Senator Cormier: Thank you very much for the question, Senator Richards. Actually, what I am speaking about is not at all ideology and politics. What I’m speaking about here is a consideration of the ecosystems in which the artists are working, no matter where they are on the Canadian territory. I think it’s important in that context that we keep that in mind.

In terms of policies and strategies from the federal government, in terms of taking into account what type of ecosystems the artists are working in — and there are different ecosystems depending on where you live in Canada; it’s not ideology, it’s more the context in which they are working — I think it’s important that we take that into account.

I have been working in the cultural sector for 40 years, and I think that although the federal government can be generous to artists, sometimes our policies don’t take enough into account the different realities in this country.

I applaud the content of the bill that speaks about the rights of the artist to express themselves, do the work they want to do and express themselves as they wish to do, but in this type of bill I think it would be great to take into consideration the context and help the Minister of Canadian Heritage to be aware of that. Although I can trust the minister, I think that in terms of federal policies — especially in culture because, as you know, culture is from provincial and territorial jurisdictions. That is where culture is in Canada. I think that’s what I mean by that. But I want to reassure you, Senator Richards, I would be the first person to rise and say, “No ideology for the artists.” The artists have to be free to create, and they have to receive the right tools. To receive the right tools, we have to make sure that —