Canadian Heritage

The committee met to study the 2026-27 main estimates for the Department of Canadian Heritage and its portfolio organizations. Appearing were Minister Marc Miller and officials Francis Bilodeau, Blair McMurren, Joëlle Montminy, and Andrew Brown.

Minister Miller opened by outlining $1.9 billion in proposed spending, including $471 million for arts and culture, $311 million for sport, $234 million for anti-racism and inclusion, $621 million for official languages, and $124 million for heritage and history programs, and stressed the importance of cultural sovereignty and local journalism in a changing global order. He defended the creative export strategy against criticism of specific grants, arguing that supporting start-ups involves risk and that the video game industry generates significant export revenue. On Bill C-18, he noted that Google is contributing $100 million annually but acknowledged difficult ongoing discussions with Meta, and he blamed Conservative delays in the Senate for slowing the bills' implementation. He also said the government is working on potential legislation to restrict young people's access to social media as part of a broader harm-reduction strategy.

Francis Bilodeau confirmed that Google is the only company currently paying into the Bill C-18 fund, with 459 recipients so far, and acknowledged that the number of small and independent media outlets has declined since the bill's passage, though he could not say whether the funding prevented further closures. He defended the department's $72,000 payment to Statistics Canada for an advance copy of a hate crime report as a normal co-funding arrangement. On the $99,500 grant to Toronto Palestinian Families, he said the matter is subject to legal proceedings and declined further comment. He also noted that the department is engaging with artists and industry on AI's impact on copyright and creative sectors.

Joëlle Montminy said the Canadian Journalism Collective, chosen by Google to distribute the $100 million fund, has been adjusting its governance to balance the needs of small, medium and large media outlets. She noted that the digital citizen initiative to counter disinformation has been scaled back as the department rethinks its approach, and she defended the 2025 budget's cultural investments as significant despite a difficult economic context, disagreeing with the characterization that cuts were made.

Blair McMurren highlighted the local news directory project and the changing narratives fund as tools to support diverse and minority community journalism. He also pointed to the digital citizen initiative's action research on misinformation and said the department is exploring how to support creative technology that helps artists police copyright infringement.

Andrew Brown detailed federal spending on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including $220 million for host cities, $100 million from budget 2025 for safety and security, and an additional $145 million from the spring economic statement. He also spoke about the Indigenous Languages Program, noting that most of Canada's 70 indigenous languages are endangered and that the review of the Indigenous Languages Act has been launched to advise on potential legislative changes.

Martin Champoux pressed for details on the proposed journalism labour tax credit, questioning the minister's $6 billion cost estimate and asking officials to provide more precise figures from Finance. He also expressed concern that the independent local news fund is depleted because digital giants have not contributed, and that small theatre and performing arts organizations feel forgotten by recent budgets. Bilodeau and Montminy reiterated that the department is aware of these concerns and that cultural funding remains strong overall.

Bernard Généreux asked about the department's advertising budget, and Bilodeau confirmed it was $709,000 for 2025-26, with about $100,000 going to GAFAM, while noting that the government's overall $80 million advertising budget is managed centrally by the Privy Council Office. Généreux also requested a copy of the Statistics Canada report the department paid $72,000 for, and Bilodeau agreed to provide it.

Andrew Lawton criticized Bill C-18 for failing to prevent the decline of small media outlets and argued that the CBC should not receive 7% of the Google fund. He also questioned the effectiveness of the creative export program, citing specific games with low review counts. Bilodeau maintained that the fund is contributing to sustainability and that the department cannot assess what would have happened without it.

Kerry Diotte raised concerns about CBC bias, citing a report from HonestReporting Canada on coverage of the Hamas-Israel war. Bilodeau said the department is aware of the report and of dissenting voices within journalism, and noted that the CBC has an ombud process for complaints, while emphasizing the importance of the public broadcaster's independence from government.

The committee then voted on all main estimates, passing each vote on division, and agreed to report the main estimates 2026-27, less the amount voted in interim supply, to the House.