Speeches
On the occasion of the Creation of the Canada Periodical Fund
Montréal, Quebec
February 17, 2009

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Ladies and gentlemen,
Friends,

I am happy to be back in Montréal and I am pleased to meet with you this morning, because I have some very good news to announce.

I see that, among you, there are publishers of community newspapers, online publications, and local magazines. Some of you have probably participated in the consultations that we held over the last year to improve support for the periodical sector.

I'm pleased to tell you that our Government has done its homework. We have evaluated the existing programs. We listened to what you had to say. And we took into account your needs and those of your Canadian readers to modernize our periodical support programs.

Our goal is clear: to offer Canadian publishers a simple and effective program so that they can continue to provide readers with a broad range of quality Canadian periodicals.

Today, I am pleased to announce that we have achieved our goal with the creation of the Canada Periodical Fund.

This announcement is completely in keeping with the spirit of our last Budget, which makes up for the eventual end to the $15 million in funding provided by Canada Post in this area. We will dedicate a total of $75.5 million a year to Canadian periodicals for the next two years.

We are experiencing a period of economic uncertainty, and advertising income is decreasing. In this context, continued, stable financing is essential to the tens of thousands of Canadians who work in your sector. And it is also true for the millions of Canadians who read your publications.

The funds reserved in the Budget will allow us to help you do your work, while, at the same time, we prepare to implement the new Fund.

The Canada Periodical Fund will replace two current programs: the Canada Magazine Fund and the Publications Assistance Program.

The creation of a program managed by a single department — Canadian Heritage — will give publishers more choice. They will be able to use the services of Canada Post or of any other provider. I think of alternative distribution methods, of small businesses who serve rural areas, and even of such businesses as FedEx or Purolator.

Publishers will also have the opportunity to use funds to create digital content in order to adapt to Canadians' consumer practices.

Online publishers never stop innovating and work in an environment that is constantly evolving. We will reserve a certain amount of funding to encourage them to offer access to Canadian culture to their readers across the country.

I would also like to assure you that until the new Canada Periodical Fund is in place next year, the existing programs will remain in effect.

A recent survey found that nearly nine out of ten Canadians think it is important to have access to Canadian magazines.1 By maintaining the level of funding to periodicals and streamlining support programs, our Government is helping respond to this desire, while managing taxpayer money in a responsible way.

The end result is that Canadian readers like you and me will have a wide choice of quality publications, produced at home, about things that interest us. In addition, the publishing industry will be able to continue to contribute to our economy and our quality of life.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Canadian publishers on doing a tremendous job. Thank you for your warm welcome, and have a great day.

© 2009 James Moore - All rights reserved
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