Pablo Rodriguez

[Arts and Culture, June 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that nobody believes him any more.

Loving culture means defending that culture. Loving culture means appreciating its importance. Loving culture means investing the necessary funds into it.

Today the government is imposing a strategic review, and thus cuts, to some of our national flagships, some of the most important programs for our artists and creative people.

The government is engaged in a full-scale attack on the NFB, the Canada Council, Telefilm Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada.

Why do they have such a hatred of culture?

[Government Assets, June 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government has plunged Canada into a disastrous economic situation. Jobs are being lost, the deficit is growing, and the government is just making it up as it goes along.

Now the government has come up with a new idea. Some genius somewhere has decided to hold a fire sale of government assets—our institutions—and privatize them.

This includes CBC/Radio-Canada and the National Arts Centre. They have decided to sell some of the essential components of our very own culture.

Is the minister going to understand that our culture was not for sale yesterday, is not for sale today, and will never, ever be for sale?

[The Environment, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, rather than adopt its own policy on climate change, the Conservative government is waiting in order to copy that of the Americans. In the meantime, we are losing precious time in making the changes that must be made in any case. This is one more example to be added to that of the economy and the Chalk River fiasco, demonstrating the government's inability to act positively on anything.

Could this government, the champion of inaction, make an exception and act proactively for once?

[Official Languages, May 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk some more about the Commissioner of Official Languages's report: lack of leadership by the Prime Minister, lack of leadership by the President of the Treasury Board, lack of leadership by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages in connection with the Olympic Games, lack of leadership by the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in connection with the airports.

If everyone in his cabinet lacks leadership, is this not simply because, as far as official languages are concerned, they are all following the lead of the Prime Minister: no leadership, no vision, no importance?

[Official Languages, May 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Official Languages Commissioner presented his annual report marking the 40th anniversary of the act. The central theme of the report was lack of leadership. An excellent example was the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

The commissioner points to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and the President of the Treasury Board for their inaction.

Does the Prime Minister find their behaviour acceptable? Will he act or do like they do, close his eyes, wait until the Olympics are over and then hope our reputation as a bilingual country does not suffer too much?

[Arts and Culture, May 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it will no doubt have escaped my Conservative colleagues, but the Canadian film industry has once again been honoured at the Cannes Film Festival.

A prodigy has been born. Despite his youth, Xavier Dolan wowed the juries and won three awards in the Directors' Fortnight.

His film, J'ai tué ma mère, also known as I Killed my Mother, once again drew the attention of connoisseurs from around the world to the relevance and quality of Canadian cinema. Distribution agreements are already in place for this film, which will mean even more international exposure for Canadian culture.

On behalf of all my colleagues, I want to congratulate Mr. Dolan on his achievement and assure him that we on this side of the House, at least, are very anxious to see his film.

In conclusion, I would also like to congratulate Louis-José Houde, who was honoured yesterday evening at the Gala des Oliviers. If I could talk as fast as he does, you would not have to interrupt me, Mr. Speaker.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Hubert Lacroix, President and CEO of the CBC, announced to all employees that the government is imposing a cut of up to 5%, or $56 million, as a result of the strategic review.

Yet, on April 29, I looked the minister straight in the eye and asked if he would guarantee that his government would not make cuts to the CBC. He answered yes.

Is the minister telling us today that Mr. Hubert Lacroix is lying? Or is it a question of the minister, two weeks later, breaking his promise, his word and reneging on his commitment?

[Broadcasting and Telecommunications, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives still refuse to help our broadcasters, both public and private, even though they are all going through a serious crisis at this time.

What is the minister doing in the meantime? He is twiddling his thumbs, as usual. If twiddling one's thumbs were an Olympic sport, he would win every category.

This crisis has already had disastrous consequences on the diversity of information sources, especially in the regions.

Will he continue to twiddle his thumbs, or will he do as we are doing, and try to find a solution for all of them right now?

[CBC/Radio-Canada, April 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, conventional television is going through a structural crisis. The current economic model, based on advertising revenue, no longer works, and solutions to this problem must be found. But despite the urgency of the situation, the Minister of Canadian Heritage is busier floating trial balloons than finding real solutions.

The same is true of the CBC. Less than 48 hours ago, Hubert Lacroix, CBC president and CEO, told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that the status quo was no longer an option and that solutions had to be found soon. This is nothing new. Everyone knows this, including the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is refusing to budge. Why did he refuse to support the CBC when the corporation came knocking at his door?

Now, 800 jobs have been lost. But Mr. Lacroix was clear that any new decline in revenue will lead to more layoffs. How many jobs will have to be lost before the minister deigns to lift a finger? Two thousand? More? How many?

[Broadcasting Industry, April 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly the thing. They promised to do nothing and that is exactly what they are doing, absolutely nothing.

The government has started talks with private broadcasters to address a crisis that is affecting the entire industry.

Is it also going to include the CBC in those talks, given that the public broadcaster is facing the same challenges as its competitors, or is it going to take advantage of the situation to keep knocking the CBC down?