Mr. Speaker, before the election, the former minister of Canadian Heritage said that cultural programs that were cut would be replaced. Now, after the election, we discover that the government has no intention whatsoever of revisiting this decision. Moreover, there is nothing in the economic update about restoring the funding programs for the arts and culture.
Can someone in this government explain the reasons for such an attack and such hostility towards artists and the cultural community which, far from being a burden, provide a great deal of stimulus to the economy?