Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, that would be another way of doing things. The 10% rate represents 2,200 departmental clients, who all benefited from this measure. That represents approximately one quarter of the clients of the department. This has a direct impact, because they will be able to do longer term planning.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certain circumstances exist. I am thinking of the Music Entrepreneur Component. Based on their cash flow, we give them a certain amount of money at the beginning of the year, that is an advance on the contribution agreement, so that they can manage it. There was even one case where we gave them 90% of the amount that they had been granted.

Canadian Heritage committee  The service standards already mentioned, and that would be in effect as of April 1, 2010, will be extremely transparent. Program managers will know what their status is as far as service standards are concerned. We will be able to follow that. Sometimes the recipients believe that their application is complete and claim that they have sent the application but have heard nothing.

Canadian Heritage committee  We tell them. We do...

Canadian Heritage committee  Some programs have standards. It is an organizational change. For the current year, we did some trials, for some programs, to see how this would work.

Canadian Heritage committee  The statistics we currently have are flawed. I was saying to your colleague that if someone sends in a signed application, but that is 40% to 60% incomplete, it is accounted for and the clock starts ticking. Our service standards will have to define the moment at which we consider the application to be complete.

Canadian Heritage committee  You are quite right to say that in some cases, there were glitches. As far as festivals are concerned, one of the problems is that funds are allocated in February or in March and the program must be delivered the following summer. Most festivals take place during the summer. We could avoid these problems by negotiating agreements covering several years.

Canadian Heritage committee  Within the framework of our action plan on the delivery of grants and contributions, it is one of the vectors through which we can improve the quality of service. It will vary from program to program.

Canadian Heritage committee  It is risk-based. We cannot say that we will negotiate multi-year agreements for 25% or 30% of cases throughout the department. We try to do so where it makes sense. We have clients who are regulars. Therefore, we know them and we know that they are able to provide their reports on time.

Canadian Heritage committee  As my colleague has indicated, we support a wide range of activities, programs, individuals and recipient associations throughout the department, in particular in the field of arts and culture. This vast diversity of clients goes from very small not-for-profit art and heritage organizations to much larger for-profit businesses in the cultural industries, book publishers, periodical publishers, music.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here this morning to provide you with information on the arts and culture grants and contributions process in the department. With me is my colleague, Pablo Sobrino. Pablo is the assistant deputy minister of planning and corporate affairs, so he has a broader picture of all grants and contributions within the department.

Canadian Heritage committee  Ms. Fry, apart from my function as the assistant deputy minister, cultural affairs, I'm also the director of investments under the Investment Canada Act, which the minister administers. As you know, Parliament has put very strict restrictions as to what information can be shared with respect to any matter we would or would not be looking at with respect to this.

Canadian Heritage committee  The tax measure, of course, applies to all charitable institutions, but already we estimate approximately $20 million in the first period of this has been injected into the arts and heritage sector.

Canadian Heritage committee  Indeed, Mr. Bélanger, the committee is looking at a number of industries, but our department has had an opportunity to speak with the committee, which includes Ms. Isabelle Hudon, who worked with our Minister at the November 2007 Montreal, Cultural Metropolis Rendez-Vous, and one of those industries is the cultural industry.

Canadian Heritage committee  Offhand, we're not able to give you the answer. There are others, I'm sure. We'll do that offline if that's all right with the chair. We'll provide you with those analogies vis-à-vis the digitalization in the collection. I suspect our rate of broadband penetration in Canada probably has put us in the leadership role.