Madam Speaker, the motion moved by my colleague from Verchères—Les Patriotes is basically asking the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages to listen to the people from the arts and culture community, who have been saying from the beginning that he made a very serious mistake by cutting arts and culture budgets.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage eliminated a number of programs, including international programs such as Trade Routes and PromArt, because, he says, they were ineffective. Quite the opposite is true. Not only were those programs effective, they were in fact profitable. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage heard from nearly 20 people who came to testify that the programs cut by the minister were good programs and that this decision was a mistake.
For instance, on March 2, 2009, John Lambert, a prominent agent for artists, appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and explained that the elimination of the PromArt program will have a destabilizing effect on the performing arts industry, which is currently highly successful. According to Mr. Lambert, the artistic community has already had to cancel several tours abroad because international festivals do not pay transportation costs for artists or their cargo, such as sets and sound and light equipment. The PromArt program is what allowed artists to travel and perform abroad.
Because of the Conservative government, this is no longer possible.
On March 4, 2009, Pierre MacDuff, executive director of Les Deux Mondes theatre company, told the members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that he simply could not understand why the PromArt program was eliminated. He said, and I quote:
It took years of work for companies and artists in every province of Canada to develop networks and partnerships with these countries, and all of that is in jeopardy with the elimination of PromArt. Of course, it is our hope that the federal government will provide an immediate injection of additional funding to the Canada Council for the Arts—indeed, there is no one left to manage the PromArt program, since the officials in charge of it have been fired—so that it can pick up the slack and save the co-productions and tours that are now under discussion. The work of organizing an international tour is something that has to begin a long time in advance.
If I remember correctly, one of my colleagues said it well this morning: it takes about two years of organization before a group can perform on stage. Mr. MacDuff continued:
Our projects are now in jeopardy as a result of this program being cancelled. For companies like Les Deux Mondes and many others, this most certainly means cutting back our touring activities...
All the witnesses who appeared before the committee said basically the same thing.
The same day, Alain Dancyger, the executive director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal—he is not just anybody—said this to the committee about PromArt being abolished, and I quote:
This situation threatens Les Grands Ballets in the short and medium terms as regards its financial viability, but it also creates a major image problem for our country outside our borders... [I have] a difficult time understanding the reasons why a country like Canada, a member of the G8, does not support its cultural actors even while they... inspire unprecedented interest from international audiences. If Les Grands Ballets were a dynamic and innovative SME producing electronic components, for example, whose products were in high demand on the international market, it would be logical, even strategic, to support that SME so that it could gain market share, especially in the current economic context. Why would a cultural product be treated any differently?
He said, in closing, that the “consequences of the federal government's decision to eliminate all of its support for export activities are disastrous”.
The government members had no clear answer to give to these 15 witnesses. They say that the government has injected more funding than ever in culture and that the arts sector players should be happy, not complaining.
Such an answer is an insult to the intelligence of those in the arts and culture industry. They always welcome increased government funding, regardless of the party in power. They wanted the government to know that investing is not enough, that it has to invest wisely. Cutting programs that work well and are useful without consulting those concerned or providing any explanation does not seem to be a very wise, let alone responsible, way of investing.
There was almost unanimous support, however, for one recommendation from these groups, and that was for the rollback of the $45 million in government cuts to the Canada Council for the Arts, so that it can manage its programs and restore funding for international tours. Naturally, the Liberal Party of Canada supports that proposal, as well as what is proposed in Motion No. 297. The motion proposes that the annual budget for the Canada Council for the Arts be raised to $300 million. The council is currently receiving $180 million from the federal government, but $300 million would allow the artists, who, for the most part, are living below the poverty line, to get the support they deserve from our Canadian government.