Mr. Speaker, the Conservative budget does not meet the needs of those in the cultural community, yet culture accounts for over 7% of the GDP. Even though artists have been able to demonstrate their past cost-effectiveness, programs to promote culture abroad have not been re-established, to the bitter disappointment of the arts community.
As Stanley Péan, the head of the Union des écrivaines et écrivains québécois, puts it, the message sent by last fall's artists' protests did not get through.
What explanation can the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages give for this budget containing nothing for the promotion of culture abroad?