Recommendations made by the House of Commons finance committee for the 2017 federal budget include increased support for the Canadian publishing industry.

In a report titled Creating the Conditions for Economic Growth: Tools for People, Business and Communities, released on Dec. 9, the committee recommends that “the Government of Canada support Canada’s cultural sector by increasing funding for the Canada Book Fund,” a government program that provides financial aid to publishers for the production, marketing, and distribution of books by Canadian authors. The fund has not seen an increase in government support for more than 15 years.

The report’s introduction cites slowing economic growth around the world as the main theme guiding the committee’s recommendations for the coming fiscal year: “the Committee recognized that Canada’s people, businesses and communities all have something to contribute as the country pursues higher and sustained economic growth.”

The committee viewed nearly 300 in-person presentations and more than 400 online submissions in pre-budget hearings that began in June.

Christen Thomas, executive director of the Literary Press Group of Canada, says she was pleased to hear the committee’s recommendation. “This integral source of support for Canadian publishing has been flatlined,” she says. “We’re looking forward with optimism for this recommendation to be realized.”

Canada’s next federal budget will be tabled prior to the end of government’s fiscal year on March 31.