Now, I have always suspected that facts and science stir fear in the hearts of some members opposite, but why is the minister so afraid of librarians?

Hon. James Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are very frightened of librarians. No, what the member is referring to is a code of conduct that was put in place by Daniel Caron, who is the head of Library and Archives Canada. The member should know, as well, that Library and Archives Canada operates at arm’s length. We were not consulted on the code of conduct.

If there are controversies about the code of conduct, and I gather there are because the member for Vancouver Quadra asked this question earlier, I invite my colleague and the heritage critic for the NDP to invite Daniel Caron to come before committee to explain the code of conduct and to dispel any myths that the NDP seems to be spreading.

The text of the letter follows:

February 22, 2013

Mr. Andrew Cash
Member of Parliament for Davenport
House of Commons
Confederation Building, Suite 835
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Cash:

This is further to your letter of February 21, 2013, in which you asked me to confirm your understanding of the advice given to you by my Office with respect to the royalty income you receive from the CBC show Dragon’s Den.

In September 201 I, my Office advised you that section 13 of the Conflict of Interest
Code for Members of the House of Commons (Code) does not prohibit you from participating in debates or votes involving the CBC where, in accordance with section 13.1 of the Code, the matter in question is of general application or affects you as one of a broad class of the public as set out in subsection 3(3).

Yesterday, in response to a request from my Office and further to recent media attention, you provided a list of the debates and votes in which you participated, both at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and in the House of Commons, that involved the CBC. These included five votes in Committee on main estimates, which included general CBC funding, one debate in Committee in which you questioned the President of the CBC about its five-year strategic plan and four instances in which you asked broad questions touching on the CBC in the House of Commons.

In light of my previous advice as well as my review of the information that you have provided, I can confirm that, to date, the matters in question in the debates and votes in which you have participated affect you as one of a broad class and, therefore, that you met your obligations under the Code in doing so.

Making recusal decisions pursuant to section 13 of the Code will always depend on the particular factual circumstances at issue. Whether your participation in any debate or vote is permitted under the Code must be determined, in accordance with section 13.1, on the basis of whether your own private interest falls within the exceptions set out in subsection 3(3) of the Code.

The matter must be determined on a case-by-case basis. I would therefore encourage you to continue to communicate with my Office in respect of any debate or vote in which you intend to participate that involves the CBC or on any other matter that engages your obligations under the Code.

Sincerely,

Mary Dawson
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner

Click here to view the letter I sent to Ms Dawson asking her to confirm that no conflict occurred

Often when we think of the arts in Canada, the opera, the ballet and the symphony come to mind. However, it is in the ramshackle clubs, the backrooms, the storefronts and the church basements of the nation where most of the artists that Canada is so rightly proud of first learned their craft.

The Horseshoe has always been a leader in this tradition, providing a valuable training ground for at the time unknowns from Stompin’ Tom to Nickelback, k.d. lang to The Tragically Hip, and even a couple of future MPs. No one does this kind of thing because it makes a lot of money. People do it because they love music. They want to share that music and they believe in the great talent that we have here in Canada.

Today I want to pay tribute to one of the longest-running live music venues in North America by wishing a happy 65th anniversary to the Horseshoe Tavern. Thanks for helping put Canadian music on the map.

Grammy Award winner Leslie Feist, award winning documentary film maker Barry Stevens, cutting edge choreographer and educator Holly Small, local park visionary Jutta Mason, Horseshoe Tavern roots rock impresario Jeff Cohen, leaders in the Luso-Canadian community of Toronto including Rui Gomes, Armando Viegas, Salome Goncalves and Matthew Correia are just some of the many dedicated community advocates, volunteers, students and artists who will receive this medal.

The medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. Each Member of Parliament was given 30 medals to present to constituents who have made significant contributions to their communities.

Recipients were selected by a community advisory committee led by Andrew Cash, based on nominations from community members and Toronto based organizations.

For more information contact: Stephanie Nakitsas, Office of Andrew Cash, 647 308 9293

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee recipients nominated by Andrew Cash

Maria da Conceição has volunteered for St Christopher House for over 20 years.

Jeff Cohen is a longtime indie and roots music impresario and owner of the Horseshoe Tavern, the iconic Canadian music destination for the world.

Matthew Correia is a young leader in the Portuguese community working with youth he has dedicated countless hours through his work with Casa Dos Acores.

Leslie Feist is a Grammy award winning singer songwriter and performer.

Rui Gomes has been President of the First Portuguese Canadian Cultural Centre (FPCCC) since 2008 and a longtime leader in the community.

Salomé Gonçalves has dedicated hours upon hours to the Portuguese community in Toronto through his work as the long serving President of Casa da Madeira.

Ann Homan is the Chair and a committed member of the local community organization, Dupont Improvement Group (DIG IN)

John Hood’s large-scale murals dot the landscape of rural and urban Ontario, creating a “mural route” through the province’s diverse regions.

Luanda Jones is a rising star in Toronto’s Brazilian Canadian music community.

Mary Kuzyk is the concertmaster for the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. She continues to bring her musical talents to the New Horizons senior’s residence.

Sarah Lockett is the founder and Director of the Ontario School of Ballet (OSB) and is active with the Regal Heights BIA.

Eva MacDonald is a Director of the Friends of Fort York, an organization dedicated to advocating for the Fort.

Dyan Marie is one of the driving forces of many of Bloordale’s most creative projects including the BIG on Bloor Festival.

Jutta Mason’s vision of the ‘community centre without walls,’ and her tireless advocacy has led to the creation of one of Toronto’s most unique innovative park program at Dufferin Grove one of Davenport’s most central neighbourhood institutions.

Catherine Oliver is a longtime family physician at Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre.

Percy Page is a volunteer at New Horizons seniors residence and at the Scott Mission Shelter.

Marcie Ponte is the Executive Director of the dynamic community hub for newcomers to Canada–Working Women Community Centre

Sergio Sarmento , Maria Zelia Tavares and Elizabete Dias are committed volunteers with the various seniors programs at the Abrigo Centre.

Dave Skelton is a dedicated volunteer with the West Toronto Services for Seniors Meals on Wheels program.

Holly Small is a celebrated choreographer and educator.

Opal Sparks is a tireless community leader at FoodShare and The Stop Community Food Centre.

Barry Stevens is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose latest work is the groundbreaking series War Story.

Jacquie Thomas is the Artistic Director of Theatre Gargantua.

Armando Viegas is a leader in the Portuguese community through his dedicated volunteer work at Casa Do Alentejo.

Carine Araujo, Avi Hernandez Camerino, Emil Joseph Cheriyan and Cindy Nguyen are exceptional young people who have excelled academically and have dedicated countless hours to volunteer work in their community.

——————————————————————————–

Toronto — O deputado neo-democrata Andrew Cash (Davenport) tem o prazer de anunciar os nomes dos trinta dirigentes comunitários e personalidades de Toronto que serão galardoados com a Medalha do Jubileu de Diamante, cerimónia a realizar no salão Lula, na quinta-feira, 7 de fevereiro.

Entre os laureados contam-se: Leslie Feist, vencedora de um prémio Grammy; Barry Stevens, documentarista laureado; Holly Small, coreógrafa e educadora de vanguarda; Jutta Mason, visionária de um parque local; Jeff Cohen, proprietário do bar Horseshoe Tavern e empresário de música roots rock; líderes da comunidade luso-canadiana de Toronto, entre os quais Rui Gomes, Armando Viegas, Salomé Gonçalves e Matthew Correia – são apenas alguns dos muitos apoiantes, voluntários, estudantes e artistas comunitários dedicados que irão receber aquela medalha.

A medalha foi criada para assinalar o 60º aniversário da subida ao trono de Sua Majestade a Rainha Isabel II. Cada deputado parlamentar recebeu 30 medalhas, as quais visam galardoar os cidadãos que tenham contribuído de forma significativa para a sua comunidade.

Os laureados foram escolhidos por um comité consultivo comunitário liderado por Andrew Cash, com base nas nomeações dos elementos comunitários e das organizações sediadas em Toronto.

Para mais informação, contactar: Stephanie Nakitsas, gabinete do sr. Andrew Cash, 647 308 9293

Laureados com a medalha do Jubileu de Diamante da Rainha nomeados por Andrew Cash

Maria da Conceição, há mais de vinte anos a prestar serviço para a Casa de São Cristóvão.

Jeff Cohen, empresário independente e de longa data dedicado à música roots, é o proprietário do bar Horseshoe Tavern, icónico destino musical canadiano no mundo.

Matthew Correia, jovem líder da comunidade portuguesa, tem dedicado inúmeras horas a trabalhar com jovens na Casa dos Açores.

Leslie Feist é compositora, artista e cantora, já vencedora de um prémio Grammy.

Rui Gomes tem sido presidente do Primeiro Centro Cultural Luso-Canadiano desde 2008 e dirigente comunitário de longa data.

Salomé Gonçalves tem dedicado um número incontável de horas de trabalho à comunidade portuguesa de Toronto na sua qualidade de presidente da Casa da Madeira.

Ann Homan é a presidente e um elemento dedicado do grupo Dupont Improvement Group (DIG IN), uma organização comunitária local.

As pinturas murais de grande escala executadas por John Hood marcam o panorama rural e urbano do Ontário, criando uma “rota mural” pelas diversas regiões da província.

Luanda Jones é uma estrela em ascensão na comunidade musical brasileira-canadiana de Toronto.

Mary Kuzyk, violinista principal da Orquestra de Mandolim de Toronto, continua a apresentar os seus talentos musicais no lar da terceira idade New Horizons.

Sarah Lockett, fundadora e diretora da Escola de Bailado do Ontário, é um elemento ativo da organização Regal Heights BIA.

Eva MacDonald é diretora da organização Amigos do Forte de Iorque, a qual se dedica a iniciativas de apoio ao forte.

Dyan Marie é uma das forças impulsionadoras dos projetos mais criativos de Bloordale, entre os quais a aliança BIG on Bloor Festival.

A visão de Jutta Mason em relação ao ‘centro comunitário sem barreiras’ e seu ativismo incansável originou a criação de um dos mais inovadores e exclusivos projetos de parques em Toronto – Dufferin Grove, uma das mais centralizadas instituições do bairro Davenport.

Catherine Oliver é médica de família de longa data no Centro Comunitário e de Saúde do Bairro Davenport-Perth.

Percy Page é voluntário no lar de idosos New Horizons e na instituição Scott Mission.

Marcie Ponte é diretora executiva do dinâmico núcleo comunitário para recém-chegados ao Canadá – a organização Working Women Community Centre.

Sérgio Sarmento, Maria Zélia Tavares e Elizabete Dias são voluntários envolvidos em diversos programas para a terceira idade no centro Abrigo.

Dave Skelton é voluntário dedicado do programa “Refeições ao domicílio”, da organização West Toronto Services for Seniors.

Holly Small é uma famosa coreógrafa e educadora.

Opal Sparks é uma incansável líder comunitária das organizações FoodShare e Stop Community Food Centre.

Barry Stevens é um documentarista galardoado cujo último trabalho é a série inovadora War Story.

Jacquie Thomas é diretora artística do Teatro Gargantua.

Armando Viegas é um dos líderes da comunidade portuguesa pelo seu trabalho voluntário e dedicado na Casa do Alentejo.

Carine Araújo, Avi Hernandez Camerino, Emil Joseph Cheriyan e Cindy Nguyen são jovens extraordinários que se distinguiram academicamente e têm dedicado inúmeras horas ao voluntariado na sua comunidade.

Canada’s history is more than just the War of 1812. Canadians know that. Why does this minister not?

Hon. James Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Postal Museum is part of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Canadian Museum of Civilization just received $25 million more to become the Canadian Museum of History. We are very proud of that investment and we are proud of this museum.

Contrary to the New Democrats’ understanding, when we add $25 million more to the budget to enlarge the museum’s mandate to make it more pan-Canadian in terms of its content, to include the Canadian Postal Museum and much more, we are strengthening the largest museum in Canada to do what it does so well, which is to teach Canadian history to all Canadians, whether New Democrats understand it or not.

Those watching this debate at home may be scratching their heads about the title of the bill. Canadians know that if there is one thing the government has failed on, it is accountability and transparency. The Conservatives attack every group in the country that does not agree with their right-wing agenda and they enforce transparency and accountability rules that they refuse to follow.

We only need remind ourselves of the $50 million spent in the G8-G20 debacle in the riding of the President of the Treasury Board. We are now debating the fact that the government spent millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, of dollars on a botched F-35 process that did not go out to public tender. The government has no credibility with regard to accountability and transparency. Canadians are right to be concerned about this. Certainly first nations communities have almost unanimously rejected the proposal before the House today.

A concern that we and many leaders in first nations communities have is the gathering of more power in the minister’s office. We see this as a trend with the government. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is telling museums how to curate. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration wants to be the sole arbitrator on who is allowed to come to our country and who is not. The Minister of Public Safety wants to look at emails. Now, with this legislation. the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development would be allow to withhold funds to first nations communities if these onerous accountability and disclosure rules were not followed the way in which the legislation would require them to do.

This is the kind of thing the government does routinely. Whether it is an NGO, union or first nations community, the government looks for ways to keep these groups under the burden of massive accountability and disclosure regimes in order to hamstring them.

There are real issues in first nations communities, which first nations have brought up with the government. They and we on this side of the House expect the government to work with first nations communities to solve these problems and not just impose arbitrary rules on them, rules that are already in place. First nations communities are some of the most transparent organizations in the country and the rules are already on the books. However, what is not on the books is the fact that the government has failed first nations communities. It has failed to discuss issues and engage with first nations communities. It cannot simply impose these requirements on communities that have their own systems and governance, which are extremely transparent.

I also want to discuss the fact that while the government refuses to address key issues in first nations communities, in some cases it requires the governance of those communities to, for example, post private information on websites. How does this enhance accountability, especially when the First Nations Regional Health Survey found that only 51% of first nations homes had Internet access and that dropped to 36% in homes with incomes under $25,000, the majority of which is on reserves?

That speaks to the issue of poverty and the lack of economic development and the lack of meaningful engagement on the part of the government with first nations communities to address the key concerns.

The government has told the management of band councils that it has to run through a million more hoops, put its information on a website in order to allow members to properly peruse the financial statements of first nations communities, when by and large the majority of the members on reserves would not be able to access that information online anyway. It begs the question as to how serious the government really is about this issue and what the real motivations are behind this kind of bill. We see this time and time again. The government uses one small example and casts a shadow over an entire organization, or an entire group or an entire nation in this case.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, another right-wing Conservative-friendly group, likes to make outrageous claims about first nations salaries. The average salary for chiefs is $60,000 and the average salary for councillors is $31,000. Fifty per cent of chiefs earn less than $60,000 and only five per cent earn more than $100,000. We are not talking about a system of financial abuse here, but this is the spin that gets put on this to justify this kind of legislation.

It is also important to look at this in the context of other legislative bodies in our country. For example, in Nova Scotia summaries of ministers’ expenses are located at the legislative library for public viewing. In the Northwest Territories the government only publishes travel expenses of ministers and does not require salary disclosure of elected officials or senior public servants.

More important, the rules are already in place that very much adjudicate the fulsome transparency that is required, that first nations communities expect for themselves. These requirements are strong and muscular and they also require communities to make these disclosures available to members.

What is confusing is the government has not really answered a question. If the government’s intent is to make these disclosures more available to members, then we can have that discussion. However, nowhere in this have we had that discussion, especially if the way the delivery of this public information is online when roughly only 36% of those on reserves can access the Internet. That is not a plan for more widespread access to this information.

The government is not really being serious about this issue and part of the reason is because the information is already available. Under the current requirements, first nations must submit to an annual audited consolidated financial statement for the public funds provided for them. These include salaries, honoraria and travel expenses for all elected, appointed and senior unelected band officials. The latter includes unelected positions such as those of executive director, band manager, senior program director and manager. First nations are also required to release these statements to their membership.

We have heard throughout the day that rules are on the books right now for proper disclosure, but that this is about making it accessible to the membership. First, the rules are already in place to make this information available and accessible to the membership and this legislation does not nearly address the key concerns of the communities.

The fact that the minister himself or herself would have the ability to arbitrarily withhold funds for schools, for social services, for water is unacceptable to us on this side of the House.

No doubt every one of them who is listening has taken offence to the speech we just heard from the other side. When we are talking about favouring some taxpayers over others, those guys on the other side of the aisle wrote the book on it. The Conservatives dole out heaps and heaps of delicious tax cuts to the wealthiest corporations in Canadian history, and then turn around and display once again how much they do not understand arts and culture in this country. They are still in that frame, where they think that artists go to galas and sip champagne.

I would point out to the Conservative members who represent ridings in the greater Toronto area, in Vancouver, and on the East Coast that artists are significant contributors to the local economy. They are engaged in their communities. In many communities across this country, when communities are grappling with issues such as violence, unemployment or youth disengagement, they often turn to the arts and culture sector, and the expertise that has been developed over many years in their communities by artists, for solutions to some of the more difficult community issues that we need to grapple with in our society.

I want to start there because it is clear that if the government misses this opportunity, it is just one more wasted opportunity to actually nurture this sector, which even by the most conservative accounts—and their numbers are lower than the Conference Board of Canada’s numbers, and in fact about half of the latter’s—has a significant economic footprint in this country.

What we need to be doing is crafting policy that nurtures and supports an emerging, stable, vibrant, middle-class of artists in Canadian society. That is not what is happening right now. I think the government likes the situation as it is right now, because it fits its neoconservative, neoliberal frame, which is either feast or famine. In the arts and culture sector, that is exactly the situation. That is one of the things this bill seeks to address.

I have sat on the heritage committee since I got here in May 2011. It is clear that many parliamentarians, and certainly many members on the government side, do not understand how artists make a living in Canada and the fact that by and large most artists live below the poverty line and yet contribute in a very robust and muscular way to the economy. It is a construct that is completely skewed against them.

One of the reasons it is skewed against them is that much of our employment policy, much of our policy around our social safety net, is predicated on stable employment over a stable, consecutive period of time. Well, that is just not how artists work.

In fact right now we are studying the video game industry at the heritage committee. This is an emerging industry that employs artists, actors, and musicians. It is a new and vibrant industry, and we are looking at ways in which we can nurture it, because the industry could potentially be an even bigger job creator. It creates jobs for artists, and it creates jobs for other people too.

That is another point, because artists create jobs for other people. If we look at the Conference Board of Canada’s numbers, artists are significant economic engines. Oftentimes, they are really individual, sole proprietorship, freelance operators. They almost always have no access to employment insurance during those periods they cannot find work. They are rarely able to access CPP. They do not get sick leave. They do not get bereavement leave. They do not get parental leave of any sort. They basically have to work every day. Even if they do not have work, they are out hustling other work.

What a measure like this would do is take a realistic look at how an artist makes a living.

We are not in the 1950s any more, folks on the other side. We are just not. I know that is a hard message for some of them to get. However, we are not. We are not in an economic reality now where people get jobs when they leave school, work for the same company for 40 years and retire with a decent pension that allows them to live in dignity. We are not in that situation any more, in part because of the policies of the government on the other side.

Artists, on some levels, are the canary in the coal mine when we look at the way the economy is going, when we look at the employment that is out there. When we look at the latter, we see serial contract employment. We see young people who are working in multiple part-time jobs, we see young people who are working as contractors for a couple of months, then looking for other work. We see people who are classed as freelance employers or self-employed, whereas maybe even as recently as a couple of years ago, they would have been classed as employed. However, their employers have now deemed them to be self-employed in order to cut down on their own costs, which is something that the government turns a blind eye to.

We are not going to turn a blind eye to the realities of work today, especially in our urban centres, and we are not going to turn a blind eye to artists. In fact, I am very proud to speak in support of my colleague’s bill today because it would deliver on a promise that we made, a promise that Jack Layton and the whole team made in the 2011 election around income averaging. This is an expression of how we view tax fairness in our society.

The Conservatives’ idea of tax fairness is to give taxpayer dollars to the wealthiest corporations, which then turn around and close factories and go somewhere else. I am sorry, but that is not what we are here to do. That is not what this party, the NDP, stands for. This bill underlines part of the policy that we are building toward in this party. This bill represents a larger vision, but is also something that has very much been supported in the arts and culture sector in Canada.

I do want to say that the concept that many people have about the arts and culture sector is that people just sit around, sip champagne, get grants from government and produce nothing. However, what we are talking about today are workers, arts workers, in a milieu that is difficult for many of us to understand because we have not taken the time to understand it. I think one of the things I am most proud of is that my hon. friend from Jeanne-Le Ber has taken the time to craft a well-thought-out bill that has been costed. I am very proud to speak on its behalf and on behalf of the artists’s who live in my riding of Davenport and right across the country.

When the minister does not like an art exhibit or an organization or the name of a rock band, an unmistakeable chill gets sent out across the land.

Canada is big, complex and diverse. Do we really want to have our arts and culture sector governed out of the office of one politician in this country?

Mr. Paul Calandra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, as I said with respect to this organization, after 35 years it is still receiving some 60% of its budget from hard-working taxpayers. It is time it moved to a different system of financing, one where it asks the people who support it, the stakeholders, to contribute a little more.

This government is making a lot of investments in arts and culture. The NDP continues to vote against all of those investments. We are bringing our investments throughout the country. We are supporting festivals. We are supporting community theatre. We are making the types of investments that will lead to better jobs, better opportunities and better results for our artists across this country.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker:
Order, please. I do not think the member was finished his question. I will ask members to hold off their applause until he does so.

The hon. member for Davenport.

Mr. Andrew Cash:
—or how about the Preston Manning beautiful minds?

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker:
Order, please. I do not want to have to ask hon. members once again to hold off on their applause. I hope the hon. member for Davenport will get to his question.

Mr. Andrew Cash:
Mr. Speaker, the reaction underlines the fact that the Conservatives are relentlessly re-branding everything in their image and Canadian taxpayers are footing the bill for this.

What exactly is it about civilization that scares the government?

Hon. James Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on finally making it through a question.

We believe in our national institutions. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is a fantastic museum that has served Canadians incredibly well. We believe in our national museums. We will build upon the success of all of our museums going forward.

If we have any changes in mind, I will make sure that he is among the very first to know. If the member has any ideas, we are open to hearing them as well.