Paul Calandra

[War of 1812 Celebrations, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, again, we have committed $28 million over four years. We are going to be celebrating Canada and celebrating one of the most important events in Canadian history. It is one of the things that led to this country being as great as it is. It is one of the events that helped make sure that the French factor in Canada is protected. It is one of the things that helped lead us to Confederation.

We will never apologize for celebrating what has made this the best country in the world in which to live. I only hope that the NDP members will, for once, think of why this country is so great, think about why it is that they are sitting in this place, and join with us and the thousands of Canadians who will celebrate this event.

[War of 1812 Celebrations, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, let me just begin by saying that I will be celebrating my second annual Christmas concert in my riding with local talent. I hope the hon. member might have a chance to come and take a look at some of the spectacular Christmas talent that we have.

With respect to that story, of course the story he is referring to is false. We will be celebrating and commemorating the War of 1812 because it is an extraordinarily important event in Canadian history. The cost is $28 million over four years. I hope that the hon. member and the NDP will join with us in celebrating all the things that we have to be proud of as a country.

[December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in my speech I did mention that fully almost half of the cultural capitals that we designated have actually come from smaller communities.

I note that next year the cultural capitals program will be celebrating Calgary and Niagara Falls. Calgary will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede, which is something I think all Canadians should be proud of and will be excited to celebrate. Niagara Falls will be home of the celebrations for the War of 1812.

This government has done more to support arts and culture than any government in the history of this country, and we are proud of that. We understand that the artistic community, that arts and culture are incredibly important because they create thousands of jobs and are responsible for an incredible amount of economic activity in this country. We have nothing to apologize for because we have done what is needed to invest in communities. That is why we are giving record amounts of funding.

It is unfortunate, of course, that the NDP, when it has had the opportunity to support us, to support these investments and to support the artistic community, has consistently voted against that.

I know that, going forward, we will continue to place great value on the artistic community and the jobs that it creates.

[December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, our government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen our communities and support arts and culture across Canada. Supporting culture means supporting Canada's economy.

In 2007, the arts and culture sector represented $46 billion in economic activity and employed more than 630,000 people. Just to put that into context, that $46 billion contribution is more than the hotel and restaurant industry and the hunting, forestry, fishing and agriculture industry.

Thanks to our government's investments, Canadians can have access to and participate in many cultural activities. We recognize that a vibrant cultural sector is important to Canada's economy and to our society.

We must make no mistake. Our government is doing what it takes to foster the growth of Canada's cultural sector in all parts of the country. We are making targeted investments to ensure Canadians have greater access to Canadian culture. Our government recognizes the important contribution that small communities make to the cultural and economic fabric of Canada and what culture does for communities economically and socially.

For example, research has clearly demonstrated that involvement in the arts helps children to develop the learning skills required in Canada's knowledge economy. Involvement in the arts also helps them to develop the social skills they need to succeed, and certain artistic disciplines lead to improved health outcomes as a result of physical activity.

For those and other reasons, our government was proud to announce the children's art credit in our last budget.

At Heritage Canada, the people pride themselves on designating national programs that are sensitive to local realities. A number of our programs are regionally delivered. Some, such as Canada arts presentation fund, Canada cultural spaces fund and museums assistance program, have rural and remote communities as a funding priority. In some cases, we provide a higher percentage of funding for rural or remote projects recognizing that cultural organizations in these areas do not have access to private sector funding available in larger urban centres.

In 2010-11, 33% of festivals and series and 28% of infrastructure projects funded through arts programs in the Department of Canadian Heritage were in rural and remote areas, and 19 of the 42 cultural capitals of Canada designations to date have been awarded to municipalities outside of major urban centres, from Nanaimo in British Columbia, to Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia.

Our government knows that supporting Canadian culture helps support the Canadian economy and we will continue to ensure that our programs serve the needs of smaller communities.

We are doing what is right. We are making investments in arts and culture that will benefit all communities across Canada. We are doing that because that is what makes sense, not only for the artistic community but that is what makes sense for the Canadian economy.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member might be talking about a different bill. Perhaps he does not know what we are actually talking about. It is a spectacular crime bill that was brought forward by our member for Scarborough Centre. I know the member is talking about other issues: food bank issues at Christmas, and so on and so forth. I wonder if that is relevant to the discussion that we are having right now.

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if you might ask him to talk about the bill that we are debating here. I think he would do appropriate respect to the member for—

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I hate going back to this section, but the bill just simply does not say, as the member for Trinity—Spadina and the member said, that students will need to burn their school notes after 30 days. It is simply not in the legislation. I am not certain why the NDP continues to suggest to Canadian students that they are going to be forced to burn their school notes after 30 days when it is just simply not in the bill.

Could the member point out the section where it specifically says that students will need to burn their notes with respect to the course material? It is not the section he is reading, because I read it in French and English and it does not say that. It says nowhere in the bill that students will need to burn their course notes.

The second point is about balance. The member says that we need to protect creators, but then he says that those creators who want to protect their works with a digital lock are somehow wrong.

How does putting a levy on consumers protect or help consumers? How does it make it more affordable for consumers by putting on a levy such as the NDP is suggesting?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, could the hon. member expand a bit on some of the discussions she had with the stakeholders with respect to online piracy and how we could do a better job to ensure Canada would no longer be a haven for online pirates?

We know that in Europe there is much greater support for TPMs and that has not actually reduced the availability of content online. Does she have any rationale for thinking Canada's less stringent use of TPMs through the bill would somehow reduce the availability of content for Canadian consumers? How can we on one hand suggest that we will protect Canadian consumers, but on the other hand try to bring forward a levy that would make it far more expensive for consumers to access these types of products?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to hear that the hon. member is changing what he said last time. The last time he stood in the House, he talked about students having to burn their course notes; he has somewhat modified that statement, because he knows it is not true. The other thing he mentioned was making consumers into criminals for circumventing digital locks. He says he has read the bill, so I will ask him about two sections.

First, where in the bill does it say that individuals who circumvent digital locks will be made criminals? What part of the bill criminalizes them?

Second, could he point out any part in the bill that talks about students having to burn their personal course notes? I am talking about students who have created notes and done their work. Can he point out the specific clauses of the bill that criminalize individuals for breaking digital locks and point out any place in the bill that says students have to burn their personal notes?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 14th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I listened intently. Could my hon. friend point out for me the sections in the bill that actually refer to requiring the class notes of students to be destroyed after 30 days?

Also, has the member read proposed subsection 30.01(5) of the act, which talks about 30 days for the taped version of the distance education course that the student watches? After 30 days, that is what cannot be kept. Nowhere does the bill suggest that students have to destroy or burn the class notes that they have created while watching a taped version. The assertion is absolutely ridiculous.

I would defer to the hon. member's scholarly knowledge of the bill if he could point out for me the sections of the bill that identify that students have to destroy their class notes. He mentioned that it is in the bill a number of times. I will sit and listen and wait for the hon. member's scholarly advice as to where those sections are in the bill.

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 14th, 2011]

You are quite correct, Madam Speaker. It was not a point of order because the opposition is wrong on most facets of Bill C-11.

Could the hon. member cite one instance out of those 80 countries, where TPMs are available, where they have seen less creative work? Could she cite for me specifically where--