Good afternoon and welcome, minister.

My question is along the same lines as Senator Dawson’s and Senator Joyal’s questions. This morning you announced the creation of a panel of experts, and I applaud their level of expertise. The panel is supposed to release its report in January 2020, 18 months from now. However, everyone knows that it usually takes several months from the time a report is released until legislation can be introduced. My concern is for the future. Meanwhile, Canadians continue to pay twice as much for the container as they do for the content. Bandwidth revenues are twice as high as revenues from access to content. Print media is clearly experiencing a crisis, as are most media platforms. CBC/Radio-Canada is not necessarily my only concern.

In concrete terms, how do you intend and how would you be able to quickly respond at the right time when crises arise, which is inevitable, without responding that you are waiting for a report or the amendment of legislation?

Hon. Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P., Minister of Canadian Heritage: Thank you, senator.

First, the committee will present an interim report by June 2019, and at that time we will have a good idea of the proposed solutions.

Let’s go back a few years. First of all, when I was appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage, I made the digital shift my priority. At the time, not many people were talking about digital issues. We held consultations on protecting and promoting content in the digital age in order to protect our sector and make it more resilient.

Then I announced a cultural policy that clearly indicated that we should adapt the mandate of our cultural institutions, in particular the Canada Media Fund, in order to properly support the transition at a time when our production and media sectors were facing challenges.

I announced a $172-million investment to support the Canada Media fund, and we invested a total of $3.2 billion in culture, which was the largest investment in 30 years.

Nevertheless, I realize that the different sectors — the music, film, television, and media industries — are extremely worried about the upheaval they are experiencing. However, the reality is that we have to get things right and draft sound legislation. We also have to work with the various industries to determine what is the best way to expand the contribution of Canadian and international stakeholders to our system.

There is currently no jurisdiction in the world that hasn’t modified their broadcasting system. One of your colleagues mentioned that the European Union had moved forward, but that is not the case. They are still in talks. We are also looking at what is going on abroad. It goes without saying that Canada is a minority in North America and that we must protect our culture and Canadian voices.

I want to add that we know full well that Internet access is very expensive in Canada. Internet costs in Canada are among the highest in OECD countries. As part of this review, my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and I will also be making affordable Internet access a priority.