I won't dispute that the magazines are probably terrible. They sound like dull, glossy, hetero softcore, which there really is enough of, but 1) the reasoning, "sexy pictures aren't culture," is asinine, and 2) so is Reader's Digest. 

Quebec producer and director Yanick Létourneau said he's outraged the Genex magazines benefit from public subsidies.

"When we see private companies like Genex get financial support and it's for magazines like Summum and Summum Girl, we have to ask ourselves serious questions about what is going on in Canada in terms of cultural financing."

Summum's editor-in-chief Alain Rochette defended the grants and said the magazines are "easy targets" because they cater to a niche market in Quebec.

"We're doing something that not that many are doing here, and that's producing content that's glamour and sexy."

Rochette points out that other Canadian magazines such as Reader's Digest and TVA Publications enjoy larger grants than his publications.