadian content by all means as important. However, there is a technological challenge. What are her views of traditional broadcasting of Canadian content and the importance of the public broadcaster and how that is now transformed by the challenges of new technologies?

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is precisely because of the reality of how technology is overtaking at a very rapid pace. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' document talks about what the future looks like. It talks about the average house having one unit that has a radio, television, music, films, news, Internet access, e-mail and maybe things we do not even envision yet.

This is broadband and its capacity to send huge amounts of digitized material over a single network should tell us of the urgency of this issue of how the protection and enhancement of Canadian culture is related to these trade negotiations that are going on that are based on telecom services and broadcasting services. These things now are very integral to each other.

It is a warning to us that unless we recognize that reality we will have given up our cultural sovereignty in the race to advance technology and so-called competitiveness that will leave behind cultural expression. I appreciate the member's question because it is precisely because of that point that we are urging our amendment today, which I hope the member will support.

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, I find myself in an interesting moment wanting to continue with the member's discussion point.

What direction will my hon. colleague's ideas in relation to technology eventually go? We know it is important for us as Canadians to continue developing our culture and to ensure it is competitive on the international stage. However, I am afraid that what she just suggested is the very slippery slope to approaching what we see in China, which is the complete control of the Internet and the suppression of all ideas that are against the state. That is what we would eventually have to do in order to achieve what she is talking about. How would she do what she is trying to do without going down that slippery slope?

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am rather aghast at the question. I cannot conceivably understand how the member would come to the conclusion that we are talking about some form of state control over everything so that Canadians would have no choice. In fact, the opposite is true.

What we need to do is recognize the reality of how telecom and broadcast services are now so integral to cultural expression and to recognize that we need to ensure that domestic cultural rights are not undermined in any of these trade talks that take place based on what Canada has signed onto in the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

This debate is about protecting that diversity of cultural expression both here in Canada and for other countries that have signed on in other parts of the world.

I would argue that the member is very misinformed about what this debate is about or what the conclusion is. It is about protecting Canadian culture and allowing that diversity to happen so it is not completely stifled and overpowered by commercialism that is based on a profit system that is coming basically from the U.S. and from very large conglomerates that will control every system in Canada. That is what he should be worried about.

Message from the Senate

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed Bill S-2, to which the concurrence of this House is desired.

The House resumed consideration of the motion and the amendment.

Opposition Motion—Cultural Diversity

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

The hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on the subject of the Liberal Party's motion introduced by our colleague from Ottawa—Vanier. The motion reads as follows:

That, in view of the ratification by Canada of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the House insist that the government, its departments and agencies maintain the program policies and regulations in support of Canada's artistic sector and cultural industries, in particular, by maintaining or enhancing: (a) existing Canadian cultural content requirements; (b) current restrictions on foreign ownership in the cultural sector; and (c) financial support for public broadcasting in both official languages.

I do not see how anyone could vote against such a motion tonight. I would find it hard to believe, what with everything that is going on and the amendment proposed by the NDP, which reads as follows: "that the government provide direction to trade negotiators to ensure that domestic cultural rights are not undermined in any trade talks”. This will protect people working in culture and the arts.

By the way, I want to commend our Canadians and Quebeckers who work in arts and culture. Sometimes we do not commend or thank them enough. During festivals we are pleased to have them among us. When we want to unwind, we are glad they are there. We like to listen to them and see their works of art.

Take for example Donald McGraw, an artist from Pokemouche in the riding of Acadie—Bathurst, who has been working for 30 years and whose work has not really been showcased. Donald McGraw's biography was launched on the weekend. Some 400 people attended the launch at the Université de Moncton in Shippigan to recognize the artistic works of Donald McGraw. He painted the portraits of 12 aboriginal chiefs from New Brunswick. These paintings are exceptional. It is incredible. Sunday afternoon in Shippigan, those who attended the launch and saw Donald McGraw's art had tears in their eyes.

It is not easy for those who work in arts and culture. They work in the shadows and they work hard. Before the product is available on the market and they receive money, these people go through tough times. We must acknowledge this part of their journey.

These people do not have the right to receive employment insurance benefits. They are considered self-employed workers. They have asked for this right many times.

The Conservative government does not want to support this motion. I will quote the beginning of the speech of the hon. member for Ottawa—Vanier:

Let us remember that it was last fall, on October 20, 2005, to be precise, that a very large majority, more than 100 of the eligible countries present, voted to adopt that convention. Only two countries voted against it, namely, the United States and Israel. All other countries present, including Canada, voted in favour of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

This sounds like the new Conservative government on the topic of the war in Afghanistan. This sounds like the attitude of the Conservative government toward not the Americans but to the Bush administration—because there is a difference between the Americans and the Bush administration. Now, when it comes to arts and culture, the government is again guided by the Bush administration, which voted against this.

I find that really regrettable. When we look at our television or we listen to radio or community radio, we find out about the needs of the communities.

People say we have to increase funding for community radio services, since they are present in the lives of people. They are really present at the grassroots. That is important. They are also present where arts and culture are concerned. They are everywhere and they have the good luck to work. These are not big national radio services that forget about us, like Radio-Canada, I might add, as I feel I must. Oh, sorry, that is Radio-Montréal. I have often said in the House of Commons that we used to call it Radio-Québec. One day, my friends from the Gaspé pointed out to me that it was not Radio-Québec but rather Radio-Montréal, since people in the regions were forgotten. Manitoba is forgotten, as are Alberta and Franco-Albertans.

By the way, we now know that there are a lot of francophones in Alberta, since nearly all the Acadians have gone to work there. So there are a lot of francophones in Alberta.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

A second deportation!

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

It is like a second deportation, on account of the economic situation. Since jobs are not being created in rural regions, people have to leave those regions.

As for Radio-Canada, I have a little example from the letters to the editor section of L'Acadie Nouvelle. A man has sued the all-news network, RDI en direct/Atlantique, which shows the news that we can see about 10:30 or 11:30 in Ottawa, Quebec time.

Let us talk about press conferences held in Montreal. Let us cite a few examples. On January 6, the news was interrupted to air a press conference of Quebec notaries about consent for organ donations. Imagine, the Atlantic news was interrupted to air a press conference of Quebec notaries concerning consent about organ donations. The national news had to be interrupted at this one short time in each day that belongs to francophones in the Atlantic provinces.

On January 18, the news was interrupted to air a scrum by the head of the PQ to congratulate Stéphane Bergeron who had just been sworn in. Let me say that I congratulate him on winning his election in Quebec. The Atlantic regional news was interrupted to say that Stéphane had won his election. With all due respect for Stéphane, is it appropriate to interrupt the national news in order to announce such an item?

On January 20, the news was interrupted for the broadcast of the city of Montreal's budget. They interrupted the Atlantic news to report a budget in Montreal. Quebec news has never been interrupted to announce the budget of the city of Caraquet. The national news has never been interrupted to report the Shippigan budget. The news has never been interrupted to report the budget of the city of St. Boniface, Manitoba.

On February 2, the news was interrupted for a briefing by Jacques Parizeau, who was commenting on the election of the new Canadian Prime Minister. I could produce a longer list.

In its defence, Radio-Canada alleges a lack of federal funding. In my opinion, it must have a real plan and put it in place to ensure that the CBC or Radio-Canada reaches all the regions of the Gaspé, the North Shore, Acadia, Cape Breton, Quebec and Quebec City—because there is more than just Montreal—and support our artists and our culture, in addition to sending the message across Canada that there are people not just in Montreal, but throughout our beautiful country.

This evening, it is disappointing to see that the Conservative government will vote against a motion promoting culture. It is not a bill. It is a motion. It would give the government direction and support our culture, our arts and our artists. These people who entertain us in July and August, at the Festival acadien de Caraquet, for example. This town, with a population of some 5,000, will welcome many tourists and swell to a population of 25,000. In Tracadie-Sheila and throughout our regions, there will be festivities, as there are throughout the country.

The federal government has responsibilities. The new government is creating concern among the people who look after and represent the francophone communities. They will once again see good reasons for concern as they watch the government vote this evening against a motion that is full of common sense and supported by UNESCO. The Conservative government will vote against this motion. That is unacceptable.

[Raynald Blais, Bloc, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will allow the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst to go further into his exposé on national coverage. We should expect the entire nation to be covered and not just part of it.

Many times RDI has not only cut off the news or part of the news on the Maritimes, but it has also cut the segment of news on Quebec and broadcast press conferences on murders in the United States instead.

This too has happened many times. I do not know if you remember, but at one point there were two men who were keeping American police forces in suspense. They went around killing people, several times in several places. They committed murder day after day. Of course it is interesting to know what is going on in the world, but it is important to know what is happening at home, in the Gaspé, on the Magdalen Islands, in Acadia and elsewhere.

I think it would be important to allow the hon. member to go much further into what he is denouncing today. Everyone in a way, including in Quebec, was penalized by this coverage. That is why it is important for everyone in this House to support the motion this evening.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague from Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine for his question.

I find it even more regrettable that the national news never talks about Canada’s other provinces. When we listen to the national news, we do not hear anyone talking about Gaspésie. We hear about Montreal, then the United States, and then about war in other countries.

I congratulate the Radio-Canada journalists working where I come from. I can assure you that they do very good work. But the only stories of theirs that are aired on the national news are the ones where some tires are placed in the middle of the road and where the roads are burned up. Then we get on the national news. Everything that is negative gets on the national news as long as it is big.

In Montreal, if a cat crosses St. Catherine Street and gets killed, it will be on the national news. But we do not see anything from the rest of the country.

I have been critical of this since my election, and even since I have been watching Radio-Canada and listening to SRC radio, which I love. It is our radio, it is our money, it is the taxpayers who fund it. The government has a duty not to impose cuts on the CBC and Radio-Canada. It should give them money so that they can cover the regions, without having the excuse of budget cuts. When the United States is in the news for a whole day because some incident has occurred there, and we cannot cover the news in our own country, we have a problem.

That is where the government should do some soul-searching about the way it treats public radio in Canada.

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague from Acadie—Bathurst spoke with great passion, but he also spoke with great disdain for a very viable industry in North America. It is collectively called Hollywood. Many Canadians have experienced success in that industry. In fact, the largest grossing film of all time had a Canadian director, Mr. James Cameron.

I refer to his comments regarding the film industry in the United States doing quite well around the world. He showed considerable disdain toward the success of the industry. My question would be, do people who purchase this media content do so freely, or is the money being stolen out of their wallets?

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, if the Americans want to come and see our beautiful country and make a movie, they are welcome any time and we will take their money.

Defending our culture is the responsibility of the government. I am sure it is the same for the Americans and good for them if they do it.

We need an industry that is not just in the big cities, but gives opportunities to rural areas as well. At the same time we need to protect our industry around the world, the same as the hundred countries that voted for the convention, except the Americans and Israel. They did not vote for it. Canada voted for it. The new government will vote against the motion tonight. What is wrong with the convention that the Conservatives cannot support it? They say they do not want to be blocking something and that we are going too far.

I cannot wait to see how far the Conservatives are going to go, how far they will support our cultural industry, how far they will support our arts industry, how far they will support our public television. I remember when the Reform Party was here, it argued against that and said it should be privatized. That is what that party said. There are still some former Reform members in the Conservative Party. That is why it is not called the Progressive Conservative Party any more and is called the Conservative Party.

I hope that time will tell us differently. I hope I am wrong. I pray to God that I am wrong. People are nervous about it. The Conservative Party could just join the Americans right now with the way they are doing it. Canadians have reasons to be worried about it. Time will tell. You have been elected and you are a minority government, but time will tell us what you are going to do. The onus is on your shoulders now.