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OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Josée Verner secretly opposes a government bill that Canada's entertainment industry has decried as censorship, says the Conservative chair of the Senate committee that is examining the legislation.
During a break in Senate banking committee hearings on Thursday, Senator David Angus turned to a Conservative colleague and chatted about Bill C-10, which would, among other things, deny tax credits to productions the government deems offensive. The senator didn't realize his microphone was on and the camera running.
“The government has to bite the bullet,” Mr. Angus said of the proposed law, which had just been ripped apart by representatives of the film and television sector.
“This is policy. The thing is, you say, it's out there floating around. The minister agrees. She told me she hates the law. And then, you know, what we want is a sort of a moratorium so we can get … these fuckers don't want to see …” Then the tape cuts out.
Canada's Heritage Minister Josee Verner speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa April 10, 2008. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
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Before the end of the day, the exchange had been posted on the internet.
Mr. Angus did not return calls yesterday. But even during the hearing he made it clear that he is not relishing the debate over the tax-credit legislation.
When Liberal Senator George Baker suggested sending the bill back to the House of Commons because MPs – who gave it unanimous consent – acknowledge they didn't know what they were voting for, Mr. Angus said: “I rule that question to be totally in order.”
Ms. Verner had appeared at an earlier committee meeting to defend the bill. But the minister would not discuss the matter yesterday.
Opposition members, on the other hand, were happy to offer an opinion.
“We don't have any reason to doubt the Hon. David Angus. He is the chair,” Denis Coderre, the Liberal Heritage critic, said in a telephone interview.
“I think [Ms. Verner] will have a very tough time to remain as the minister if she is playing like that all the time. Can we trust her now?”
Ms. Verner's alleged opposition to the bill was also raised in the House of Commons.
“What is clear now is that the minister has no say on the most important policies affecting Canadian artists and creators. She is only there to enforce the censorship agenda of the Prime Minister's Office,” Liberal MP Pablo Rodrigues said during the daily Question Period.
“If the minister hates the policy so much, why is she allowing herself to be used to implement right-wing ideologies? What is she afraid of?”
