Canadian Heritage committee  Could I add to that? I apologize for jumping in here. I want to share a very quick example of how we've gotten a bit cuckoo in the system. We have a member who has a show and has almost entirely financed his show with international money. The only piece missing to close it all o

Canadian Heritage committee  Over the past eight years, co-production has decreased a great deal. Approximately $390 million are being invested in co-production. In 2001, the figure was nearly $900 million. This sector has undergone a significant decline.

Canadian Heritage committee  There are several factors. First of all, our co-production treaties—many of them were signed a very long time ago—are no longer up-to-date. Secondly, in Europe, over the past few years, countries have signed co-production agreements amongst themselves. We have now reached a point

Canadian Heritage committee  It seems to me that several proposals have been made by a number of groups in Canada over the past few months, if not years. To some extent, I think it always come back to the issue of financing. With co-productions, a Canadian producer has to bring something to put on the table.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. Co-production obviously also depends to a great extent on the relations we develop with producers from other countries. It is not necessarily easy for a Canadian producer to go abroad—it is also expensive—in order to cultivate those relationships and develop projects.

Canadian Heritage committee  No.

Canadian Heritage committee  Who would have imagined ten years ago that one could access, online, a music store and legitimately download thousands of songs to a device so small you can clip it to your shirt collar, or read your daily newspaper on your cellphone, or access a program online that you may have