Mr. Speaker, Father and Guns will be screened here in Ottawa tonight. A police comedy starring Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Rémy Girard and Caroline Dhavernas, the film has grossed nearly $11 million at the box office.
Quebec's filmmakers make miracles with the resources available to them. As we all know, the Conservative government, which scorns both artists and their work, froze the budget for Telefilm Canada's feature film fund.
Yet this same government does not hesitate to claim the Quebec film industry's success as its own, calling it Canadian film. Contrary to what some have claimed, Canadian film does not account for 20% of the market in Canada. It accounts for barely 1.4%, while nearly 18% of the market belongs to Quebec film. That is an important distinction to make.