Sylvie Boucher

[April 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our government has created the $1 billion community adjustment fund, and more than $200 million of that money will go to Quebec and will be managed by Canada Economic Development.

I would like to remind the member for Brossard—La Prairie that we are continuing to work with all industry sectors. Our government is continuing to consult with all economic players to ensure that we come out of this crisis stronger and more competitive than ever.

I would also like to point out to the member that we are not the only forestry stakeholders. The provincial governments also have a major stake in the issues affecting the forestry industry. As a government and a stakeholder in economic development, we are providing our SMEs and our communities with tools and resources to strengthen, renew and stimulate their economy.

[April 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in the absence of my colleague, the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), allow me to answer the question raised by the member for Brossard—La Prairie.

The member is wrong to say that we refuse to intervene in the forestry sector. This statement is surprising, especially since we are pleased to have settled the softwood lumber dispute with the United States, and even more so because that agreement received the overwhelming support of the forestry industry. The agreement has brought stability to the forestry industry, the communities and workers throughout Canada, and has returned $5 billion to Canadian softwood lumber producers, of which $1 billion has gone to Quebec.

No matter, I would like to remind my colleague that, as a responsible government, it is our duty and our obligation to intervene when regions and communities are in trouble. Naturally, we are extremely worried about the current state of the forestry industry and the position of its workers, whether in Matagami or Val d'Or in Quebec, Bathurst or Miramichi in New Brunswick, or anywhere else in our country.

Forestry workers in Canada and Quebec are the victims of a series of events that have hit the industry hard. The main problem is the market. There are fewer and fewer buyers. Let us bear in mind that, for the industry to recover, we need our neighbours to the south to increase their demand.

Contrary to what the member for Brossard—La Prairie would have us believe, our government is taking action to minimize the effects of the crisis on the forestry industry and its workers. We have also brought in a number of measures to support key economic sectors, which will help these workers and their communities.

Our recently released economic action plan provides strategic support for the forestry industry. Our plan supports the development of new products and processes so that the industry can take advantage of as-yet-unexplored international opportunities.

I would also like to point out that our recent economic action plan, which the opposition helped us pass, gave Export Development Canada (EDC) more money and more ways to help businesses during this increasingly difficult economic period. EDC is working with 90% of Canada's forestry companies and expects that number to go up in 2009.

We have announced several initiatives to stimulate the forestry industry, such as the tax credit for home renovations, which will give Canadian families a tax break of up to $1,350; $2 billion to accelerate construction of college and university buildings; $500 million to support construction of new community recreation facilities and modernization of existing facilities, and more.

Our government is also very concerned about what is happening to Canadian workers, and that is why we developed our action plan. We want a brighter future for Canada, our workers and forestry.

[Taxation, April 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday my colleague answered a question and the answer is vitally important to the Government of Quebec and Quebeckers, concerning the harmonization of the QST with the federal tax.

Despite the evident chaos in the ranks of the Bloc. the minister repeated the truth for Quebeckers of all political stripes.

Since the Quebec finance minister had stated that the QST was not harmonized and adjustments would be needed in this area in order to harmonize it, we have acted with true Conservative diligence, as true Quebeckers.

We promised to negotiate in good faith with the Government of Quebec on this, and that we shall.

As for the improper labels being thrown at the Quebec members of government by the increasingly frustrated Bloc members, I would like to say that I too prefer to be at the service of my constituents rather than a token on-looker.

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Shame!

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, despite the economic recession we are going through right now—as we are all aware—we on this side of the House have maintained the corporation's funding and given it $1 billion. The member's party opposite cut 4,000 jobs even though there was no economic crisis at the time.

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in Radio-Canada and the CBC. I would like to point out to the member opposite that it was not our leader who made jokes at CBC/Radio-Canada's expense. It was his former leader, Jean Chrétien, who said that nobody would hit the streets in protest if CBC/Radio-Canada were shut down.

We on this side of the House believe in CBC/Radio-Canada and are helping the corporation.

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we took concrete action by giving CBC/Radio-Canada $1.1 billion in addition to $60 million for next year. We passed a budget even though the NDP voted against these measures to help CBC/Radio-Canada.

We are not the ones who hung CBC/Radio-Canada out to dry. They are.

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her question and remind her that her party cut $400 million in funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, not to mention 4,000 jobs, based on nothing at all. I certainly do not need lectures from that party.

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Lévis—Bellechasse.

I would like to begin by reiterating this government's commitment to arts and culture. In Canada's economic action plan in budget 2009, our government demonstrated its firm commitment to the arts, culture, and heritage. The Government of Canada will invest $540 million, that is, over half a billion dollars, to ensure as much stability as possible for this sector in these challenging times.

I would like to speak briefly about these tough times. The current global recession is affecting all sectors of the economy, including arts and culture. Once again, the government's economic action plan is a detailed plan to stimulate economic growth, restore confidence and assist Canadians during this period of global recession.

The Government of Canada has helped, is helping and will continue to help this sector. Here are some concrete examples: $200 million over the next two fiscal years will be allocated to the creation and broadcasting of high-quality Canadian television programs in English, French, and aboriginal languages; over $28 million over the next two fiscal years will be allocated to continue to encourage the creation of Canadian interactive digital cultural media works; $14 million over four years, that is, $3.5 million a year, will serve to continue to support and enhance the arts, culture and heritage within minority anglophone and francophone communities; $7 million of additional support is earmarked to support training for Canadian artists through improvements to the national arts training contribution program; $5 million will be invested to implement a new national translation program for book publishing. The purpose of that program is to increase the availability of Canadian books in both official languages.

We support the arts because our artists and our cultural institutions play an important role in the lives of Canadians and Quebeckers within our economy. The response given recently by my colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, demonstrates that our government recognizes the importance of the arts and cultural sector in stimulating and strengthening our economy.

We also support CBC/Radio-Canada because it remains and will remain Canada's public broadcaster in English and French in addition to being one of our most important cultural institutions. How should we support CBC/Radio-Canada? By investing in our public broadcaster.

I would like to point out how important the government considers CBC/Radio-Canada to be. Our investment in the corporation is the largest of all our spending on culture, with the exception of the budget of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

According to the 2008 annual report to Parliament on crown corporations and other corporate interests of Canada, CBC/Radio-Canada's share of all budgetary appropriations received by crown corporations is 22%.

Since 2006, our government has invested over $3 billion to enable CBC/Radio-Canada to fulfill its mandate. In 2008-09, our government gave the crown corporation $1.117 billion to fulfill its mandate to Canadians throughout the country, in English, French and eight native languages.

Our commitment was to maintain funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, and we have kept our word. To better illustrate our commitment to the public broadcaster since 2006, we have renewed additional funding of $60 million for CBC/Radio-Canada for Canadian programming.

Once again, by its actions and its decisions, our government shows the importance it gives to Canadian programming by allocating another $60 million for 2009-10.

In addition to the votes approved by Parliament, the CBC-Radio Canada can count on three other sources of funding—advertising revenues, subscription revenues and revenues from related activities. The CBC-Radio Canada has generated over $1.5 billion in revenues since 2006-07.

The role of a responsible government is not limited to handing out dollars. We must also ensure healthy governance, strong management and effective accounting.

To this end, the CBC-Radio Canada has a board of directors comprising 12 directors, including the chair of the board and the CEO. Although they are always appointed by the governor in council for their skills and broad experience, it is they who are at the helm of the corporation. It operates independently of government.

This board of directors is responsible for managing the affairs and activities of the corporation. Under the Broadcasting Act, the corporation is accountable to Parliament through the minister of Canadian heritage. This does not prevent the corporation from providing an accounting. Under the Act, the CBC-Radio Canada is obliged to submit a business plan to the government. This plan includes a statement of the corporation's objectives for the coming five years and a strategy for their implementation, the capital budget and the operating budget for the next fiscal year and the corporation's plans to borrow during the current fiscal year.

The capital budget has to be approved by Treasury Board, and any plan to borrow requires approval by the Minister of Finance.

The corporation is also required to submit to the Minister of Canadian Heritage a summary of its revised business plan reflecting the financial resources Parliament plans to allocate to CBC/Radio-Canada. The minister then has to table this summary in Parliament. By making its business plan summary public, CBC/Radio-Canada is clearly indicating to parliamentarians and Canadians what its priorities are and how these will be met.

While CBC/Radio-Canada is exempt from part X, it is nonetheless required under the Financial Administration Act to keep satisfactory accounting records and conduct appropriate internal audits. It has to provide the Minister of Canadian Heritage, at his request, with reports on its financial activities.

Finally, within three months after the end of each financial year, the corporation is required to submit an annual report to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and to the President of the Treasury Board. In turn, the minister has to submit this annual report to Parliament within 15 days after receiving it. Again, as a public entity funded by us all, CBC/Radio-Canada has to clearly present its operating results to the people of Canada and Quebec.

The Government of Canada recognizes that CBC/Radio-Canada plays a unique role in reporting stories about Canadians, influencing our national identity and bringing people closer together.

The Government of Canada recognizes the role of our national broadcaster within Canadian society by providing it with more than $1 billion in parliamentary supply for the current year and renewing again for next year additional funding of $60 million for Canadian programming.

As we can see, our government has delivered on its promises. Clearly, our government is acting as a responsible manager.

[Artists, March 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to share with the House this government's commitment to arts and culture in Canada. We believe in the intrinsic value of culture in nourishing and inspiring the people of Canada and Quebec.

In Budget 2009, we committed $540 million to arts, culture, heritage and related tourism initiatives, including $276 million in new funding. We are familiar with these impressive initiatives. Each of them creates jobs and strengthens the economy. Let me mention, for instance, the additional $60 million over two years for cultural infrastructure and $100 million for famous festivals.

These new investments are in addition to the money already invested in arts and culture in Canada, including the $600 million we are providing to the film and video industry through various programs and organizations such as Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board, or through tax credits for the production of films and television programming.

Just recently, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages announced an investment of $5 million for the new national translation program for book publishing. Through this program, the number of literary translations that we finance as part of our Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality will double over the next four years.

Last fall, thePrime Minister announced that we would invest an additional $25 million over five years in TV5, the successful international television network which broadcasts French-language Canadian shows to more than 180 million households all over the Francophonie and the world. This government is injecting significant funding into arts and culture, knowing how close to the hearts of Canadians and Quebeckers culture is and how much they benefit from it financially.

We are also determined to ensure that each dollar invested produces tangible, relevant and significant results for the people of Canada. This includes looking for new ways of supporting culture where the old ones are no longer relevant or are not worth the time, money and effort. Not only do arts and culture inspire Canadians and Quebeckers when times are tough, but they are also key elements of Canada's economy.

I would like to remind the House that the Conference Board of Canada reported that, in 2007, the cultural sector's contribution to GDP was 3.8% or $46 billion. For that reason, in this global recession, we are making a generous investment in the arts and the cultural industries. We are supporting this sector today in order to build the future and the dreams of tomorrow. We must focus on the future as we move forward.

Motion No. 297 is not a good way to help the arts and culture communities in Canada. It focuses on the past and seeks to restore programs that are no longer pertinent and do not meet their objective efficiently. Motion No. 297 will not work.

However, my colleague did get one thing right: the Canada Council for the Arts is an integral part of our arts strategy. It supports exciting new initiatives by professional artists and helps new artists launch their careers. That is why we have already increased permanent annual funding for the Canada Council for the Arts by $30 million to $181 million.

I would like to point out to the House that this is the largest amount of funding ever provided to the Canada Council for the Arts by a government.

We are determined to ensure that the arts are viable. However, just like ordinary Canadians, we must make choices every day about the money we spend. We must ensure that every dollar counts.

That is why we are streamlining the considerable funding allocated to arts and culture so that it has the greatest impact possible here, in Canada, and internationally.

The current government has an integrated strategy to support the arts and culture in Canada. This strategy focuses on improving the arts infrastructure and developing markets for culture, and at the same time enhancing Canada's reputation abroad.

I am proud to say that the Department of Canadian Heritage is creating funding programs that dovetail with those of other departments. Take tourism, for example. Cultural tourism is a growing market for the arts and culture in Canada. We have allocated $40 million to the Canadian Tourism Commission in order to promote Canada as a destination for tourists who have money to spend in Canada.

Parks Canada will receive new funding of $75 million to improve national historic sites. We are also investing in the building Canada fund, which supports sport and recreation infrastructure as well as important projects in the areas of arts and heritage across the country.

Cultural tourism is not the only beneficiary of such investments. Heritage Canada makes strategic contributions to arts and culture. In our 2009 budget, we increased funding for the cultural spaces Canada program by $60 million over two years. That money will benefit community cultural establishments, such as local theatres, which will be able to improve performance venues for Canadian artists. We recognize that Canadian artists participate in their local communities and that Canada's cultural industries are a vital part of local, regional and national economies.

The government is proud to support arts and culture in Canada and is doing a good job. It is working strategically. Cultural programs do not exist in a void. Culture is part of the everyday lives of Canadians and Quebeckers.

Our review showed that most of our arts and culture programs are strategic, effective and avant-garde. That is why we renewed $264 million in cultural funding for various programs and sectors, such as the Canada media fund and the national arts training contribution program, as well as new media and community magazines and newspapers.

We understand that short-term investments in arts and culture are an excellent way to strengthen Canada's artistic and economic vitality in the long term. That is why we increased funding for the national arts training contribution program by $14 million over two years. With a $20 million budget, the program will train the next generation of young artists and talented, hard-working creators on whom Canada's future creativity depends.

We are making considerable investments to ensure that Canadian culture survives the worsening global economic crisis and continues to develop in the future. We are giving Canadians and Quebeckers the tools they need to succeed here at home and internationally.