Canadian Heritage committee  The direct answer is that the vast majority of countries in the world have corporations such as Telefilm Canada or public agencies, both federal and provincial, like Telefilm Canada or SODEC in Quebec. It's more the norm than the exception.

Canadian Heritage committee  They have a system very similar to our own. They have something akin to the envelope system we were talking about earlier. They have a market interest fund. They provide financial support through the Australian Film Development Corporation for development, for production, and for distribution.

Canadian Heritage committee  Sorry, but with all due respect to Hollywood--wonderful films--that's not our challenge. They are ubiquitous. They're spending $100 million on a production and another $50 million on the marketing. As you know, Telefilm's budget is less than $100 million for all films everywhere.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, it is, but the reality, given the size of our budget--

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely, and after 40 years...I'm old enough to have seen the growth in this industry, and it is considerable, believe me. There are those who would argue academically and on the street that the real birth of Canadian cinema as a sustainable industry occurred when the Canadian Film Development Corporation, now Telefilm Canada, was established in 1967.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, I don't feel that at all.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, no, I appreciate that. No. I think part of the message--and it is much implicit in this corporation, as we touched on--is to find out where you can initiate cost savings. Closing the Paris office was not something done easily, but in a context of priorities and where the moneys might be better addressed, such as the Perspective Canada program, which is totally focused on sales internationally as the number one priority, and given the new technologies of Internet, e-mails, and cell phones, I'm not sure the best place for this corporation to be directing its money is into bricks and mortar.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll ask Monsieur Pradier to speak to that, if I may.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll give you a specific example that I think responds directly to your question, but also signifies so much more. We announced the great Canadian video competition. We did it in partnership with the private sector, because it's an increasing priority in terms of our working relationship with the industry and bringing more money into the industry.

Canadian Heritage committee  Do you mean specifically in the case of the envelopes? Yes. For example, Bon Cop, Bad Cop was an enormous success. It is going to receive in the fiscal year after this one an envelope of up to about $3 million or $3.5 million that is under the responsibility of its producer--does not have to go to Telefilm to read the script, evaluate it, and determine whether it merits....

Canadian Heritage committee  I have much respect for Mr. Stursberg's work at Telefilm Canada prior to my arriving. In fact, he said he wears the black hat, and I get to ride into town with the white hat. It makes things a little more comfortable. One of the things I did symbolically, as well as practically, early on in my appointment was cancel the contract with the American Talent Agency, as much for financial reasons, but I wanted to send out the message that we have a commitment to Canadian talent, and that's going to be the overriding priority.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll try to answer as briefly as possible in those areas. First of all, the Maclean's magazine article came out in April. That's seven months ago. As I said in my opening comments, the work that Telefilm and the industry groups have done in the intervening seven months is remarkable.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think there is a responsibility of this agency to ensure that Canadian talent and Canadian content are present—I stress Canadian talent and Canadian content—and are available across all platforms. In the case of cinema, we know the struggle of movies over the last 100 years and the regrettable circumstance whereby, as we've so often said at previous meetings, it's difficult to get films on the screen, especially in the English-language market.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, but again, to be clear, it's not our area of priority any longer, except to the degree that we'd like to see the contract renewed. We await that.

Canadian Heritage committee  —Québécois as a nation, we would be remiss if we didn't act accordingly. As an example, over the years, we've run programs and screenings of Quebec cinema all over the world, celebrating the very unique qualities and the considerable artistic and commercial success that Quebec cinema has had.