Finance committee  Yes, it is, and it's a point that we had the opportunity to make yesterday in front of the blue ribbon panel with all the sectors of the not-for-profit sector. There are grants to artists, and they are problems, because if you give a grant to an artist to create something, it m

Finance committee  I'm sorry, the point is not about not paying the debt. As was said around the table, it's a good thing to pay the debt. To take all the leeway that the government has to pay the debt rather than address some of the really glaring issues is something we question. We think a balanc

Finance committee  The Canadian Conference of the Arts has supported that request, which was put forward in the round in April through our association with Imagine Canada and all the voluntary sector. So we support that thing. I have to say, though--and the minister himself pointed that out to me-

Finance committee  Yes, we have. We were somewhat out of order, but we were well received and the message was supported by other people around the table, actually, who said, yes, artistic training is a major contribution to the well-being of our children and it should be considered as a natural ext

Finance committee  : We would also like the tax credit to apply to artistic activities because, in our view, the reasoning which was applied to sporting activities also applies to artistic ones. Everyone recognizes the benefits of physical fitness in children. It comes back to many of the things wh