1998-1999 BUDGET:

$49 MILLION TO SUPPORT CULTURE AND THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

(Québec City, March 31, 1998)—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for the Economy and Finance Bernard Landry has announced in his 1998-1999 Budget Speech a series of measures intended to support culture and cultural industries. "Such support is intended for an industry that creates jobs, expresses the Québec soul and serves as a mirror for our society," Mr. Landry opined.

The measures announced centre primarily on three objectives:

— support the policy respecting reading and books;
— consolidate major cultural institutions;
— develop the cultural industries.

SUPPORT THE POLICY ON READING AND BOOKS

In order to promote reading in Québec, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that $25 million in funding will be earmarked over the next three years to help public libraries purchase books, to promote reading and books, and to finance the networking and computerization of libraries.

CONSOLIDATE QUÉBEC’S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Assistance for the restoration of the religious heritage and the upgrading of cultural facilities

The budget allocated to the program to support the restoration and preservation of the religious heritage will be increased by $15 million to cover the restoration of several religious buildings. "Some of the buildings are gems of Québec’s heritage," the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out.

Some $15 million in additional funding will be used to finance various cultural facilities, including public libraries.

Stabilization of cultural organizations experiencing financial problems

Assistance totalling $4 million over two years will be provided to shore up the financial situation of cultural organizations in difficulty. Three quarters of this amount will help alleviate the critical indebtedness of the Théâtre du Trident, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

Enhancement of the tax treatment of charitable donations

The tax treatment of charitable donations will be enhanced. In particular, taxpayers will be eligible for tax assistance respecting donations, equivalent to up to 75% of their income. "These enhancements will be of particular benefit to Québec private museums, which will be able to take greater advantage of the generosity of Quebecers to enrich their valuable collections," Mr. Landry added.

DEVELOP QUÉBEC’S CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

The globalization of trade and technological developments is having particularly striking repercussions in the culture and communications sector. "Despite our recent inroads on international markets, our cultural industries are operating on an increasingly demanding market. The government must not only help Québec cultural enterprises penetrate foreign markets but it must also create in Québec a propitious climate for the cultural industries," Mr. Landry continued.

Broadening of the role of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC)

To enable SODEC to efficiently serve Québec cultural enterprises, it will receive a $20-million advance to implement new financial tools and to establish a subsidiary whose share ownership will be open to the private sector.

Tax credit for the film and television industry

The existing tax credit for film and television productions will be enhanced in respect of special effects and computer animation. In addition, variety and magazine programs will be eligible for the tax credit for another year.

To encourage greater numbers of foreign producers to film in Québec, a new refundable tax credit will be introduced. It will be available to independent producers and television broadcasters.

Support for multimedia production

The refundable tax credit for multimedia titles will be significantly simplified in order to adapt it to conditions in the industry. The ceiling on assistance, expressed according to production costs, will be eliminated. From now on, the tax credit may be as high as 50% of labour costs.

Furthermore, a loan guaranteed by SODEC will from now on be granted to enterprises that are unable to obtain the refundable tax credit for multimedia titles before the end of their fiscal year. The loan may total up to 75% of the estimated tax credit.

Information highway policy

To facilitate the implementation of the information highway policy that the government will unveil shortly, the Deputy Prime Minister announced $8 million in funding over two years. This policy will help mobilize Québec partners around a Québec information highway model and broaden the use of computers by individuals and businesses.

Development of new foreign markets

Some $4 million will be allocated over two years to enable cultural and communications organizations and enterprises to develop new markets abroad. "Our government has adopted the objective of seeing that 2 000 new small and medium-sized businesses export by the year 2000. Many of them will be cultural enterprises," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

FINANCIAL IMPACT OF MEASURES RESPECTING

CULTURE AND THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

(in millions of dollars)

SOURCE: ANDRÉE CORRIVEAU
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR
OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
TELEPHONE: (418) 643-5270

Gouvernement du Québec   |  © Gouvernement du Québec, 2001