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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 176

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 30, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 176 - Mar/30/23
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
  • Mar/30/23 10:44:12 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Madam Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to be able to rise in this discussion. I was just at the first-ever Qualicum Beach Film Festival. It was led by a grade 12 student in my riding. It just shows the opportunity for film and the importance of media in our communities. In fact, in Qualicum Beach, there is $18 million being spent in the film sector alone. The opportunity is endless, but they are playing at an unfair advantage. Groups across the country, such as the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, FRIENDS of Canadian broadcasting, the Writers Guild of Canada and the Canadian Media Producers Association, are getting behind this bill and calling for action. There have been delays. We hear Conservatives say that this bill is a disaster and everything is broken. Some things are broken. This is something that is broken, and it needs to be fixed. We are here to fix things. Instead of wanting to fix things, Conservatives want to keep things broken. They want to tear it down. We need to move forward. Can the minister speak about the sense of urgency there is to support Canadian producers?
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Context: House Hansard - 176 - Mar/30/23
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
  • Mar/30/23 12:08:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a young woman, Saffron Bisiker, a grade 12 student in Qualicum Beach in my riding, just launched the first-ever Qualicum Beach Film Festival a couple of weeks ago, and she did it to support local creators and contributors. Our MLA, Adam Walker, was there from Parksville-Qualicum, and he cited that there is $18 million being spent in the film sector just in Qualicum Beach and that area, and how important that is. We have been hearing for many years from our local broadcasters, creators and cultural workers that they have been suffering from unfair competition from the big web giants. That is why, as New Democrats, we have been calling for an end to this unfair system for years. It is why this bill is a good first step to even the playing field. The Liberal government has delayed this reform for many years, which has resulted in lost jobs and revenue for cultural workers. Why has the government allowed companies like Netflix to avoid paying their fair share of funding for our Canadian cultural content for so long? It is so important for people like Saffron who want a career in film to ensure that we are investing in Canadian content, in Canadian producers and curators. I just want to know why the government has taken so long to address this important need.
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Context: House Hansard - 176 - Mar/30/23
Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)
  • Mar/30/23 2:46:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, our government is always there to support our agricultural producers in different ways. We signed the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership, which will give $3.5 billion to the agricultural sector. When the Conservatives were in power, they cut funding for science and risk management programs. We are there to help producers in several ways.
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