Skip to main content <#maincontent>
We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!
Internet Archive logo A line drawing of the Internet Archive
headquarters building façade.
Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass.
Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass.
Upload icon An illustration of a horizontal line over an up pointing
arrow. Upload
User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up
| Log in
Web icon An illustration of a computer application window
Wayback Machine
Texts icon An illustration of an open book.
Books
Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip.
Video
Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker.
Audio
Software icon An illustration of a 3.5" floppy disk.
Software
Images icon An illustration of two photographs.
Images
Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape
Donate
Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses.
More
Hamburger icon An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by
interacting with this icon.
Internet Archive Audio
Live Music Archive Librivox Free
Audio
Featured
* All Audio
* This Just In
* Grateful Dead
* Netlabels
* Old Time Radio
* 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
Top
* Audio Books & Poetry
* Computers, Technology and Science
* Music, Arts & Culture
* News & Public Affairs
* Spirituality & Religion
* Podcasts
* Radio News Archive
Images
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Featured
* All Images
* This Just In
* Flickr Commons
* Occupy Wall Street Flickr
* Cover Art
* USGS Maps
Top
* NASA Images
* Solar System Collection
* Ames Research Center
Software
Internet Arcade Console
Living Room
Featured
* All Software
* This Just In
* Old School Emulation
* MS-DOS Games
* Historical Software
* Classic PC Games
* Software Library
Top
* Kodi Archive and Support File
* Vintage Software
* APK
* MS-DOS
* CD-ROM Software
* CD-ROM Software Library
* Software Sites
* Tucows Software Library
* Shareware CD-ROMs
* Software Capsules Compilation
* CD-ROM Images
* ZX Spectrum
* DOOM Level CD
Books
Books to Borrow Open Library
Featured
* All Books
* All Texts
* This Just In
* Smithsonian Libraries
* FEDLINK (US)
* Genealogy
* Lincoln Collection
Top
* American Libraries
* Canadian Libraries
* Universal Library
* Project Gutenberg
* Children's Library
* Biodiversity Heritage Library
* Books by Language
* Additional Collections
Video
TV News Understanding 9/11
Featured
* All Video
* This Just In
* Prelinger Archives
* Democracy Now!
* Occupy Wall Street
* TV NSA Clip Library
Top
* Animation & Cartoons
* Arts & Music
* Computers & Technology
* Cultural & Academic Films
* Ephemeral Films
* Movies
* News & Public Affairs
* Spirituality & Religion
* Sports Videos
* Television
* Videogame Videos
* Vlogs
* Youth Media
Search the history of over 835 billion web pages
on the Internet.
Search the Wayback Machine
Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass.
Mobile Apps
* Wayback Machine (iOS)
* Wayback Machine (Android)
Browser Extensions
* Chrome
* Firefox
* Safari
* Edge
Archive-It Subscription
* Explore the Collections
* Learn More
* Build Collections
Save Page Now
Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in
the future.
Please enter a valid web address
* About
* Blog
* Projects
* Help
* Donate
* Contact
* Jobs
* Volunteer
* People
* Sign up for free
* Log in
Search metadata
Search text contents
Search TV news captions
Search radio transcripts
Search archived web sites
Advanced Search
* About
* Blog
* Projects
* Help
* Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape
* Contact
* Jobs
* Volunteer
* People
Full text of "A sense of place, a sense of being : the evolving role
of the federal government in support of culture in Canada : ninth
report "
See other formats
31
(>
xX
sO
g HOUSE OF COMMONS
74 CANADA
Report of the Standing Committee
on Canadian Heritage
3 1761 1197030
A Sense of Place, A Sense of Being:
The Evoiving Role of the Federal Government
in Support of Culture in Canada
Clifford Lincoln, M.P.
Chair
June 1999
The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part, for use in schools and for other purposes
suchas private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires
the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs in whole or in part,
must be obtained from their authors.
Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca
Available from Public Works and Government Services Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
The Evolving Role of the Federal Government in
Support of Culture in Canada
Ninth Report
Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
June 1999
be
be Publications Service
MEMBERS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON
CANADIAN HERITAGE
CHAIR
Clifford Lincoln, M.P., for Lac-Saint-Louis
VICE-CHAIRS
Ted McWhinney, M.P., for Vancouver Quadra
Inky Mark, M.P., for Dauphin—Swan River
MEMBERS
Mauril Bélanger, M.P., for Ottawa-Vanier
Paul Bonwick, M.P., for Simcoe—Grey
Sarmite Bulte, M.P., for Parkdale—High Park
Maurice Dumas, M.P., for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
John Godfrey, M.P., for Don Valley West
Joe Jordan, M.P., for Leeds—Grenville
Raymond Lavigne, M.P., for Verdun—Saint-Henri
Wendy Lill, M.P., for Darmouth
Eric Lowther, M.P., for Calgary Centre
Dennis Mills, M.P., for Broadview—Greenwood
Mark Muise, M.P., for West Nova
Jim Pankiw, M.P., for Saskatoon—Humboldt
Caroline St-Hilaire, M.P., for Longueuil
OTHER MEMBERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY
Chris Axworthy, M.P, for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar
Joe Comuzzi, M.P., for Thunder Bay—Superior North
Stan Dromisky, M.P., for Thunder Bay—Atikokan
Pat O’ Brien, M.P., for London—Fanshawe
Louis Plamondon, M.P., for Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour
Charlie Power, M.P., for St. John’s West
Jacques Saada, M.P., for Brossard—La Prairie
Benoit Sauvageau, M.P., for Repentigny
Suzanne Tremblay, M.P., for Rimouski—Mitis*
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, M.P., for Winnipeg North Centre
* Suzanne Tremblay was a permanent member of the Committee until March 1999.
CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE
Normand Radford
RESEARCH STAFF OF THE COMMITTEE
Research Branch, Library of Parliament
Joseph Jackson
Consultants
David Black
Gaston Blais
Kevin Burns
Wanda Noel
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2023 with funding from
University of Toronto
https://archive.org/details/31/61119703031
THE STANDING COMMITTEE
ON
CANADIAN HERITAGE
has the honour to present its
NINTH REPORT
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your Committee studied the Evolving Role of the Federal
Government in Support of Culture in Canada and reports its findings and recommendations.
bia eres ota "tesa pe
ofl kad betsongu ute Mabsbivibs! ‘te jee» boidtsligt saint
¢‘getliontyoD ailreral svtenngalt ane ‘crates 10a AT eh Asite vie .
thrabel oft tet nbisiv «nO! Ase ae oeeontow at: eek aie
_Suphiritwo> afte det edi Brothas banat AM ra ss S er frest vee
: gore
nb eayiafet: ef toss 08 Syitioine) sal bawrlhs elise nied of ae
: WY ; : pay,
dose ahd villnigstios bas mibleotesorg sonyoibobh ar + iu ont »
Say : ae
ariistb af} bebe ribanontenied to Vin wGiel sti tod singte dornseost orf Ho anne |
; i a — ee so a ~ ;
mvs aif fins Hoxie bivect tiv) tov ibhaay! avy wsté fnteg iMG 3x3 ot =
uf = to. gublptball) m1 osuiiamODaAt v1, oldvalsqdia caw abla .
Jaw ¥ “ee Vino ions Bris n dae pr naga sds Maes a sa :
Arto Satine 24gyoiasv ens (uid, ANG Maiiinthaino: Bri) cna ene 7
od ta we? axsies¥? sil i oonbizreas ih sof Taint srosridlahA toaalgacinT uct
oi o} Maiiovah Vl 131 InAs oviEwaintmbA ened silpbael ie hn egeimia 2
wonestonpIG Te ,aria-tosd DAB OME
»ayi -iaanatt bait 4 aan alent > “ousnesinY ent
tor Mi Oirur, yar iol eins itilnsd 11) To-Seeugud Peaqur-ailt tog i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEM EINES 0c aii eh) a el ee a cd oe vil
FOREWORD ee cee ee ee et aero nt en xiil
CHAPTER-ONE:-INSRODUCTION (|; 228. bay eee eehibbesampetek acs 1
Working withthe Bvidentéé oc Jaknagnieet iinet focus sdb criinbaesG: =.G-: 1
Defining Terms... . .,...: ¢:0) {2 ee eee ce a eerie eo ee 1
LivessEntiched 2 12)c5 RRR A TE N ee tes, 2 ee een in J eee: 3
Remembering the Past at. Cagudssceck ees. ios. 1s, dee BOMabeemmneee fo... -
Growing, Coniplexity of Caged: -0e ee ene ieeeet sc histo peas ane ee eae 5
Organization of the Report 4 VeljpeisePeiee ele AWOL oh ea ae ee SE gees 5
Organization by AGtivityiest .« ea. eae ee ere o-ke ot eee aa e Ie emeent 6
Acting. in.Partnershipn. 0... cuca ewes 1 uaa enn NORE Bee? ate at - 6
The Approach te\Making Recommendations ....:...0.. #elanecs bee Sida: - 8
A Sense of Place!s+A Senseof Béingya:ne 3. anibana) ataoaoities VnoneleniG ee - 9
CHAPTER’ TWO: CREATORS: oss ace pate i ae 11
In Support of Canadiat, Create witty ae car ieee trate cones a iene ec ac cere eee it
Grants to Individual Creatars: cv. sca caee sere tie es i cr ne et 14
Recommendation ba -. osceitvens ote cco osc ce eee ele ee es ea 16
Self-Employment: 0.565. 25 wyapcepig sg oe ele Oe ee eee a a recta on caer ee a gee 16
Recommendation 2s Js: Pao aes mene ee eee eee ree Sem ee iW
New Technologies — New Challlengess (ii % . dxay cr ta etantuy scat rns ¢ eed ener 18
Protecting Creators in the Information Society i. nae weet ee ea ae 19
Recommendation 3.) 0 hits pia eae ake ke oe Oey yt een ecg eevee 20
Intellectual Property and Copyneht caw Is ci Ongii ry awry meee eer ninee re oneme ae ere ees as 20
Recommendation:4 ” Jo sigue aus-e sat = lt ant ae Gieet oae mee emREo te eperresee ree aee Zt
Recommendation ove oe cso e aate eects eee ee ea re oA |
Status of the Artist ool. 0 0. Aik e oe penne epg ee eee eon ee ZL
Recommendation’G oo... oerkces eacie ae Ae eee ean ces ee ene erent 22
CHAPTER! THREE: TRAINING. .. 4 0.055040 48 SERIE Ge OF edo. Biya. 20
Visionaries! Us fC. a nae ne ae wd ae me es 6 Se ERO 5 oe ys)
The Need for Training! J O02 oa Le Ys SS, SR DOTIC IS Ay 25
Training to Compete 2.0.6. eee cee ee eee ee ees 25
A Regord’of Achievemélit., «is ssa on uten sina ueies sg ae RRB eo SAGS tela binbon Maa aere 26
A Leadership Role for the Government of Canada ......---- 0+ ++ eee cree rete eee pe |
AS NatronalTraming Schools: 2220 2c) sees Uk ee ee is oS i ee 28
Recommendation) 0.4 6 oo ON ware wlciere nos aa Eels as ee ee 29
Recommendatonigets ar Oe ee a FEE ne PE es ON ene pay)
Bes Co-operative Traine ye. Saiias. sleet ee Steen Se Sete bs Pe 29
Recommendation.9 ws. asec owe od ek wes oe aie dd er 30
C. Professional Training and New Technologies .........5..- 0200850 ees cues 30
Recommendation TO. sarc g rote isin ¢ Boe oc ehetake rhs shlenge ore iis e tree ee 30
Recommendation L]- s.i5 Hcy dee eke Oh IE ee ee 30
Dy- ‘Broadening the:-Base of Professional-Traiming) +425... PaNeR ee. eens omen etee Sill
Recommendation ] 26+) .4.4 oe ato ae adie elnwes vir ds dad Ae a 31
Consistency). Seki eges> Sheed. ee beg ase ete te ote Ase eee cee 31
Recommendation 13 -. -acddswe cote ah res het te had AIP a ee eg ee eI
CHAPTER FOUR: PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION ....................... 33
Inseparable Partnerse.te 2 eeu = ee ate Dh. 2 Data ns AS A 86.
Looking Beyond:Production’t] «rave nee peo eH Po Aes ee Efe
Ownership and Citizenship) 32.02 2 3 200 SE ee ee teen ee ey
A: Complementary Approach to: Canadian Content 375 00.24- 2. see ee nae ey)
Recommendation 14”. 85%, bsheniag Bo 0% keke Re ene a ee eee 40
Strategic: Challenges 2.20.4 yicle wcatis says patton Mes ais cocci oy een 40
The Notstor Profit Sector oi sac. eyes fee dls tec a ea Par 4]
The Ror Prone Secor x) ends erat xx eo can ey acs cee Aoe «Gre eee ee De ee 42
Recommendations y jscs ess sete cree as tae to. ol eae ee ae ee 42
Recotamendatton 6. fea 5c. 0a ls Ae liad 0 5 a Oe a 42
Réconimendatiomsl/) 4.5.2 bu) uate ware ce ete em ear a ie 43
Recommendation [tse jage dic atc, 2 Sec Reeth polls eer tae lr Re ea ore vga er 43
Balancme Govemimientel O1CIES tose. eect a ee eee er a Pe ne sae 43
Recommendation, tO oy" Mash Ners Gee, ae eee peace Ot), We a Re Rec eee TY 44
Recommendation 20% ghee vas. Ae eee Pel or sa i na aa a 45
Phe Kio wiedse; SOG E Vea ch luc. ik See Ging aca geet nl Baie Ty sign ee a Ns 45
Recommend atone ei 2h Mies aes set tae oe ae tee, ee 47
Recommendattone 22 4.c%. 6 cari a alten nae chee ns aa ee ae 47
ING Woe Gare oie sxe ue ee: ES cl A rare, Seg Jie 48
RRECOMIMCN GA UMOURZ 31) 5) Gears ois erate ele y ey sek oe Ne 50
The Peniiissions: Process: [5 kal wack Gowan che there ae aa ae me 50
Providing Access to Our Heritage 0.4.0 bases an an na ORL Ae Le Se 51
Recommendation 2A, tis aaa cwrn & alte done Secfluts acrid ae otal dati oe 51
Accomodating the New Environment.) .. fcas.. don sssan dons DUR et bee wee, 52
Recommend ati OMe 2D, sot or sass tc brcwe od be otee ors x wevevtedacs ace teen ye Se 52
Forging, Links, Across! Canada ck a nace eed ans owns ROR Teena A. a2
A., .The Canadian Broadcasting (@orparatiomle MUP a cial) ss leans, OY 52
Recommendation 26) 45./cacicaa ieee dein os ME HOUShRSMINOIeR....:. 54
B.. . Cross;Cantada Tours... sere ae ie eae ee ee ae ee rem 54
C.. .Cross-Canada Exhibitions. Siandine.Gnaumitieran, 6ona esene eee Sor oh. BS)
Recommendation 2 tha.cvihutneccis ef thes decks sea eee DH ORES La - 56
Lanks. Beyond. our-Bordets:, ..:.::....uyonauaan geass, ROR Gn Leoni A 56
Recommendation 28)... 5.0 base ee ahaa ee eS UOSANRISM 58
Recommendation 29% Lwin. AUG, OG Re BAL WERE area. 58
Recommendation 30) "u.00e. WS TERI SRE Se AS ee ee 58
A Pivotal Debate: Pierre-Mare Johisonand Robert Plow e>. $29... 2 NSRUAL ye. 59
CHAPTER FIVE! PRESERVATIONUOIGW OA: aC ORC. 08 Sa ee, OF OunGinp oe 61
The National Archives of -Canada .. HARA WEe) OW. ; ARERR! 1) Sit WIR TIOOI GET. 63
The National Library of Gamadar «.:c¢ ace gener iene etn yo 00 << 0 aio sere 63
Public. Libraries \. css: c0.5 os cten et ana oh cn a aR RAE Pe A at te soc PE Coed 64
Preservation 1s an Investment: (51 earnest: Pe Bee PID CaN SIE, ae ee, eee, 65
Recommendation Sil: 1 5 oy. aren on axahes st anor acc Aah ofiat th hee NA BND SPIRO OOD MIRREN EU DATE, 67
Preserving Canada’s Cultural Facilities: 2.05. <1 4.1, peaeeeee Pete) Uk JR Oe etn Ok 69
Recommendation’ S2: isco .e.rctsr se aceee ot Ain 0: A chee Ewe eh pt hehe TT IR ee 69
Récommendation 3S. \c.¢..a.e.ranstse chee Asrasanss ater tN tka oeee ahem ae star A a En 69
Sharing: Canada’s Heritage: 2 cinerea tect rene eee tee coe ene Os 70
Funding. Researchs .: c.ccfget outcome arte ‘fl
Recommendation, 34° 2c: .ceetubag mace Meni) a ieee elm Mee 7 i ee ot ere oh
The Contributrons*of New lechinglo sitesi. stan terete eter ee ee re |
Recommendation 35) gist Beste wctcek ated. gene tee eat ee ete eee 0:
New, Technologies and’Candda SiNIUSeuia SE. Beran men cack oe creer cee een iz
Recommendations3O™ yo ic cue ieee ae 0 Re rt sect) ni ew ee are 72
Canadians’ interest in BUStOly. coe eee een, aan act Rare eee or fle
CHAPTER SIX: CONSUMERS AND CITIZENS ............. 0.0.0... c cee eee eee Tb)
Some Canadian ConsumernProfiles: = 22a ener eee ee 15
Reading: ::i).!.evsas of chive Wayenetins ec Bememd 9 Shard dor veer ers cera 7s
Television Viewing); ia.. gens oes ewats kee nie gpl te Beene eee eee eer 76
Radio Listening... ):ian devtranchabe ted Sameer, Nel eet tee eaoet 1h a yee ee 76
Attending Performing, Arts» ..asitet to aap eyes ase eer Bie} ormrat fie te Th
Visiting Museums, Archives, and Heritage Sites ...................-.0..--00005- Ti)
Changing Demographics .. 1... 26... eee eee eee eens 78
The'Marketing Challenge, Je eI CCNGi. | UA Sey Aor: ee eetnerbeneeNeS,. Abe? a ee 90
Celebrating Creative Visionins Sx, 0 yes, 4, 90
Key Role, forthe: Government of Canada ....,................ SGeHeRep ae 2 aeeeeer 91
Reducing the RatetofLossin ..\s..-...24.5 4,8 a4 dua eve fanny yee eg 9}
Paying Attention,to Capital Budgets’ .......:......... 43¢Hige ees 2 eee > Ieee O72
The Need fomRhocus’s ez vee. shs, & acgdyelw nau Sooke) wy dia ny ede eeu ee a 92
ReCommmendatioms: soc. 5, sy 05450250 -acesase on’, «3019 loser Wass ee 93
APPENDIX 1: The Canadian Heritage Portfolio ............................04.4. 103
APPENDIX 2: Selected Statistics .... 0.4.4... ©. natant ee ee ee ae 105
APPENDIX 3; Cultural Policy Support. (3.2 4.,25...4. cee eee Lis
APPENDIX 4:; Witnesses). 3.8. 2 ofl 5. So, Se ce ce IE)
APPENDEXGS? (Brieis? ..ics.:f osu 34/30 ye ee 161
REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ...................... ec eeeeeee 169
REFORM PARTY MINORITY: REPORT (32) 0 ee ee ee 171
BLOC QUEBECOIS DISSENTING REPORT .................-00 eee cece cess. 173
MINORITY REPORT ON BEHALF OF THE NDP FEDERAL CAUCUS ......... 187
DISSENTING REPORT PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY .............. 193
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS © 2.0... 5 cues s/csici os oe Achenes 0. Se eee)... 195
xii
FOREWORD
On the dawn of a new millennium, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertook the task
some two years ago of studying the evolving role of the federal government in support of Canadian
culture.
Because of the magnitude of the task, and of the issues involved, we decided to focus our work on
three emerging challenges, crucial ones we felt, facing Canadian culture as we start another century.
Indeed, the rapid pace of demographic change in our country, the exponential evolution of
communication technologies, and the globalization of economies and trade, represent formidable
issues to consider when setting policy protection, support, and enhancement, of our culture and
cultural institutions.
So over the lengthy period of our study we met and heard a large number of citizens from all walks of
Canadian life, whose common objective and conviction were both the maintenance and the
flourishing of our cultural heritage, and its many means of expression. These individuals may have
been experts or main participants in the cultural field, or community representatives and volunteers.
If there was one bond linking their words and views, it was their passion and consistency in
impressing upon us the value of culture as an essential part of their lives, and their identity as
Canadians.
Yet, at the end of our long journey, we found out we were no wiser in defining culture and cultural
identity than we had been at the outset. For it struck us ever more forcibly that culture expresses itself
for and in people in many different ways and faces. Perhaps this is the magic of culture: that
indefinable essence and quality which permeates each of our lives in one way or another, which lifts
us beyond the routine and the mundane into another world of creativity, of beauty and of visual and
aural fulfilment—which defies the senses. Indeed, it is difficult to translate the joy brought by a
well-written and crafted novel, by a work of art, or the harmony and majesty of an excellent
orchestra. Each one of us experiences that joy differently, yet all of us know that the music, the play
or painting or novel opens us to another vista, to a loftier and more fulfilled sense of being.
The report which follows is of course imperfect. We found it hard to summarize and convey the
feelings and ideas of the great many witnesses we met and heard. Some of the dissenting reports from
colleagues of the opposition do translate that frustration. Yet I think the report is a valiant effort at
expressing the important views transmitted to us at countless hearings and in countless briefs.
One of the key messages we received was the importance Canadians place in the role of their
Government in the promotion, protection, and support of our culture and its federal cultural
instruments and institutions.
xiii
Above all, what I firmly hope the report will convey, is the depth of feeling and the determination that
Canadians have expressed to us in the defence of their cultural identity and heritage, no matter how
difficult they, and we, may find it to describe the latter precisely.
To try and express as hopefully and faithfully as we could the depth of these feelings toward cultural
identity and heritage, we chose to title our report: A Sense of Place — A Sense of Being. If this report,
imperfect as it may be, can enhance our Sense of Place and Being in some positive way, then it will
have served its purpose
CLIFFORD LINCOLN
Ottawa, Spring 1999
Xiv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
“Culture in all its forms is the essence and key expression of our identity and heritage as
Canadians. As we prepare to enter a new century where technological change will continue to have a
vast impact on our socio-economic life, dominated by increasing interdependence of people,
countries, and trade among them, it is essential for us to further define the role of the federal
government in support of our culture.””!
With these words in February 1997, Clifford Lincoln, chairperson of the Standing Committee
on Canadian Heritage, began a review of Canadian cultural policy. The Committee met with
representatives of Canada’s cultural communities, it received briefs from individuals and
organizations across the country, and it met with experts. Members of the Committee also travelled
East, West and North to meet with Canadians to hear their thoughts and responses to three basic
questions:
e What has been the role of the federal government in cultural activities in the past?
e What is its present role?
e Should the federal government continue to be involved in culture in the future?
WORKING WITH THE EVIDENCE
This report is based on a synthesis of the evidence that was provided by witnesses. The report is
also a digest of the information, analysis and feelings expressed to the Committee. On practically
every page the reader will find comments that were carefully crafted in the form of a prepared brief as
well as comments offered in the free flow of conversation and in response to questions. What can be
seen from the evidence is the passion and seriousness with which Canadians express their
understanding of culture. The Committee appreciates the forthright observations that were given by
the witnesses in their testimony, or through written submissions.
DEFINING TERMS
When Canadians speak of culture they are speaking about much more than the visual,
performing or literary arts. They often refer to cultural institutions such as galleries, museums,
libraries, archives, concert halls and theatres. Some talk about the importance of Canadian content
regulations in broadcasting; while for others the links between culture and heritage are inseparable.
For them, the experiences of Canadians in the past continue to inform present circumstances. Still
others talk of the business of culture, and trading in the international marketplace for cultural goods
and services. Some talk about the importance of nurturing new forms of artistic expression to reflect
the ever-changing nature of Canadian society. Meanwhile, others see culture expressed in hockey, or
in the preservation of the landscapes and seascapes of our National Parks.
1 News Release, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Ottawa, February 10, 1997.
2 See Appendices 4 and 5 for a list of witnesses and briefs.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
The more the Committee heard Canadians address “culture,” the more important it became to
find a workable definition that includes as many different experiences as possible. In the past,
government reports have begun with the challenge of defining culture. The work of the Committee
began in a similar fashion. But the Committee members soon discovered that one person’s sense of
culture is another’s popular entertainment, and where one defines it as the soul of their country, the
other might see it as the way one earns a living.
There are hundreds of definitions of culture, from the sociological, the anthropological, to the
aesthetic. The French author André Malraux once wrote that culture is the answer we receive when
we look into the mirror and wonder what it is we are doing here on this earth.* Some examples of
Canadian attempts to define culture are:
¢ [Clulture is a way of being, thinking, and feeling. It is a driving force
animating a significant group of individuals united by a common tongue and
sharing the same customs, habits, and experiences . . . Culture does not
determine the thoughts or actions of the group; instead it colours the group’s
manner of thinking and acting. — Royal Commission on Bilingualism and
Biculturalism, 1970.4
¢ Culture is a dynamic value system of learned elements with assumptions,
conventions, beliefs and rules permitting members of a group to relate to each
other and to the world, to communicate and to develop their creative
potential. — A Working Definition of Culture, Canadian Commission of
UNESCO, 1977.
¢ Culture... is central to everything we do and think. It is . . . the world we
have created and are still creating and the motives that urge us to change it. It
is the way we know ourselves and each other, it is our web of personal
relationships; it is the images and abstractions that allow us to live together in
communities and nations. — Bernard Ostry, 1978.6
¢ The bond that holds Canadians together is our distinct culture — not just in
the sense of the arts, but in the larger meaning of our pastimes, habits, images,
institutions, perspectives on the world, collective memory and our
bilingualism and multi-culturalism. Our culture is to a large extent the
expression of who we are. — Vital Links, 1987.’
3 Quoted by Gerard Pelletier in a speech to Board of Trade of Montreal, October 28, 1968, p. 4.
4 — Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Report, General Introduction, Book 1: The Official Languages, Queen’s
Printer, 1967, paragraphs 38, 39 and 40, pp. XXXI-XXXII.
5S Canadian Commission for UNESCO, A Working Definition of Culture for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, 19717, p. 6.
6 Bernard Ostry, The Cultural Connection, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, 1978, Dale
7 Department of Communications, Canadian Cultural Industries — Vital Links, Ottawa, 1987, p. 77.
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
mn tg a ee
Montreal author, Neil Bissoondath, writing in 1994 defined culture in this way:
° Culture is life. It is a living, breathing, multi-faceted entity in constant
evolution. It alters every day, is never the same thing from one day to the
next. . . Culture is a complex entity shaped in ways small and
large. . . Nothing is inconsequential. — Selling Illusions, 1994.8
During the Winnipeg round table, Zaz Bajon, General Manager, Manitoba Theatre Centre,
provided this definition of culture:
° Culture is the psychological, spiritual, mental well-being of [a] community.”
Members of the Committee offered several definitions of culture of their own:
Culture is central to the human experience. Canadian culture is what Canadians believe to
be important. It tells us who we were in the past and who we are in the present. Because of
the way culture shapes our lives, inevitably, it will also influence who we are likely to
become in the future. Culture is all that touches us in our daily lives, wherever and
however we live. It is our continuing legacy that links the past with the present. Culture is
what we have learned to hold dear since it is the accumulation of all the experiences we
will ever have and all the places we will ever go. Finally, culture is a force that drives our
unique development as individuals.
The Committee could have spent much of its time debating definitions. Instead, the Committee
borrowed a straightforward definition of culture from UNESCO. In its 1996 report Our Creative
Diversity, UNESCO adopted a four-word definition of culture: “ways of living together.” !9 It is an
especially useful definition in a context where traditions and rapid technological change must find
ways to co-exist. While recognizing that volumes could be written about it, for the purposes of this
report, the Committee has defined the term “culture” to mean those creative things we choose to do as
we live together as citizens of Canada and the world.
LIVES ENRICHED
The Committee respects the hundreds of thousands of Canadians whose contributions to the
cultural development of this country have been, and continue to be, immeasurable. Whether they are
creative artists, volunteers, community boosters, fundraisers, or dedicated parents driving their
children to piano lessons in the winter, all seem filled with civic pride and a sense of contributing to
future generations. Some Canadians make culture an important part of their daily lives, and in doing
so enrich the lives of generations yet to come. This report contains the words of some of these
remarkable Canadians. Some are well known, others are not. Some are experts, some are artists, and
others have an enduring commitment to arts and culture. The Committee has chosen to leave as much
room as possible for these individuals in this report.
8 Neil Bissoondath, Selling Illusions — The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada, Penguin, Toronto, 1994, p. 81.
9 Zaz Bajon, General Manager, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Round Table, Winnipeg, February 23, 1999.
10 UNESCO, Our Creative Diversity: Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, Paris, 1996, p. 14.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
REMEMBERING THE PAST
The Committee has identified three key federal government initiatives, as a point of departure
for defining the Government of Canada’s role in support of our culture. The first was in 1929 when
Sir John Aird tabled a report recommending the establishment of a publicly owned broadcasting
system. The second initiative was Prime Minister R.B. Bennett’s endorsement of the creation of the
Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1932, which later became the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation (CBC). The third initiative is the Massey-Lévesque Commission of 1951 which led to
the foundation of the Canada Council for the Arts in 1957. In the intervening years, the federal
government’s actions in creating an environment in which cultural expression and identity could
thrive have been relatively constant. The Committee learned that the guidance for those actions was
provided by Canadians with strong commitments to Canadian cultural expression and identity.
Therefore, this report includes examples of distinguished Canadians who have made lasting
contributions to Canada’s cultural landscape.
In virtually every field of cultural endeavour a cultural “visionary” can be identified. In some
cases there is more than one. Without them Canadian culture would be profoundly changed.
Consider whether Canada would have a National Ballet without Celia Franca, Le Théatre du
Nouveau Monde without Jean-Louis Roux or a Canadian Centre for Architecture without Phyllis
Lambert.
Lists are often limiting because others could have been mentioned. In film, there are the
pioneering productions of Donald Brittain or Claude Jutra; in theatre, the innovative plays of such
authors as Gratien Gélinas, who has been called the father of contemporary Quebec theatre, or James
Reaney who brings the vision of the poet to the world of the theatre. As performers, the late Kate Reid
and the current head of the National Theatre School, Monique Mercure have set a remarkably high
standard for excellence in performance. As theatre directors and teachers of acting, Jean Duceppe,
Jean Gascon and Jean-Louis Roux are internationally acclaimed. Indeed, without the creative vision
in the late 1950s of theatre founders Tom Hendry and John Hirsch, it is hard to imagine what
Canada’s regional theatre scene would look like today.
Similarly, in the world of ballet, Betty Oliphant, Celia Franca, Betty Farrally, Gweneth Lloyd
and the late Ludmilla Chiriaeff served as guiding lights for Canada’s foremost ballet companies: Les
Grands Ballets Canadiens, the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In
literature, Mordecai Richler, Mavis Gallant and Anne Hébert, among many others, brought
international attention to Canadian letters at a time when Canadian authors were largely unknown
outside the country. In the world of opera, Edward Johnson, Léopold Simoneau, John Vickers, Raoul
Jobin and Maureen Forrester performed in the foremost opera houses around the world when
European artists dominated the art form. Wilfrid Pelletier and Ernest MacMillan cleared the path for
a new generation of Canadian conductors and composers. In the world of visual art, Jean-Paul
Lemieux, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Emily Carr and Michael Snow have impressed critics and gallery
visitors alike. This is not an exhaustive list, nor is this report intended as a reference work on
Canadian cultural history. It serves to illustrate the depth of talent of some pioneering Canadian
cultural visionaries who have inspired audiences and fellow artists.
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ee ee eee ree oe ig
These particular cultural visionaries, and the important parts they played in Canada’s cultural
development, are fairly well known. But the fact that Kaye Lamb made a deal with Prime Minister
King to create a National Library is not well known. Similarly, the fact that the Stratford Festival was
the response of a single Canadian to the loss of a major local industry to a small town is not well
known. The Committee has concluded that the visions of many individual Canadians have had
profound effects on what Canadian culture has become. They and their colleagues in every region of
Canada have been guiding lights for the federal government in orienting its contribution to the
development of cultural expression and identity in Canada.
GROWING COMPLEXITY
The Committee recognizes that critics may consider its working definition of culture to be
somewhat simplistic, considering the complexity of the task at hand. This is evidenced by the sheer
number of government reviews of culture and cultural policies that have been undertaken in the past
half-century. Over time, the issues have become more complex. Trade issues in relation to cultural
policy measures are only one example of this trend. Witnesses apprised the Committee of the myriad
factors at play in the cultural sector, both in Canada and in our relations with other countries. The
information they provided enabled the Committee to identify and focus on a number of strategic
issues.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
The Committee faced the daunting task of organizing a great deal of information and many
issues in a way that permits thoughtful analysis and discussion. In meeting this challenge, the
Committee chose to organize its report in an innovative manner that breaks from the organization of
past studies. Typically, the approach has been to structure the subject vertically into disciplines and
categories: visual and performing arts, cultural industries, cultural development, broadcasting, etc.,
each with its own chapter and recommendations. This is the “stove pipe” approach. Considering the
array of interconnections among the various elements that make up cultural activities, the
Committee decided to look at culture, and specifically the federal government’s role in it, from the
perspective of key elements of cultural activity. These elements can be described as a six part
continuum.
e Creation — Creators are central to the artistic process.
e Training — This involves helping creators prepare for a career in the arts
and ensuring that on-going training is available as their careers evolve.
e Production — This is the industry side of culture: publishing and making
recordings, films and television programs.
e _ Distribution — This is the way in which cultural materials are marketed
and made available, making sure that what is produced makes it to
audiences at home and abroad.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
eRe ERE eee eee. eee
e Preservation — This is how a society maintains a record of its cultural
achievement, how a culture of the past and the present is made accessible to
audiences now and in the future.
e Consumption — This is about audiences and the many wayS individuals
participate in their culture.
ORGANIZATION BY ACTIVITY
These six categories were identified as the Committee’s work progressed. They were defined by
the testimony of the witnesses and by the submissions made. With one exception, each activity is the
subject of a chapter in this report. The Committee was made aware of the inseparable nature of
production and distribution by witnesses. These topics have been combined into a single chapter.
The Committee’s work involved a detailed review of existing federal support measures for
culture. Appendix | contains a detailed examination and listing of these measures, while Appendix 2
shows the crown corporations that comprise the Canadian Heritage Portfolio within the Department
of Canadian Heritage.
ACTING IN PARTNERSHIP
The federal government has played an important role in the development of cultural expression
and identity in Canada throughout this century. Its role has been vital in both official language
communities and, according to the testimony presented to the Committee, must remain so in the
future. Since the 1950s, the involvement of the federal government has gradually evolved to include
a variety of roles in response to the expansion of cultural activity and its growing social and
economic impact. It is important to note that the federal government has not done this alone. As this
report will show, cultural development in Canada is a partnership among the private sector,
individuals, corporations and all orders of government. The federal, provincial, territorial and
municipal governments make an annual investment of almost $6 billion. !!
11 Statistics Canada, The Daily, September 24, 1998.
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ee MN ANT SES OT eee
Figure 1 — Federal/Provincial-Territorial/Municipal Spending on Culture (1996-1997)
s
Oh) >)
(in $Billions) 0 -
Federal Provincial/Territorial Municipal
On a per capita basis in 1996-1997 (the most recent figures available from Statistics Canada),
the federal government spent $93 per citizen, the provinces and territories spent $58, and the
municipalities spent $48.!2
Figure 2 — Per Capita Spending in Dollars by Federal/Provincial-Territorial/Municipal
Governments (1996-1997)
Federal
Provincial/
Territorial
Municipal
y T T T T T Wh, RL T T
0) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
This level of expenditure represents a strong commitment to Canadian culture — one that
involves all orders of government.
12 Statistics Canada, The Daily, September 24, 1998.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
THE APPROACH TO MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee is aware that the federal government is but one of several orders of government
engaged in supporting culture. Some of its recommendations are also made with the knowledge that
culture involves departments other than the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The Committee has designed its recommendations to be measurable and strategic. In many
instances the Committee has asked the Department of Canadian Heritage to report within a specific
period of time. This addresses the issue of timeliness, which was raised repeatedly by witnesses. The
Committee also worked to avoid a micro-management approach to the issues presented. The
recommendations relate to broad themes and measurable initiatives. Finally, while the Committee
has attempted to establish reasonable timelines in its recommendations, those that are more pressing
have been highlighted.
Among the hundreds of submissions forwarded to the Committee was a policy document
created by the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA), an umbrella organization for individual
artists and arts organizations across the country. Throughout the course of its deliberations, the
Committee returned several times to the CCA’s document: Working Group on Cultural Policy for
the 21st Century.!3 What the Committee found especially useful was the way this document looked
at key elements of the federal government’s involvement in culture. The Committee appreciates the
document’s multifaceted approach which focuses on actions and common themes. The CCA pointed
to the importance of encouraging a strong French language and culture, both in Quebec and other
centres of francophone life. In addition, the submission recognized Canada’s cultural diversity and
stressed the cultural contribution of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples and the need to foster a greater
appreciation of our collective experience and aspirations. The CCA submission also stressed the
importance of an approach to cultural policy that uses the tools available to a government, including
regulation, legislation, financial support and taxation. It called for a new approach to policy, which is
responsive to changing conditions, opportunities and technologies.
When it started its work the Committee believed that globalization, new technologies and
changing demographics will have a bearing on the future role of the federal government in support of
cultural expression. Witnesses were, therefore, asked to address these issues in their comments and
submissions. While the continuum of creation, training, production, distribution, preservation and
consumption provides the structural spine of the report, each segment of the continuum is shaped by
a number of horizontal or cross-sectoral factors. As a result, the issues of new technologies,
globalization and Canada’s changing demographics occupied a great deal of the Committee’s time.
Given the fundamental questions that inspired this process, some topics receive less attention
than others. There are two reasons for this. First, a number of other reviews were being carried out
during the course of the Committee’s work. These include, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission’s hearings about the future of new media in Canada,
cross-Canada consultations on the future role of the CBC, a review undertaken by the Department of
13 Canadian Conference of the Arts, Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, January 1998, p. 34.
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ne ete ee Se
Canadian Heritage on feature film production and legislation dealing with the conservation of some
of Canada’s marine areas. While not avoiding these topics in this report, the Committee chose not to
duplicate existing reviews. A second reason has to do with the nature of the task given to the
Committee, which was to further “define the role of the federal government in support of our
culture.” !4
By looking back to the 1950s, one can see the emergence of a distinctive, Canadian approach to
supporting culture. In recent years this has been identified as the Canadian model of cultural
affirmation. It focuses on the development of a healthy cultural marketplace, freedom of choice for
consumers and the principle of access to Canadian cultural materials. It emphasizes partnerships
with other governments, organizations, and the private sector. And most importantly, it is an
approach to government that uses a mix of the most effective measures available to it, recognizing
that circumstances and situations are constantly shifting.
Reflecting on the cultural achievements of the last fifty years has helped the Committee to
realize the extent to which the federal government has made a substantial and important contribution
to the creation of an environment in which cultural expression and identity can thrive. The
Committee is confident that the insight and understanding of Canadian citizens that guided the
federal government’s initiatives in the past will continue to serve it well in the future.
Canadians have always been interested in, and responsive to, cultural materials and services
that originate beyond our borders. One major development over the past fifty years has been the
increasing number of Canadian authors and playwrights from our two official language
communities who are read and performed abroad. Canadian writers are receiving increasing
acclaim, our television programs and sound recordings are being exported in growing numbers, and
the work of our architects is being commissioned internationally. The shifting balance between
domestic and foreign influences and interests is not new, nor is it specific to the cultural sector.
However, the equilibrium Canadians have traditionally sought in terms of their cultural identity may
be more difficult to achieve and maintain in the future than it has been in the past. The Committee
believes that it is possible to make an objective assessment of Canada’s past successes in providing
Canadian spaces for Canadian voices.
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
The Committee has explored existing policies that support culture in Canada. Its starting point
was the conviction that a knowledge of these policies, combined with an understanding of the
experience and wisdom of the witnesses, would provide invaluable guidance. Having listened
closely to Canadians, the Committee is confident that with the recommendations presented in this
report, Canada’s long-established orientation to the support of culture will enable all Canadians to
continue to develop an even stronger sense of place.
14. News release, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Ottawa, February 10, 1997.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
During a round table discussion in Montreal, Mr. Dinu Bumbaru of the Heritage Montreal
Foundation, made a comment that inspired the title for this report: A Sense of Place — A Sense of
Being. Mr. Bumbaru observed that a citizen’s sense of place is central to an understanding and
experience of culture. “We do not live in ant hills,” he said, “but in places that mean something.”!»
We derive a sense of place from the landscape, the buildings and the artifacts that surround us. We
also impart meanings, and in so doing each of us plays an active role in enriching the culture of the
places where we live.
The Committee has titled this report A Sense of Place — A Sense of Being, in the hope that it
will contribute to the further development of cultural policies in Canada. Each generation passes
something of its experience on to those who follow. A culture lives and is enlivened by those who
experience it as well as by those whose lives help shape it. A Sense of Place — A Sense of Being
recommends to the federal government that it reaffirm its commitment to the creation and support of
culture for Canadians.
15 Dinu Bumbaru, Heritage Montreal Foundation, Montreal Round Table, February 25, 1999.
10
CHAPTER TWO: CREATORS
We need creators. We need them because it is the creators — more than anyone — who shape
our cultural identity and give us our sense of who we are and where we belong.
By virtue of their inspirational and intuitive nature, creators frequently challenge the status quo
and are often at the cutting edge of social change. Indeed, our creative and performing artists are the
very foundation of our cultural enterprises and the source of Canadian cultural content. Without their
commitment to their talent and their craft our cultural industries and institutions would be dominated
by foreign voices and perspectives.
Pierre-Marc Johnson, the former Québec Premier, now Président, Regroupement des
evénements majeurs internationaux, underlined this notion for the Committee at a round table
discussion in Montreal in February 1999:
Cultural creation and production are, first and foremost, done by individuals. I am deeply
convinced that there is no creation of cultural productions without people, whether [they
be] authors, composers, dancers, painters or performers. The force behind creation is the
people. That is why the community and the state have developed a series of means to
defend creation. !®
The Canadian Conference of the Arts reminded the Committee that in consideration of their
important contributions to our cultural life, Canadian artists deserve support:
One of the key objectives of a federal cultural policy must be to sustain a strong domestic
base of creators, artists and entrepreneurs engaged in the development and promotion of
Canadian cultural expression. !7
IN SUPPORT OF CANADIAN CREATIVITY
The on-going story of creative expression and artistic achievement in Canada is a rich one and it
is filled with people with a unique vision and remarkable talent, such as the innovative pianist Glenn
Gould, who helped change the relationship between musicians and audiences through his approach
to the recording process. Michel Tremblay demonstrated that popular and award-winning
playwrights can also be popular and award-winning novelists.
No matter what the art form, artists apply creativity to the familiar and to the unknown. What
they produce is viewed in the light of past traditions and current tastes, but frequently their work
reflects neither. Cultural policy is most effective when there is the flexibility to respond to changing
circumstances. Indeed, as Iain Phillips, a Mohawk elder, suggested to the Committee, even in areas
of traditional expression, “[i]t is inevitable that new forms of cultural expression will be
developed.”!®
16 Pierre-Marc Johnson, Président, Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux, Montreal Round Table, February 25,
1999.
Canadian Conference of the Arts, Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, presented to the Standing Committee
on Canadian Heritage (hereinafter, “The Committee”), p. 16.
11
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
—— ce
Over the 40 years of its existence, the Canada Council for the Arts has become so much a part of
our cultural landscape that few Canadians realize just how different the Canadian scene was in 1950.
Cultural historian Rosemary Sullivan paints a picture of how difficult it was to make a living in the
arts in Canada in the early 1950s.
In the 1950s if you . . . wanted to write, the best solution was to get the heck out of
Canada. Many did: Mavis Gallant and Mordecai Richler went into self-imposed exile in
France and England, Sinclair Ross went to Spain. Margaret Laurence lived outside of
Canada for ten years. Why? Because there was no cultural fabric to support writers; there
was only. . . indifference on the part of a public. . taught to believe there was no
culture. . .[in Canada]. Writing was something done by Americans and Europeans,
preferably dead Americans and Europeans.!?
Carol Shields, one of Canada’s distinguished novelists, spoke about a time in the recent past
when getting a work published in Canada was exceptional.
There’s a statistic I’d like to quote to show how this flowering came soon after the
founding of the Canada Council. In the year 1960 there were five novels [in English]
published in Canada. That was considered a bumper crop. A year ago, there were five
Canadian novels published in London in one week. This is the distance we’ve gone. Our
writers are now recognized internationally.?
Against this backdrop the federal government entered the fine and performing arts scene in
Canada through the creation of an arms-length agency — the Canada Council for the Arts. The work
done by the Massey-Levésque Commission in investigating the Canadian arts and cultural scene
prepared the way. However, the recommendation to establish the Council on the scale imagined by
the Commission required a great deal of start-up money. The account of how the money was found
combines creative problem-solving and happy co-incidence.
One morning in Ottawa in 1956, J. W. Pickersgill, one of the most prominent federal public
officials at the time, who had been trying to make the Council a reality, was walking to work when he
met John Deutsch, secretary to the Treasury Board. Deutsch began talking about what to do about the
government’s sudden windfall of succession duties amounting to $100 million from the estates of
two prominent millionaires who had died the year before. Izaak Walton Killam and Sir James Hamet
Dunn had been highly successful industrialists and investors. Pickersgill suggested that the
government provide $50 million to meet some of the capital needs of Canada’s universities and
another $50 million to provide an endowment for the Canada Council for the Arts.2! Deutsch passed
on the idea and soon the Council received the money.
This imaginative approach to policy development appears as a recurring theme in the history of
the federal government’s support of the arts and culture. It speaks to real needs, it is responsive to
community interests, and it avoids any hint of direct involvement by the federal government in
cultural expression.
18 fain Phillips, Witness presentation to the Committee, April 22, 1999.
19 Rosemary Sullivan, Perspectives on Canadian Cultural Policies, lecture, Ottawa, March 20, 1997.
20 Carol Shields, Author, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
21 Paul Litt, The Muses, the Masses and the Massey Commission, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1992, p. 241-242.
12
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Se Caen en eS ei) ras oki iain ine
Today, the same elements — government leadership, creative problem-solving and a blend of
commercial sponsorships, donations and direct government funding — are part of the mix used to
Support culture in Canada. What is different today, however, is the scale and vibrancy of the cultural
sector. It would be overstating the case to suggest that Canadian artistic achievement flourished only
after, or simply because of the influence of the Massey-Lévesque Commission and the establishment
of the Canada Council for the Arts. Such a suggestion would be a disservice to the many pioneering
Canadians who, through their inventiveness and dedication, managed to carve out careers for
themselves without government support of any kind. However, the fact remains that since 1957 the
federal government’s contribution to the arts has been enormous.
Since its inception, the Canada Council for the Arts has sponsored the work of thousands of
Canadian writers and artists, many of whom are now world-famous. Each year more names are
added to that list of celebrated Canadian artists who are honoured internationally, as well as by
Canadians across the country. Today, Canada’s artistic community is truly national in character with
writers, composers, musicians, film-makers, artists and performers working in all parts of the land.
Their achievements and success attest to the high quality of their work in Canada and abroad. The
Committee considers it essential to maintain the existing vitality of Canadian creators. With this
objective in mind, the Committee set about its task of considering the appropriate role for the federal
government in support of the arts and Canadian culture in the years to come.
During its deliberations, the Committee heard from individual creators, representatives of the
major federal arts agencies and arts service organizations.*? These witnesses painted a picture of a
vigorous, healthy and decidedly mature cultural sector. Indeed, if there is a single image of the
Canadian cultural community, it is one of maturity.
Ottawa based researcher Terry Cheney cited some interesting statistics relating to the
contemporary cultural workforce:
What are some of the distinctive features of the culture labour force? As you may have
heard, it is in fact surprisingly large. Even if you define it fairly narrowly it’s about 1.5%
of the labour force, which is probably still bigger than the famous fishing, mining, and
forestry activities.24
It is difficult to compare cultural statistics because the criteria for reporting information over the
years have not been consistent. Different definitions have been used and often include activities such
as sports and recreation. Nonetheless, using a narrow definition of “artist,” Statistics Canada data
show that, in 1994 (the most recent year for which complete comparative data are available), the
sector represented close to 700,000 jobs and contributed almost $22 billion to the Canadian
economy. The cultural sector also represented 5.2% of the Canadian labour force (see Table 2.1).
22 See Appendix 3 for the complete list.
23 Terry Cheney, Witness presentation to the Committee, February 10, 1998.
13
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
SS:
Table 2.1
Canadian Labour Force by Selected Industries (1994)*4
Relative share of total
Industry/Sector (selected) Number of Workers labour force
(%)
Cultural Sector (Total) 1,052,345
Culture Industries* 482,020
Arts and Heritage® 195,893
Government DONS.
Traditional culture sector (Subtotal) 700,099
Other‘ 352,246
Agriculture 424,737
Logging and Forestry | 79,620
Mining, Quarry and Oil
eins Pall
Transportation and Storage S23, A477
Education 882,576
Health and Social Services 1,311,280
Accommodation, Food and Beverage 834,680
Total Labour Force 13,290,000
a Includes written media, film and video, broadcasting and music industries.
Includes performing arts, heritage, librairies, visual arts and festivals.
Includes arts and culture education, architecture, design, photography and advertising.
The Committee agrees with the witnesses who pointed to the maturity of Canada’s cultural
sector. While the sector may be mature, the income levels of individual creators working in the sector
do not always reflect this maturity. For example, a 1993 labour force survey conducted by Statistics
Canada shows that some Canadian creative artists (e.g., painters and writers) have earned incomes
that are substantially less (between 25% to 50%) than other jobs within the cultural sector.*°
GRANTS TO INDIVIDUAL CREATORS
Most creators underwrite the creation of their own poetry, paintings, sculpture, screen plays and
other works of art, and do so over extended periods of time. Heather Redfern of Edmonton’s Catalyst
Theatre outlined the case:
24 Statistics Canada. The Health and Vitality of the Culture Sector in British Columbia. Education, Culture and Tourism Division.
1997: 166.
25 See Appendix 2, Table A-2.
14
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ee ee ee iwc clei ae Bete
The largest subsidizers of the arts in this country are artists and art workers (themselves)
because of the low wages they receive for the work they do [and] because of the huge
amount of volunteer work they have to do just to keep their companies afloat.?°
Some works take years to produce. The Committee is aware of the limited amounts of
short-term funding available through the Canada Council for the Arts that can be used to support an
artist’s income. From the Committee’s standpoint, investing in the arts is no less important than
investing in the social sciences, humanities, the pure sciences or medicine. The Committee is also
aware of the long-term commitments made to researchers and scholars by other federal government
agencies and looks for a similar level of commitment to Canadian artists.
While some attention has been paid over time to support the income of creators, the existing
measures can at best be described as modest. The Canada Council for the Arts provides modest grants
to individual artists usually on a one-time basis.2” Support for writers is provided through short-term
grants, with the maximum value being $20,000. These grants are intended “to offset subsistence
costs” and are available for a maximum period of one year.2® This is in sharp contrast to some
academic research grants offered by Canada’s research councils, which provide substantive support
over a number of years. A researcher who is awarded a Killam Research Fellowship, for example,
can receive more than $50,000 per year for more than one year. “The Council expects the Research
Fellow to continue receiving full salary during tenure of the fellowship.”’2?
The Committee feels that support to individual creators should be increased. If Canada’s
leading Research Councils — notably the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the
Medical Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council — see the
need to provide substantial assistance to researchers, there is ample justification to support Canada’s
creative communities in much the same way. As was acknowledged earlier, the Canada Council for
the Arts already administers a program to support deserving individuals. However, it does not
approach the scale of scholarship funding and the other support programs administered by the
Research Councils. The Committee supports the policies exercised by the various Research
Councils and recognizes the need to provide university researchers with substantial financial support
paid over extended periods of time. However, the Committee also contends that individual Canadian
creators are just as deserving and their financial need is just as great. Therefore, individual creators
deserve levels of financial support comparable to those now available to academic researchers.
The Committee recognizes the need to support university researchers for extended periods, but
many creators who came to talk with the Committee expressed unease about the lack of support for
individual creators, even as they expressed thanks for the modest sums available.
26 Heather Redfern, Catalyst Theatre, Edmonton Round Table, February 24, 1999.
97 The 41st Annual Report of the Canada Council for the Arts, reports that in 1997-1998 the Canada Council for the Arts made 4,593
srants to artists and arts organizations. A total of $17,349,000 was paid in grants to professional artists and $76,273,000 to arts
g 2
organizations.
Program information from Canada Council for the Arts Internet site, .
49 Program information from Canada Council for the Arts Internet site, . In 1998, nine new Killam Research Fellows were announced.
15
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ee nn —S a
The Committee recognizes that providing substantial financial support to individual artists and
creators is complicated and that many aspects of existing policies were decided upon many years
ago. However, this is of such importance that the Committee makes the following recommendations.
Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends that:
1.1 The Canada Council for the Arts, as the main source of federal government
support for creators, continue to provide grants to creators that enable them to
devote themselves full-time to a creative project. The Government of Canada
should encourage long-term and sustainable support to creators.
1.2. The additional resources required by the Canada Council for the Arts to
implement Recommendation 1.1 should be provided.
1.3. The Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with the Canada
Council for the Arts, develop a plan to secure the funding proposed in
Recommendation 1.2 and report back to this Committee within one year of the
tabling of this report.
Along with the direct support recommended above, it is necessary to recognize that an
important source of support to creators comes through the work of Canada’s cultural agencies, such
as the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Committee
learned from senior officials of the Canada Council for the Arts that a number of new initiatives are
being pursued.29 The Committee was apprised of the Council’s new funding priorities and supports
the federal government’s provision of a $25 million annual increase to the Canada Council for the
Arts over a period of five years beginning in 1997-98. This will allow the Council to strengthen its
basic programs in support of creators as well as to establish new programs in support of important
areas of activity — Aboriginal cultural development, cultural diversity, international initiatives and
festivals. However, the Committee believes that more must be done in the realm of self-employment.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Many creators, including writers, designers, craftspeople and musicians are self-employed.
They are not unique in this respect. Using 1994 data provided by Statistics Canada, it can be seen that
more than 18% of the Canadian labour force, compared to 12% in the United States, is
self-employed. Indeed, self-employment is the only category of employment that has shown steady
growth over the past ten years. During the 1990s fully 80% of the growth in the Canadian labour
force was in self-employment. In the United States during this same period, less than 10% of the
30 Canada Council for the Arts, Brief to the Committee.
16
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ali le meee I
growth in employment could be attributed to self-employment.?! These dramatic changes in
employment patterns can be attributed largely to shifting demographic trends and structural changes
in the Canadian economy.
The growth in the numbers of self-employed persons across Canada poses major challenges for
the country’s social safety net, and raises important legal, health, insurance and taxation questions.
The Canadian system of health insurance, unemployment insurance, labour law and pension
programs is based largely on the assumption that most of the work force is made up of employees
rather than self-employed persons. Although many of these issues have been raised by those
concerned with the status of the artist, the issues themselves touch the lives of a large proportion of
Canada’s labour force.
While the Committee’s particular concern is for Canada’s cultural life, it also recognizes that all
Canadians must deal with these major shifts in Canadian employment patterns. The Committee
therefore considers the clarification of the rights and obligations of the self-employed to be of central
importance.
Self-employment is a complex issue involving the federal and provincial governments. The
Committee is aware that important work is currently being done by the Canadian Policy Research
Network that relates to the topic of changing employment relationships in Canada. That being said,
the Committee believes there should be additional initiatives.
Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends that:
2.1 The Department of Canadian Heritage ensure ongoing federal initiatives
examining issues of self-employment include the interests of self-employed
artists and creators.
2.2 The Minister of Canadian Heritage appoint a task force to review
self-employment issues in the cultural sector. The task force should include
representatives from the Department of Revenue, the Department of Finance,
and the Department of Human Resources Development Canada, and should
report its recommendations within one year.
Today, Canadian creators can take some comfort in the knowledge that a solid framework exists
to encourage and support their artistic and cultural endeavours. It is not by any means a perfect
framework, but it has proved to be effective in supporting the efforts of thousands of creators. The
Committee is dedicated to the principle of strengthening and building further on that framework. Of
course, the environment in which creators work can also be improved. The Committee is aware that
the income levels of Canadian creators — especially writers and visual artists — are often lower
31D. Sunter, “Canada-US Labour Market Comparison,” Canadian Economic Observer, Statistics Canada, December 1998.
17
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
than others who work in the cultural sector.?2 It is not the government’s function to determine which
creative endeavor is more valuable than another, but in the Committee’s view, the striking
discrepancies between income levels across the various cultural disciplines warrants study and
appropriate action. Another area requiring action is the opportunities for creators presented by new
technologies.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES — NEW CHALLENGES
The convergence of new technologies — including computer and digital technologies, the
Internet, cable and satellite communications systems, compressed digital broadcasting and
fiber-optics — has the potential to reshape traditional relationships between creators and their
audiences. It is difficult to keep up with these changes. In the past, there has been an impulse to devise
regulatory regimes to control the use of such technologies. Governments face a challenge in this
respect because they are not organized to accommodate rapid change. Delays are often costly. For
example, it took the federal government nearly ten years to get from Phase I to Phase II in amending
Canada’s copyright legislation.
The Committee received interesting but conflicting testimony with respect to the role of new
technologies on creative activity. One witness testified that technology has no impact at all — at
least in his area. “New technology was part of us when we quit banging bones together.” 33 Another
witness testified that new technologies have a powerful impact on the creative process. “Our role has
changed with the arrival of new technology. We no longer just store paper; we store information, no matter
what medium it is on.”34 Still another witness suggested that new technologies are vehicles of
opportunity:
Where technology has really changed our industry is in the technology to make books.
That means the ability to typeset and to scan certain things so you can make books cheaper
than we used to do by comparison. We can make books in two weeks or two days actually,
if we really need to. So the technology has worked . . . to upgrade the ability of the
publishing industry to bring forward the books.?°
Canadians have always been exposed to, and have had to deal with, new technological
developments. The present generation is not the first. When Sir Wilfrid Laurier was Prime Minister,
the “new” technologies of the day were telephony, cinema and sound recording on wax cylinders.
Similarly, during Sir Robert Borden’s term, the dominant new technology was radio.
It is essential that the Government of Canada have the capability to respond in a timely fashion.
This requires planning to ensure that the people who are needed are in place, that there is an adequate
information base to deal with developments promptly, and that all of the relevant policy options have
been considered.
32 See Appendix 2, Tables A-2, A-3, and A-4.
33 Eddie Bayens, Musician, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
34 Diane Charland, President, Canadian Council of Archives, Ottawa Round Table on the Heritage, March 10, 1998.
35 Jack Stoddart, Publisher, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
18
Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage is a remarkable example of
an innovative Canadian creator who has become
one of the most sought after theatre artists on the
international scene. Lepage specialized in
collective creation, a way of devising and
presenting plays with an ensemble of theatre
artists. His productions cross the traditional
boundaries of theatre, dance and performance
arts. Lepage works closely with actors,
designers, choreographers and musicians.
Together, they create works of art grounded in
the rich cultural traditions of theatre, dance and
cinema
In addition to ground-breaking
productions such as The Dragon’s Trilogy,
Tectonic Plates, and The Seven Streams of the
River Ota, Lepage has also directed opera for the
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ee BES rion memento eee
Canadian Opera Company, and is responsible
for some innovative feature films such as Le
Confessional, Le Polygraphe, and No.
Lepage and his artistic collaborators
continue to create new forms of public
presentation which embrace new technologies.
During a 1997 workshop for theatre artists in
Toronto, Lepage said:
We’re dealing with an audience today that
has a very sophisticated narrative
vocabulary. I’m not saying that we have to
become more cinematic or more
“televisual,’ but we have to find a way to
invite that audience into the theatre. Film
was supposed to have killed theatre, but it
liberated it. Every time there is a
technological revolution, it gives an artist
reason to hope.?6
PROTECTING CREATORS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
creators of cultural products to protect their works.
When Canadians think of cultural objects, they often think in terms of specific items such as
books, films, sheet music, sound recordings and paintings. By applying digital technology to such
media, traditional cultural objects now have an electronic dimension. This means that they can now
be easily copied and sent anywhere in the world. This makes it very difficult for artists and other
As one of the discussion papers sent to the Committee observed:
[T]he technological changes that are now taking place are even more profound than those
we have faced in the past. One key change has been the global adoption of what amounts
to acommon, universal computer language, which allows for the seamless transmission of
“bits” to and from anywhere in the world.37
Some believe one of the keys to the economic wealth of nations in this new era will be the ability
to exercise the legal rights provided under the Copyright Act.>8 The Committee agrees. At a round
table discussion Eddie Bayens, a musician, expressed his view of legislation designed to protect
performers:
Robert Lepage quoted by Richard Ouzounian in “Theatre: Canada’s most renowned stage talent refuses to be a prisoner of
f=)
convention,” The Globe and Mail, August 12, 1997.
Stentor, Discussion Paper submitted to the Committee, April 1998, p. 39)
Charles C. Mann, “Who will own your next good idea?,” Atlantic Monthly, September 1998.
19
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
CT
The performer’s slice of that revenue. . . needs to be protected in the performer’s rights, in
neighbouring rights, in copyright and also in digital retrieval rights. 39
As important as it is to protect performers, it is equally important to provide all creators with the
rights to control the digital exploitation of their materials. When the writer John Gray appeared
before the Committee he noted that: “what is really necessary is a combination of national action and
international agreements.’’49
While support from the Department of Canadian Heritage is available to publishers for the
production of printed and bound books, comparatively speaking, little is available for the
development of electronic cultural products. Similarly, as will be seen in Chapter Five, museums,
archives and libraries need resources to digitize their collections. With these considerations in mind,
the Committee makes the following recommendations:*!
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends that:
3.1 Existing federal programs should also support the creation of traditional
cultural materials (books, music, films, and images) in electronic formats. In
addition, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the
Department of Industry and the Department of Finance, should encourage
investment in enterprises that market and sell access to these products; and
3.2 The Minister of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the Ministers of
Industry and Finance, develop a strategy that implements Recommendation
mF
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT LAW REFORM
Intellectual property protection is provided by five federal statutes: the Copyright Act, the
Patent Act, the Trade-Marks Act, the Industrial Design Act, and the Integrated Circuit Topography
Act. One of the most important of these statutes for creators is the Copyright Act. Technological
innovations have, in part, prompted on-going amendments to the Copyright Act. One element of this
process is implementing the obligations in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO)
two new treaties: the Copyright Treaty and the Performers and Phonograms Treaty.
These treaties were negotiated as an international response to the challenges of digital
technologies, particularly the Internet. They represent a new set of international rules for the use and
protection of digital materials and are drafted to create, in those countries joining them, a legal
framework which fosters the orderly development of the international exchange of digital materials.
39 Eddie Bayens, Musician, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
40 John Gray, Author, expert witness, February 12, 1998.
41 Related issues of preservation are dealt with in recommendations in Chapter Five.
20
A SENSE OF PLAce — A SENSE OF BEING
a a OS Se ee ee es ee eg ae Se ae
In December 1997, Canada signed the two treaties. Under Canadian law, the fact that a treaty
has been “signed” does not make the treaty law in Canada. National laws must be enacted, or
amended, to reflect the obligations undertaken in the treaty.42
Recommendation 4
Legislation implementing the two World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) Treaties should be introduced by the government and enacted by
Parliament as soon as possible.
Recommendation 5
The Government of Canada should take appropriate measures to ensure that
amendments to the Copyright Act keep pace with technological change.
STATUS OF THE ARTIST
Copyright is one federal law designed to provide creators with legal rights entitling them to
compensation for the use of their creations and to protect against unauthorized use and exploitation
of their work. Another federal law that recognizes the contribution of creators is the Status of the
Artist Act. The Committee endorses the principles set out in sections 2 and 3, reprinted below, of this
legislation:
2. The Government of Canada hereby recognizes:
(a) the importance of the contribution of artists to the cultural, social, economic
and political enrichment of Canada;
(b) the importance to Canadian society of conferring on artists a status that reflects
their primary role in developing and enhancing Canada’s artistic and cultural
life, and in sustaining Canada’s quality of life;
(c) the role of the artist, in particular to express the diverse nature of the Canadian
way of life and the individual and collective aspirations of Canadians,
(d) that artistic creativity is the engine for the growth and prosperity of dynamic
cultural industries in Canada; and
(e) the importance to artists that they be compensated for the use of their works
including the public lending of them.
Policy Statement
3. Canada’s policy on the professional status of the artist, as implemented by the
Minister of Communications is based on the following rights:
42 Publishers, private and public broadcasters, writers and the Canadian Conference of the Arts addressed copyright issues before
the Committee.
21
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
(a) the right of artists and producers to freedom of association and expression;
(b) the right of associations representing artists to be recognized in law and to
promote the professional and socio-economic interests of their members; and
(c) the right of artists to have access to advisory forums in which they may express
their views on their status and on any other questions concerning them.*3
In its presentation to the Committee, the Canadian Conference of the Arts made the following
observation:
Since passage of the federal legislation, no other status of the artist initiatives have come to
fruition at either the federal or provincial level. As a result, the conflicts between
government policies and programs over such fundamental issues as taxation, training, and
professional development, and access to programs such as Employment Insurance, have
become more challenging and unresponsive to self-employed artists and cultural
workers.44
The Committee is convinced that it will be difficult to make improvements to the status of
Canadian artists without the cooperation and participation of provincial governments. Existing
federal status of the artist legislation will fulfil its purposes only if it is accompanied by
complementary provincial legislation. Therefore:
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage invite
its counterparts in provincial governments to put in place complementary
legislation relating to the status of the artist.
This chapter began by saying that “we need creators.” The Government of Canada needs to
support, recognize and value them.
43 Status of the Artist Act, R.S.C. 1995, c.19.6, sections 2 and 3.
44 Canadian Conference of the Arts, Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, presented to the Standing Committee,
ja}, KS);
22
CHAPTER THREE: TRAINING
VISIONARIES
The vision of a few provides opportunities for many. In the past, discussions of Canadian
cultural activities have tended to focus on the values and traditions of European art forms,
overlooking the fact that for hundreds of years, Canada’s Aboriginal peoples have maintained rich
traditions of music, dance, ritual and story-telling. Contemporary Aboriginal artists remind us that,
as much as Aboriginal culture may be rooted in the past, it continues to evolve. The stage
performances of Margo Kane, who blends story telling with dance and drama; the raw energy of Ian
Ross in his Governor General Award Winning play, FareWel; and the way CD-ROM technology and
dream-inspired paintings have been brought together in the work of Iroquois artist Raymond Skye,
all attest to this.
Training and talent are lifelong companions, and the greater the talent the more inspired and
exacting the training needs to be. This has been recognized in Western Europe and Asia for centuries
where conservatories and training institutes for the transmission of knowledge, craft, technique,
discipline and experience are given the highest priority. In keeping with our past, we have borrowed
freely from European experience in developing our arts training institutions. However, the support
provided to Canada’s arts training institutions by both the public and private sector over the past forty
years has not always been a model of constancy or generosity.
It is the Committee’s view that the vibrancy of the arts in Canada is vital to the quality of our
collective social, cultural and economic life. The importance of training in the arts was reinforced in
the presentation made to the Committee by the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC).49
The quality of Canadian performing arts companies and the Canadian film and television
industry is strongly reliant on the training provided by our national training institutions.
The existence of national training institutions is a unique defining feature of the cultural
sector. Even as labour-market training is being devolved to the provinces, the government
of Canada retains its cultural mandate and responsibilities. Continuing federal support for
the cultural training infrastructure 1s essential.*6
45 CHRC “assists members of [Canada’s cultural] sector to achieve a better livelihood and better future by stimulating coordinated
; efforts to respond to career development and planning issues.” See « http://www.culturenet.ca/chre » for further information.
46 Brief submitted to the Standing Committee by the Cultural Human Resources Council, March 27, 1997.
23
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
The National Theatre School
It was the tireless support of Michel
Saint-Denis, probably one of the most famous
theatre artists in the English- and
French-speaking world at the time, that led to the
eventual creation of the National Theatre
School. What began rather inauspiciously on
February 8, 1960, in three rented rooms in the
Canadian Legion Building on Mountain Street
in Montreal, can be traced back to Saint-Denis’
first adjudication at the Dominion Drama
Festival, in 1937. He arrived with a formidable
reputation.
In France, Saint-Denis set up his own
theatre company, /a Compagnie des Quinze in
1930 and performed all over Europe until
wartime hostilities made touring impossible. He
relocated to the relative safety of England and
continued working there as an actor and director.
He co-directed the Royal Shakespeare Company
before he eventually returned to France where he
served as advisor to la Comédie Francaise.
Perhaps Saint-Denis’ greatest influence
was as a teacher. He developed ideas about
professional training for actors at each school
with which he was involved, beginning with
London’s Old Vic Theatre School, New York’s
Juilliard School, and eventually Canada’s
National Theatre School, where he served as a
special advisor. In his book, Theatre: The
Rediscovery of Style, Saint-Denis writes about
the influential interplay between the
professional theatre and theatre schools.
One can conduct experiments in a school,
which cannot be attempted elsewhere. For that
reason a good and daring school can be of great
help to the theatre. 47
In 1932, with the encouragement of the
then Governor General, the Earl of
Bessborough, the Dominion Drama Festival
came into being. It was designed as a showcase
for the hundreds of non-professional theatre
companies, the so-called “little theatres,” dotted
all across the country. This annual festival with
its professional adjudication gave untrained
actors and directors an opportunity to develop
their craft at a time when there were hardly any
professional training opportunities in the arts in
Canada. On four separate occasions beginning in
1937, Michel Saint-Denis adjudicated the
festival. He used these opportunities to advocate
the creation of a national professional theatre
school in Canada.
Years of volunteer committee work and
lobbying paid off and in 1960, under the
direction of the legendary theatre artist Jean
Gascon, the school’s first director, Jean Pierre
Ronfard took responsibility for the
French-language program and the late Powys
Thomas took charge of the English-language
program. Saint-Denis was insistent that a theatre
school should not teach as if art was somehow
frozen in time. Professional training must be
“related to an active theatre,” he said. 48
Since 1960, more Canadian universities
and community colleges have begun to offer
courses in theatre, some as part of a liberal arts
degree, others’ “Sin ‘the fon *of a
professionally-oriented BFA degree. The
National Theatre School is not a degree granting
institution. For three years, students “experience
the interdependence of writing, acting, design
and production on a daily basis. This
fundamental characteristic of the school’s
environment helps students master the
collective art of theatre.’49 Thus, the school
operates as kind of conservatory, providing
intense and focused training in all aspects of the
theatre from teachers with extensive
backgrounds in the profession.
47 Michel Saint-Denis, Theatre: The Rediscovery of Style, Theatre Arts Books, New York, 1960, p.108.
48 Ibid.
49 See:
24
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Students are accepted into the school based “co-lingual” rather than a bilingual institution, a
on their audition, their portfolio of work, and an place where students from all over Canada can
interview. The National Theatre School is a together hone their craft°?
THE NEED FOR TRAINING
Canada has a number of schools and training centres that specialize in discipline-specific
instruction to prepare Canadians for professional careers in the performing and audio-visual arts.
These include, with the year of their establishment:
e The National Theatre School (1959)
e The National Ballet School (1960)
° The National Youth Orchestra (1960)
¢ — The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre (1968)
e — The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School (1970)
° Les Ateliers de danse moderne de Montréal (1985)
e The Dancer Transition Resource Centre (1985)
° The National Circus School (1986)
e The School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg (1987)
Canada’s film and television training organizations include:
e The Canadian Film Centre (1986)
e Canadian Screen Training Centre/Summer Institute of Film and Television (1986)
e The National Screen Institute (1986)
e L/Institut national de image et du son (1989)
These and other institutions provide professional training to Canadians with the requisite talent
and stamina to endure the rigorous demands of their chosen profession. The teaching faculty is
drawn from the most experienced professionals in each field. The curricula and training programs
are based on fundamental and changing needs of the professions.
TRAINING TO COMPETE
While some celebrated Canadian artists and creators are self-taught, they, like many of the
artists, technicians, directors, and managers who graduate from Canadian professional arts training
institutions, can measure themselves against the best of their colleagues from other countries. As
50 Ibid.
25
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
mentioned earlier, artists who have been trained in Canadian professional schools are in high
demand. This speaks well of Canadian standards and the calibre of instruction at our arts training
institutions, and it also points to the strong foundation that exists for the development of professional
arts training in Canada.
Over the last 50 years, the performing and creative arts have gained international recognition.
Many Canadian playwrights are now known internationally and their works are performed
throughout the world. Michel Tremblay, the Montreal playwright, is a case in point. His plays have
been performed in dozens of countries and in many languages. Evelyn Hart of the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet has performed as a guest artist in the United States and Europe. R. Murray Schafer’s
compositions have been performed by music ensembles throughout the world. The Montreal
Symphony Orchestra’s recordings of Ravel and Debussy are sought after by music lovers
everywhere. These are but a few examples of Canadians who are performing successfully on the
international stage.
A RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT
Despite the many difficulties encountered, the development of arts training opportunities in
Canada over the past 50 years has been a success. Moreover, it is a story to which thousands of
Canadians have contributed over two generations.
A federal task force on professional training in the arts in Canada submitted its report, Art is
Never a Given, to the Minister of Communications (now Canadian Heritage) and the Minister of
Employment and Immigration (now Human Resources Development) on December 1, 1991. As
Table 3.1 shows the report identified the number of post-secondary institutions offering specific
categories of professional arts training in Canada.>!
Table 3.1
Number of Post-Secondary Institutions Offering Professional Arts Training (1991)
__ Discipline | Number
Arts administration | 15
Crafts 44 |
Dance | ae |
Interdisciplinary arts | 8
Literary arts 28
Media arts 38
Musicology 10
Music 88
_ Theatre | 69
_ Visual arts | 112
51 More recent data on this topic have not yet been compiled by the federal government.
26
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Some of these institutions offer training across the full range of arts disciplines, but most offer a more
limited selection.
Many of Canada’s leading dancers, orchestral musicians, actors, screenwriters, circus artists,
producers and directors, choreographers, artistic directors, and teachers received their training in
national training schools. They provide ideal environments for the transmission of knowledge and
professional development. In their pursuit of excellence, professional training institutions work
closely with other organizations in Canada and abroad. This collaboration provides students and
teachers with opportunities for domestic and international exchanges.
Over time, Canada’s national training schools have attracted some of the finest teachers and
most promising artists. They have earned their reputations by adopting sound management
practices, by consistently meeting the demands of the arts disciplines they serve and through
innovative approaches they have taken to professional arts training.
The Committee notes that the federal government on April 17, 1997, announced long-term
funding for these training institutions. As a result, $8.5 million is being provided annually to
recognized national professional training institutions in theatre, dance, music and film.
A LEADERSHIP ROLE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
The role played by the federal government in support of training in culture has been more varied
than is generally recognized. As noted above, the Government of Canada has provided core funding
to a small number of national cultural training institutions over the past 40 years. Until recently, that
support came from the Canada Council for the Arts, but it is now channelled through the Department
of Canadian Heritage with the financial participation of the Department of Human Resources
Development. What is less well documented is the valuable contribution made by federal cultural
agencies such as the National Film Board and the CBC in training.
The federal government has not acted alone. Provincial governments have long been involved
in support for training. As was documented in Art is Never a Given, their involvement has grown
over the past 30 years, particularly at the CEGEP, college and university level. The Committee notes
that there has been an ongoing effort by the federal and provincial governments to harmonize the
intervention of both levels of government in support of professional cultural training. For example,
the National Theatre School receives operating or program grants from:
¢ Department of Canadian Heritage
¢ Department of Human Resources Development Canada
e Ministére de la Culture et des Communications du Québec
¢ Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Newfoundland and Labrador
¢ Department of Education, Prince Edward Island
e Department of Education and Culture, Nova Scotia
° Conseil des arts de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal
27
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
eee TE,
e Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture, and Recreation
e Manitoba Arts Council
e Saskatchewan Municipal Government
e The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
e British Columbia Arts Council
¢ Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
The private sector has also played a part in supporting cultural activity. For example, the
National Theatre School receives operating or program grants from du Maurier Arts and Pratt &
Whitney Canada Inc.
Although there has been progress in the support for training, Andrew David Terris reminded the
Committee that there is still work to be done:
I don’t think the news is very good. We’re seeing less money for training and we’re seeing
a province [Nova Scotia] that really doesn’t want to deal in any substantial way with the
cultural sector in terms of any kind of separate priority for training.°?
The Committee believes that new training initiatives should be developed. Trainees should
have employment opportunities in Canadian cultural enterprises that would allow them to apply their
training. This would establish a functional relationship between training institutions and cultural
enterprises and would be particularly desirable in areas such as new media.
In its brief to the Committee, the Canadian Conference of the Arts made a number of points
about training:
That the Department of Human Resources Development Canada in collaboration with the
Department of Canadian Heritage secure stable multi-year funding for nationally
significant arts training, and for professional development and skills upgrading for artists
and cultural workers.°3
The Committee sees four areas where the federal government can provide leadership and where
new initiatives are required. These are discussed below.
A. NATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOLS
National training schools offer conservatory-type training that focuses on the needs of
individuals intent on pursuing a career in the arts. These schools serve students who have
determination and talent. The Committee supports the principle that Canadian students should be
52 Andrew David Terris, Nova Scotia Cultural Network, Halifax Round Table , February 23, 1999.
53 Conference of the Arts, Final Report of the Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, Canadian, June 1998, pas:
28
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
able to choose between a professional training program and a general arts program at a university or
college. Accordingly, the Committee endorses the continued federal support of Canada’s national
schools, and recognizes the need to support new national training schools as the needs are identified.
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends that the federal government affirm its
commitment to the continuing development of Canada’s national training
schools and support additional national training schools with appropriate
resources as they emerge.
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada’s support to
national training schools be provided on a stable, multi-year basis.
B. CO-OPERATIVE TRAINING
The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) made a number of points concerning the
training of young Canadians in new media. The Committee has found these to be of particular
interest because of the way they apply to the broader cultural sector. According to the CHRC, the
challenges in training are related to costs, the time required to train, the availability of qualified
trainers and the relevancy of the courses being offered. The Council made the following
recommendations about training for new media that can be applied to training in the cultural sector as
a whole:
e Train young Canadians through co-op and internship programs similar to those that
have proven to be successful in other areas of the Canadian economy.
e Develop business skills in new media workers.
e __ Ensure the effective marrying of creativity and technical skills.
Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) has acknowledged and acted upon the
specific needs of the cultural sector with respect to professional training. Its contribution, in
collaboration with Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Conference
of the Arts, was key to the resolution of the long-term funding needs of national cultural training
institutions. Its support of the Cultural Human Resource Council is a further indication of its interest
in finding solutions to training needs in the cultural sector.
The Committee believes that earning while learning should be attractive to trainees in cultural
creation, production, preservation and distribution. A nationally accessible co-op program for
young professionals in the cultural sector would prove beneficial. As the musician Eddie Bayens
g Ss
reminded the Committee, training is a life-long challenge and commitment.
29
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ig es ee ee a a ee
[T]he amount of preparation it takes to become a musician is not three or four years, as in
law. It’s not seven or eight years, as in medicine. It is some fifteen or twenty years of
preparation that starts at the age of five and continues until one finally lies down listening
to the trumpeter playing ‘The Last Post’.>4
Recommendation 9
The Committee recommends that the federal commitment to professional
training for arts and cultural industries and institutions give priority to the
development of co-op and intern programs. These programs should promote
strong links between training institutions and arts and cultural organizations,
allowing trainees to earn while they learn.
C. PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
As noted in Chapter Two, new technologies? offer a tool for new forms of artistic creation. The
mastery of new technologies poses another challenge for training. This training is important because
it can enhance access to educational materials.
Testimony provided by witnesses, as well as briefs submitted to the Committee, urged the
federal government to consider financial assistance for the development of new media in measures
similar to the assistance provided to feature films and Canadian television programming. The
Committee believes that the federal government should provide assistance for new media training.
Given the challenges posed by changing technologies and the fact that new media are
increasingly being used for training materials that focus on marketing, Web page design and
financial advice, the Committee makes the following recommendations:
Recommendation 10
The Committee recommends that the federal government, through
sector-based training and professional development councils, develop a shared
cost program with cultural organizations that is designed to provide
professional training in the effective use of new media.
Recommendation 11
The Committee recommends that the Departments of Canadian Heritage and
Human Resources Development Canada develop new media programs and
training packages that can be used by community-based cultural organizations.
54 Eddie Bayens, Musician, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
55 See the chapter on Production and Distribution for a discussion of issues related to new technology and new media.
30
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
D. BROADENING THE BASE OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Over the past five decades, professional training for Canadians wishing to pursue careers in all
sectors has grown in scope and sophistication. The opportunity to pursue graduate studies in business
administration has drawn Canadians from a variety of professional backgrounds. The cultural sector
is a sizeable segment of Canada’s economy, yet case studies of Canadian cultural issues are rarely
developed. This is somewhat surprising in light of the fiscal, regulatory and investment challenges
facing Canadian enterprises in broadcasting, publishing, film, and arts and heritage. The Committee
believes that this discrepancy in professional training for senior managers will hinder Canada’s
future cultural development. The federal government should therefore take the initiative to develop a
stronger and more productive link between research-oriented graduate studies in culture and some of
its cultural agencies: for example, the Canada Council for the Arts, the CBC, the CRTC, the NFB and
Telefilm.
Recommendation 12
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage and
the Department of Industry jointly develop a program that will support more
research and study of domestic and international cultural issues in Canada’s
graduate schools through the financial involvement of key federal cultural
agencies.
CONSISTENCY
Implementing recommendations related to training would require changes to existing
programs and the development of new initiatives. For example, support for the study of business
cases in the arts and cultural industries could be added to an existing program or introduced as an
entirely new initiative. These changes and new initiatives should be consistent with each other and
complement all existing training initiatives supported by the federal government.
Recommendation 13
The Committee recommends that one year after Recommendations 11 and 12
have been implemented, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership
with other federal departments and agencies, conduct a review of federal
training support initiatives to determine the overall adequacy of the support
measures and their consistency in application among different client groups.
31
a ale Cid betty aac
reiiitcemaeoric 4 oct
a. meen cnwertie
ad bc Sede. Ae gh. em or
. viele plato iat = ete Re a pO wo
aa He Seats cepesicnm men Act renee
he OMe tk” wipe satantg eA ms Beer sage Bi re
ao eae
, % ‘ 4 ee as
ML. Aisa SE th a " oF : eibiaey vn
aaa 1S i. :
“5 WAG ee
: pe
Sot am
oi: ogahty ah He
isin Miao
at 14 Aedes ening Ne Setiagestefelan . s
te ee as Aiea": ay meine ie | } 7 os ots Gs
«4
aati ieee ine
i oo “tH Hs
SiS oy wma” POSTE ‘es i 3 ¥ ] ein a es
a . ' hp
ahs hy bine Ad EP epee SIT he tit b ordi bas merger
ae Geni Leal or reign godin We bobs ol bine, 'feahet gto bas ae sdf ni zeeso
tus otifieg to aap ahh 2 ga ood bin ore zovininl oor lan ontty allt viata: won yisrins
Wa searraty g intebstal yd benoqque Aeuaiih ginhnn ganeis tik jesmetqmon
ee te een A appeseet —
ee et
ae
=
oag*e “bes lor . shat
ei? Oem
mri tern.) imtoo” Sane 128y, MID ci assistant eine
tilt tity OF oyiivl) Aeiih! io tiyeristst) oth —~
\ ee Tagen. 6 witins Active foe exeningel ore
Lecelcryte + GED tdi panisds Siua/rre ayll be vlenargire ao BE St wi)
Useuwrs amv suet Twhegiiad “ie: ii bes
ee
CHAPTER FOUR: PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
INSEPARABLE PARTNERS
The introduction to this report refers to cultural activity as a continuum — an inter-linked
process that includes creation, training, production and distribution, preservation and consumption.
Each of these elements is linked to the others, but perhaps none more closely than production and
distribution, which is why the Committee has chosen to deal with these activities together.
Many witnesses who appeared before the Committee offered praise for the federal
government's policies and support for its cultural programs. However, some of the same witnesses
also pointed to issues that have arisen as a result of the fundamental changes occurring in the cultural
environment. This chapter addresses these issues and identifies the challenges facing the federal
government with respect to its existing policies and programs and includes a number of
recommendations.
Throughout its hearings and in reviewing the many submissions it received, the Committee was
presented with examples of Canadians who have strong commitments to Canadian cultural
expression and identity. These men and women can be guides for the federal government in orienting
its involvement in culture. They provide the creative visions that help shape the federal
government’s cultural mandate.
The importance of the connection between production and distribution was argued very
strongly by Sean Fordyce, president of Voyageur Publishing:
The main reason for my being here is to say that we need to support marketing,
distribution and the demand for Canadian books as opposed to simply the production and
56
warehousing of them.
By contrast, Michel Dupuy, the former Minister of Canadian Heritage, sees production as the
main issue, noting that if the overall number of viewing hours of Canadian films in Canadian
cinemas is to increase, “it is not so much to the distribution side that we should look, but to the
production side.””>/
The Committee is convinced that production and distribution constitute an essential
partnership, regardless of changing conditions. In other words, the connection between production
and distribution is the same today — in the era of digital production techniques and
e-commerce — as it was in the age when books were produced by hand.
isher, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
e; rdyce, Publ
Og ee d Table on Film and Video, March 11, 1998.
57. Michel Dupuy, Ottawa Roun
33
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Le Cirque du Soleil
The links between the federal government
and Le Cirque du Soleil illustrate recurring
themes in this report: training, which led the
federal government to support the creation of the
National Circus School in 1986; the importance
of international touring; job creation; and
establishing a Canadian reputation for creative
innovation at home and abroad.
The story begins in 1984 with a band of
street performers in Montreal. Music, dance,
theatre, mime, clowns and _ gymnastics
converged in a public performance applauded
by passers-by. In effect, this band of performers
was updating Comedia dell’arte, the popular
theatre of the 16th century. Spontaneity,
improvisation, risk, boundless energy and
laughter were the daily fare. Led by Laliberté
and Gauthier, the group has taken the world by
storm. Firmly grounded in Quebec’s cultural
life, operating in east-end Montreal, Le Cirque
du Soleil has opened its arms to embrace the
world with its magic.
From an initial tour of the province of
Quebec in 1984 to celebrate the 450th
anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival on
Laurentian shores, Le Cirque du Soleil has gone
on to travel to 120 cities around the world, sell
17 million tickets, provide employment to 1,300
persons, (500 of whom are resident in
Montreal), and generate $175 million in
revenues in 1997.
Le Cirque du _ Soleil unabashedly
celebrates sensation. Its performances are
ephemeral, like rainbows after a summer
afternoon shower, yet they echo in memory long
after the big top has moved on. Children of all
ages are entertained and delighted.
Le Cirque du Soleil is a celebration of the
human imagination in its innumerable guises.
As they say in Quebec: “faut I’faire,’ which,
loosely translated means, “What an
achievement!”
In his Maclean’s article of July 1998, Brian
D. Johnson quotes one of the founding directors
of Le Cirque du Soleil: “After fourteen years,
we've done nothing. The real test will be the
next 10 years.” Johnson then closed his article
with a personal observation that captures the
visionary in full flight: “Under the Cirque’s ever
expanding big top, the former fire-breather
seems to have found his place in the sun — but
he is still the boy from St. Bruno, running away
to join the circus that has yet to be invented.”
Canadians have always had to find markets for their cultural and artistic products. In recent
years, the marketplace has become increasingly international. In 1990, Canada’s French-language
publishers generated $7.3 million in export revenues and foreign sales. Three years later, earnings
had quadrupled to close to $30 million. In 1993/94, export revenues and foreign sales registered by
Canada’s English-language publishers increased by 65% for a total of $321 million.°® Also, in
1996/97, 45% of the total touring income recorded for Canada’s not-for-profit performing arts
companies was obtained from international touring — a 10% increase in just two years.°?
Sales figures are not the only indicators of success. When artists are honoured by their peers at
home, as well as abroad, their work gains in stature. Today, Canadian prizes and awards, including
the Governor General’s Award, the Giller Prize, and a number of prestigious provincial and
metropolitan arts awards stand proudly alongside the East Coast Music Awards, the Genie Awards,
the Gemini Awards and the Juno Awards.
58 Canada Year Book 1999, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, 1999, Table 8.12, p. 288-290.
59 “Performing Arts 1996-1997,” The Daily, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, March 4, 1999.
34
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Canadian creative production has also been recognized internationally. In recent years,
Canadian creative artists have received or have been nominated for the Academy Awards, the Palme
d’Or, the Booker Prize, the Prix Goncourt, the Commonwealth Prize, the Orange Prize, the Impac
Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
Artistic styles, fads and trends come and go, but the creators of performing, visual, literary and
media arts are interested in finding an audience. When T. S. Eliot wrote that, “No poet, no artist of
any art, has his complete meaning alone,” he was referring to the way audiences become part of the
cultural meaning of a work.
LOOKING BEYOND PRODUCTION
Production now receives the lion’s share of federal government support to the arts. One reason
is that that production costs are high. A feature film can cost millions of dollars to produce and
market. Records and books, while less costly to produce on an individual title basis, rely on a few
“successful” titles to finance other less successful titles.
In the Canadian sound recording industry it is generally accepted that, on average, only three
out of ten new records generate sufficient profit to cover their recording and promotion costs.°!
Since it typically costs $100,000 or more to launch a recording, a company must have several million
dollars worth of recording projects underway to be a viable economic entity. A report issued by Ekos
Research Associates in 1995 provided a number of valuable insights. One related to costing was the
following:
The budget required to produce a master recording varies greatly depending upon the type
of music being recorded. A minimum budget for a simple recording can be as low as
$10,000 if it is financed by an artist (1.e., acting as a recording company). But, a
contemporary CD, which is competitive in the world market will cost considerably more:
production costs can be on the order of $200,000; the artist might have an advance of
$20,000 and marketing costs (e.g., video and a tour), on average, will cost an additional
$200,000.°?
Similar considerations apply in the book publishing industry although the costs of publishing a
book are, on average, less than those to launch a record. Hervé Foulon of Editions Hurtubise HMH
Ltée pointed out:
You can publish a novel . . . [for] $10,000 but you cannot bring out a textbook . . . [for] the
same amount. In the latter case you’re talking about an investment of $300,000 to
$400,000, so it’s a totally different problem. That is why we have to be careful when we
talk about the health of the industry.”
TS. Eliot, Tradition and the Individual Talent, in: The Sacred Wood, Essays on Poetry and Criticism, Methuen, 1920, p. 49.
61 Ekos Research Associates, An Examination of Current Policies and Programs and Legislation for the Canadian Sound
Recording Industry, Ottawa, 1995, p. 37.
62 Ibid, p. 36.
63 Hervé Foulon, fiditeur, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
35
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
_ eee eee ————
A company in a large market can produce a record, a book, or copies of a film at a lower unit cost
than producers in a small market. In addition, producers in large markets benefit from economies of
scale. The marketing expenses for a film starring Gerard Depardieu or Al Pacino are largely incurred
in France or the United States. There is so much spillover from that promotion that the costs of
marketing the film in Canada are marginal. Canadian film producers, on the other hand, do not have
the benefit of such economies of scale.
Traditionally, Canadian governments have played a important role in offsetting some of the
competitive disadvantages described above. Indeed, most of the federal government’s cultural
support programs were originally designed to compensate Canadian cultural producers for their
competitive disadvantages. Examples include protection for Canadian magazine publishers,
distribution subsidies and support to the sound recording and book publishing industries.
The benefits of government involvement are apparent in the growth and development of the
Canadian book publishing and sound recording industries over the past two decades. Despite fierce
international competition, Canada now has a reasonable complement of capable sound recording
and book publishing companies. This would not be the case had these industries not received support
from the federal government. It is noteworthy, however, that most of that support was designed to
encourage the production of Canadian-authored materials, books or recordings.
An example of how effective modest financial support can be is underlined in the history of the
Stratford Festival. How this cultural event came about, how it developed, and how it continues to
transform itself is a shining example of the innovative imagination and spirit that drives Canadian
performing arts organizations.
The Committee appreciates the richness of the artistic achievements of the Festival. The
Festival would not exist were it not for the efforts and vision of a community-minded entrepreneur
who had no special training in the arts. As Tom Patterson reminds his readers, “Most theatres, of
course, are started by actors or directors — in other words, by theatre people, whose total concern is
for what will go on the stage. But because I did not know what was involved in producing a play, I was
able to concentrate, in my teenaged mind, on getting the people there to see what might happen on
stage.”
Patterson’s approach was very straightforward. In his business plan he set about to bring in
audiences; the task of the artistic team was to produce theatre that audiences would want to see. Here,
production and marketing operated hand-in-hand. The Stratford experience shows that vision and
hard work coupled with modest support can unite marketing and high quality production. In the case
of Stratford, the result has been a world class success.
36
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Tom Patterson’s Vision: The Stratford Festival
The writing was on the wall for Stratford,
Ontario. “It was still a CN town, back in the
1930s,” recalled Stratford native Tom Patterson
in 1987, “and we all knew that diesel was
coming in. We understood it would be only a
matter of time until the giant steam-engine
repair shops, which my father, grandfather, and
great-grandfather once worked in, and on which
the town depended, would be put to rest.”64
The decision to close the CN repair shops
and divisional offices in Stratford came twenty
years later, with the loss of 2,000 jobs. At that
time (the early 1950s) Stratford’s population
was 18,000 and practically every family was
affected by the job loss.® Rather than sit by
passively and watch the economic demise of
their town, Patterson and a small group of fellow
citizens began looking for alternatives. Initially,
they considered converting the town arena into a
summertime hockey school with instruction by
players from the National Hockey League.
“Another idea, my own,” writes Patterson, “was
to create a Shakespearean Festival. After all, I
argued, we had a city named Stratford, on a river
named Avon.”
As Patterson continues the story in First
Stage: The Making of the Stratford Festival, he
paints a picture of himself as a young,
small-town journalist just returned from war,
full of big ideas but with no practical experience,
applying creative, entrepreneurial thinking to an
otherwise crushing shift in the local economy.
“The picture I had in my mind was not a
building, nor of a stage, as I knew absolutely
nothing about theatre, or of how it worked.
Rather, I had an image only of lots of people
pouring in, and this began to develop in my
mind.”
The Festival idea was officially launched
with a cheque for $125 from the Stratford City
Council. The money was to be used by Tom
Patterson to travel to New York to talk to theatre
people. That was the year before the Festival’s
first season in 1953.
In 1953 the first season ran for six weeks.
Some 68,000 people attended. Last season, the
festival ran for six months and played to a total
audience of 523,015 patrons. Overall, the
festival estimates that it is responsible for
bringing more than $120 million, annually, into
the local economy.
The Stratford Festival is now the largest
performing arts institution in Canada. The
total budget for the last season was $29,107,275.
Of that total, approximately 79%, or
$23,591,730, came through the box-office, the
largest ticket revenue in the festival’s history.
Public funding, including federal and provincial
support, represented only 5% or $1,612,275, of
the total budget. Income from fundraising
accounted for the remaining 16%,
approximately $4,888,000.°7
OWNERSHIP AND CITIZENSHIP
The achievements in building the Stratford Festival and other Canadian cultural success stories
have been aided by a number of different types of support from the Government of Canada. A
number of government programs are tied to ownership and citizenship. Witnesses commented on
64 Tom Patterson (with Allan Gould), The First Stage — The Making of the Stratford Festival, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto,
1987, p. 26.
65 David Prosser, “The Stratford Festival” in Standpoints, Paris, May 1998.
66 Stratford Festival, News Release, November 24, 1998.
67 Karen Farmer, Media Relations, Stratford Festival, January 5, 1999.
ST
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Deena eee eee eee
these issues to the Committee. Applying ownership rules as a criterion is important for the following
reasons. First, most Canadian-authored books and records are produced by Canadian-owned
companies. Second, targeting ownership is efficient because it allows the government to avoid
involvement in the identification of specific authors and musicians who merit support.
Canadian publisher Jack Stoddart told the Committee just how far forward the book publishing
industry in Canada has travelled in the past twenty-five years, especially in the face of fierce
competition from abroad. He noted:
Although sales in the English language are dominated by books from outside the country,
approximately 30% of all the books sold in this country are Canadian-authored books. I
think as a starting point, that’s a very important position because I’m not sure there’s
another cultural industry that controls 30% of the Canadian market from its own creative
base. I think we should be happy about that and rejoice and feel comfortable that in fact a
lot has been accomplished in the past 25 years.°°
For Stoddart, this growth would not have been possible without the financial support of the federal
government.
While there is some merit in focusing on ownership, it can place the emphasis on the wrong
issues. First, the issue of ownership can become confused with the goal of support programs. Second,
focusing on an industry can divert attention from cultural matters and redirect focus to the difficulties
of running a business. This confusion can produce ambiguities in policies and uncertainty about the
nature of government involvement.
One witness made the following comment:
I would suggest. . .that the paradigm which we have been using in our support of our
cultural industries for the past twenty years or more, which is essentially based on flowing
support to Canadian companies, as defined by citizenship of the principals and physical
location of the activity they engage in, may be the correct approach for an industrial
policy, but has proven to be a very hit-and-miss approach from a cultural perspective. If we
were to change the focus of our support from “Who makes it” to “What it says,” we might
get more predictable and satisfactory results.
Ownership rules, point systems and content regulations are important elements of Canada’s
cultural policy. Unfortunately, the inflexibility of existing support measures is having the effect of
denying some Canadian creators, performers and producers a room in the Canadian cultural home.
For example, under existing Canadian content rules, Céline Dion and Shania Twain are not defined
as “Canadian” artists. The CRTC defines Canadian content according to a point system based on the
nationality of the creative personnel involved in the production; ten points is the maximum. A TV
series about American policemen called Top Cops shown on the CBS Network receives the
maximum of 10 points under the CRTC certification system because the programs were made in
Canada by people with Canadian passports. At the same time, a Canadian broadcaster showing Never
68 Jack Stoddart, Publisher, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
69 Sandra Macdonald, Chairperson, National Film Board, Ottawa Round Table, Thursday, October 22, 1998.
38
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Se Wolf, a Disney movie based on Farley Mowat’s novel about a wildlife scientist studying the
habits of timber wolves in Canada’s north, did not qualify for a single Canadian content point.’°
Keith Ross-Leckie, of Tapestry Films, drew attention to the ambiguity of the present point
system.
It all gets down to, again, the point system and Canadian content. The cable fund and
Telefilm talked about Canadian content being 8 out of 10 points, which I believe is good
and functional. In fact, the cable fund has come out with a new initiative that makes it
necessary to have the script done by a Canadian scriptwriter, and I think that’s a wonderful
step towards empowering us that way. However, the CRTC [rating system] is still only the
basis of 6 out of 10 points, and they call this ‘Canadian content’. What results from the 6
out of 10 is that the scripts are generated in the States by American producers and often,
but not always, American directors. In effect, what we are doing with the 6 out of 10
CRTC ruling is subsidizing American production.’!
Marie-Josée Corbeil of Cinar Films in Montreal stressed the importance of flexible government
rules.
I wouldn’t like to see the rules become more rigid. On the contrary, I think we should have
greater flexibility. /2
These examples suggest that the link between ownership and citizenship and Canada’s cultural
policy goals needs to be discussed in greater depth. The Committee believes that an additional policy
mechanism should be considered.
A COMPLEMENTARY APPROACH TO CANADIAN CONTENT
Entitlement on the basis of citizenship of the principals or the physical location of the activity
has proven to be a successful approach to achieving cultural policy objectives, as the above examples
show. Complementing existing ownership and citizenship rules with an additional focus on “what it
says” could, the Committee believes, produce desirable cultural results. With an approach such as
this, Céline Dion and Shania Twain would be defined as Canadian artists, while a film about
Canada’s north based on a novel by a Canadian author would be a Canadian story.
The Committee acknowledges the value of point systems and ownership and citizenship rules.
A complementary system based on cultural content would not be a major departure from practices
and methods that have been employed in Canada for many years. If agencies of the Government of
Canada can use peer-based assessment effectively with creative artists and scientific researchers,
why would a similar approach not be as effective when dealing with questions of content?
70 Sandra Macdonald, “For Purposes of Discussion, Four Challenging Questions for Canada’s Audio-Visual Policy,” included in
her presentation to the Committee.
71 Keith Ross Leckie, Tapestry Films, Ottawa Round Table on Film and Video, March 11, 1998
72 Marie-Josée Corbeil, Vice-President, Cinar Films, Ottawa Round Table on Film and Video, March 11, 1998.
39
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
eee RR keeeee—_—_e
Recommendation 14
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
addition to existing ownership and citizenship requirements, develop
complementary policies and programs which focus on, ensure and enhance
Canadian content in cultural works.
STRATEGIC CHALLENGES
The achievements in building the Stratford Festival and the Canadian magazine and book
publishing industries, among others, have relied on a number of different types of government
support. Future efforts will increasingly be made in an environment characterized by globalization,
technological change and the knowledge society. There will be new challenges, different from those
Canadians have had to face in the past.
Jack Stoddart’s report that 30% of books now sold in Canada are Canadian-authored titles
illustrates one of the positive results that have stemmed from government support channeled to
Canadian-owned publishers. Other witnesses, while acknowledging such successes, contend that
although there should be continuing support for production, we must now focus more on other
challenges facing Canadian cultural industries.
Canada hasn’t had a production problem for 20 years. We have a distribution problem.
That is our primary problem. It is not producing. Canadians are, for our population,
producing enormous amounts of material. Our problem is distribution. Our problem with
movies is not that we don’t make movies; it’s that we can’t get any theatres to show
them.73
Production has always been an important focus of federal government support to cultural
development in Canada. But a focus on production by itself is not enough. Jefferson Lewis, a
screenwriter, explained to the Committee how important it is for Canada’s cultural industries to
promote their products in such a way that they continue to find new audiences. In the case of film,
international partnerships and co-productions help build the industry while attracting new
audiences.
Forget the United States. With all due respect, maybe we can one day work as equals with
the majors but the natural partners for us are the French, the Brazilians, the Irish, and the
English. All those countries are roughly our size and are interested in roughly the same
kinds of things we are. And they’d love to work with us. . .Everything we can do to
enhance co-production is terrific for us, because it leads to truly international productions
and it gives us the additional money we need./4
The Committee notes that the Canada Council for the Arts recognized the importance of
dissemination during a recent strategic review of its programs. As Joanne Morrow, of the Council
explained to the Committee:
73 John Gray, Author, expert witness, February 12, 1998.
74 Jefferson Lewis, Screenwriter, Ottawa Round Table on Film and Video, March 11, 1998.
40
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ae ea ON ere teh ata
After examining our priorities, the Council and the staff agreed that the weak link in the
chain was dissemination. We use the term “dissemination” in the broad sense and include
it in all activities creating links between artists’ works and audiences: performing arts
tours; exhibitions of visual and media arts; promotion of books and periodicals; tours by
writers; and translation of Canadian books from one official language to the other.
We therefore made dissemination the priority and reallocated funds internally for this
purpose, even before receiving new resources. The new funds are enabling the Council to
strengthen this activity in a truly meaningful way so that more Canadians will have the
opportunity to experience the work they support with their tax dollars.7>
The Committee acknowledges that cultural production requires strategic planning to achieve its
desired results and that, quality of work notwithstanding, successful marketing and promotion is
essential. However, there is an important distinction that must also be made between for-profit and
not-for-profit organizations. The next section deals with some of the differences between these two
sectors.
THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTOR
In the performing arts in Canada, as in many other countries, not-for-profit companies and
commercial enterprises operate side-by-side. In general, cultural industries operate within a
for-profit framework, whereas most performing arts, and heritage organizations tend to operate
within a not-for-profit framework.’ Visual artists, like many other creators in Canada work in both
settings. Their works or performances, can be seen in commercial as well as not-for-profit venues.
This makes for a highly flexible, mobile and entrepreneurial work force whose adaptability and
mobility may well serve as a model for other sectors of Canada’s labour force. At the same time, the
label “not-for-profit” should not be confused with “not viable.” The not-for-profit designation
indicates that the organization has a community-based board, usually has charitable tax status, and is
eligible for public funding.
Over the past decade, one of the most striking achievements of Canada’s not-for-profit arts
organizations is the ways they have reduced their deficits. In 1993, for example, there were
approximately 470 not-for-profit theatre, dance, opera and music companies in Canada and they
ended the year with a combined deficit of approximately $5.5 million. Interestingly, by 1996-97 the
number of companies had grown to 602, but their combined deficit was reduced to approximately
$655,000 — only slightly more than one-tenth of the total recorded in 1993.77
It is worth noting that the not-for-profit sector is larger than one might assume; for example, as
seen in Chapter Six, more than 13 million people attended performances of theatre, music, dance and
opera in 1996-97. Members of the Committee have noted that reducing deficits can impose burdens
on performing arts companies. These can include shorter rehearsal times and smaller productions,
Joanne Morrow, Director of Arts Division, Canada Council for the Arts, Witness presentation, June tele 1998.
Practically all of Canada’s classical music, visual art, dance, and theatre organizations, as well as librairies, archives and museums
operate on a not-for-profit model. This is a precondition for support from the Canada Council for the Arts. a
77 Statistics Canada, “Performing Arts 1996-1997,” The Daily, Ottawa, March 4, 1999, (breakdown of the not-for-profit deficit
icture for 1996-1997). Canada’s 342 theatre companies ended the year with a collective surplus of $3.5 million, compared with the
a combined music, dance and opera companies that ended the year with a collective deficit of $1.6 million.
te
76
41
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
involving fewer actors and more volunteers. These constraints could adversely affect performing
arts attendance levels.
THE FOR-PROFIT SECTOR
Every decision to set up a commercial enterprise is based on the assumption that after some
initial period the enterprise will become a viable and profitable commercial entity. Canada has a
well-structured set of legal and financial rules and procedures for dealing with for-profit enterprises.
These include accounting principles, reporting relationships, and obligations to investors. The
Committee believes that profit-oriented enterprises must abide by these rules, procedures and
common understandings to be eligible for federal support. Federal support for these organizations
must be structured differently and have different performance requirements and expectations than
those set out for not-for-profit organizations.
The Committee notes that almost one-third of the English-language publishers and one-quarter
of the French-language publishers supported by the federal government do not break even. That is,
even with federal support, these companies are losing money.’® The Committee interprets this
situation not as one of the unique circumstances of the Canadian cultural scene, but as evidence that
some for-profit cultural enterprises depend on the federal government for their very existence.’? In
short, they are not viable without government support.
The Committee notes that this situation has been allowed to continue over a long period of time.
First, it suggests that confusion has built up between the for-profit and the not-for-profit sectors.
Second, it is difficult to determine whether the federal support being provided is being used to
enhance the production and distribution of Canadian materials or to compensate for inefficiencies in
a particular firm. For example, if the purpose of support is to increase the sales of Canadian-authored
titles, then it should be used for that purpose. Federal support should be targeted for specific projects
or initiatives that address government policy objectives, and it should be possible for the companies
that receive such support to demonstrate that it is being used for the purpose intended.
Recommendation 15
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage review
its financial support measures to clarify the distinction between for-profit and
not-for-profit cultural organizations.
Recommendation 16
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with appropriate cultural agencies, develop mechanisms to ensure
sustainable, long-term, multi-year funding for not-for-profit cultural
organizations.
78 Canada Year Book 1999, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, 1999, Table 8.12, p. 289.
79 “Not-for-profit” is used in this report to designate all non-profit organizations. “Not-for-profit” is the designation used by
Statistics Canada’s Cultural Statistics Program.
42
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Recommendation 17
The Committee recommends that support for the developmental phase of a new
company (start-ups) be designed to include specific performance targets and
that there be a sunset clause for federal support to the start-up phase of the
company’s development.
Recommendation 18
The Committee recommends that in the case of viable, for-profit, commercial
enterprises, federal support should be targeted for specific projects or ventures.
BALANCING GOVERNMENT POLICIES
The Committee was told repeatedly that marketing is the vital connection that links production
with distribution. Canadian artistic and cultural materials must be effectively marketed if they are to
continue to compete successfully at home and abroad with cultural materials from every region of
the world.
Hervé Foulon, of Editions Hurtubise HMH Ltée, expressed the need for Canadian publishers to
have control over the production and distribution of their products.
With the help of governments, we have managed to nurture a small industry and make it
what it is — a publishing industry that has all important components in Canada, along with
everything for the industry itself, for jobs, and for the cultural protection of our
identity. .. From the economic standpoint, we have a problem. If tomorrow we were
granted complete freedom, and we couldn’t provide help for our people to get what they
needed, I don’t imagine that any company here — in distribution even more than in
publishing — could face up to any of the major U.S. publishers or European
multinationals.°°
Martin Bragg shared with the Committee his experience in the Canadian Stage Company
explaining the shift in his company’s funding base.
I do think there is role for government in supporting the arts, and IJ think it should be a
cornerstone of Canada’s cultural policy. But I am not prepared to sit here in 1998 and
pretend that my head is in the sand and it’s back to 1972. My organization in 1972 had
80% of its . .. revenue coming from three levels of government. Today that level has
shrunk to 18% ... Something is going on here.8!
The Committee is also concerned that there is insufficient federal support for marketing and
distribution, especially as it pertains to the ability of arts and cultural organizations to compete
domestically and internationally. If these organizations are to survive and continue to develop, they
80 Hervé Foulon, Publisher, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
81 Martin Bragg, Canadian Stage Company, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
43
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
errs
must receive assistance from both the public and private sectors to help them adjust to demographic
changes taking place in society.
There is a link between creating a work of art and finding an audience. At the same time,
however, this happens in different ways. The process of publishing and distributing copies of a book
is physically different from that of making and distributing a movie. The federal government has
always recognized these distinctions and has been able to adapt its programs to facilitate the
production and distribution of works of art and culture across a wide range of cultural industries.
A number of witnesses spoke of the need to build on existing successes by providing for the
need to market our efforts in arts and culture. The proposition is as simple as recognizing that a
theatre must advertise its upcoming performances. If no one knows about a performance, attendance
will be modest, disappointing, even dismal. As Theodore Levitt has pointed out “if you don’t
market, something terrible happens — nothing.””8?
The famous explorer Ernest Shackleton understood the power of advertising. His
advertisement appeared in London newspapers in 1900 and made a simple point:
Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey
Small wages, bitter cold, long months of
complete darkness. Constant danger.
Safe return doubtful.
Honour and recognition in case of success.
A “hazardous journey” is how one might describe starting a theatre company that will develop
and stage a play. One way to make the journey less hazardous is to form partnerships with others. In
some sense, the federal government has always worked in partnership with the arts. In the
Committee’s view, policies should support such initiatives and not hinder them.
Based on evidence from the arts, heritage and cultural industries sectors, the Committee
believes there is a broad consensus that federal support should address the key activities of
production, distribution, marketing and promotion in a strategic and coherent manner. Museums and
performing arts organizations, as well as filmmakers and book publishers understand the links
between these activities and they are seeking to take full advantage of them. The Committee believes
that important benefits would be achieved through a careful review of current federal programs and
makes the following recommendations:
Recommendation 19
The Committee recommends that an_ independent, objective and
cross-disciplined analysis be commissioned by the Department of Canadian
Heritage to develop strategies that promote essential links among production,
distribution and marketing.
82 Theodore Levitt, Thinking About Management, The Free Press, New York, 1991, p.137.
44
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Recommendation 20
The Committee recommends that within a year of the presentation of this
report, the Minister of Canadian Heritage should ensure that the department’s
program objectives relating to the essential links among production,
distribution and marketing and those of its portfolio agencies are
complementary.
THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY
In 1657, Sir Isaac Newton wrote to his colleague Robert Hooke, “If I have seen further it is by
standing on the shoulders of giants.” His summary of what he had learned from others is even more
pertinent today. People use a myriad of instruments invented by hundreds, if not thousands of others.
This capacity to build on knowledge learned and propagated by others has become one of the
defining characteristics of modern society. This idea is not new, nor is the fact that knowledge is
embedded in a product or technology. The new element is the speed with which the knowledge can be
shared and exploited.
The Committee realizes that we can know what someone else knows without taking anything
away from them. Indeed, companies form strategic alliances because of a need to learn how to do
something, or to share in the development of a line of products. In his presentation to the Committee,
Ken Stein of Shaw Communications elaborated on this practice:
They are saying that the driving force of the new economy 1s going to be knowledge and
information. .. We have to be able to break down the barriers so that we can have the kind
of integrated companies in this country that we are up against as we deal outside this
country in the future. °4
The need to form strategic alliances among companies in Canada’s cultural sector is as
important as it is in the high-tech sector. Such alliances tend to benefit all the members of the alliance.
For example, Making History: Louis Riel and the North West Rebellion of 1885 is an interactive
CD-ROM, produced as one of a series devoted to Canadian historical events (available in both
official languages). This production is designed to provide students with different perspectives and
interpretations of the event and the characters involved. Using archival material, documentary
techniques and interview footage, this multimedia project was created in partnership with an
independent production company, Monro Media of Vancouver, the National Film Board, and Terra
Nova, part of the Canadian Studies Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
It is important to view these developments in the context of expanding multinational
entertainment companies who are also developing multimedia products and services. A recent
article in The Economist noted:
[Sleven huge entertainment companies have emerged — Time Warner, Walt Disney,
Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corp, Seagram and Sony. They cover pretty well every bit of
the entertainment business except pornography. Three are American, one is Australian, one
83 Ken Stein, Shaw Communications, Ottawa Round Table on Broadcasting, March 12, 1998.
45
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Canadian and one Japanese. ‘What you are seeing,’ says Christopher Dixon, managing
director of media research at Paine Webber, a stockbroker, ‘is the creation of a global
oligopoly. It happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century; now it is
> 84
happening to the entertainment business’.
CBC president Perrin Beatty calls these huge organizations “constellations.”8> Their growth is
a challenge to small players everywhere. They are not the backdrops to cultural enterprise in Canada;
they are at centre stage, providing audiences and consumers with popular products and shareholders
with returns.
Micheline L’Espérance-Labelle, representing Quebecor DIL Multimedia, stressed the
importance of partnerships and strategic alliances as a way to ensure a solid economic base for
Canadian cultural production.
I feel the government should encourage these [cultural] industries . . . to work together so
that each of them can benefit from partnerships in the future. We have to find the means to
protect culture, and find the means [to disseminate it]. We have to sell it.°°
The challenge for Canadian cultural enterprises is how to form new and creative partnerships
and alignments that will empower existing Canadian constellations and promote the development of
new ones. A small press, independent book store, video production house or recording company is in
competition not only with every other small press, book store, video production house or recording
company in Canada, but with the “global oligopoly” mentioned above. These challenges cut across
the jurisdictions of several federal government departments and they must be addressed from a
government-wide perspective.
However, most of the government structures in use in developed countries today are based on
institutions that were developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Examples can be seen in the
departments (ministries) dedicated to health, education and agriculture. In times past, the pace of
change was slow, citizens were not as well educated and most countries were, to a large extent,
insulated from outside influences. Change often took decades.
A major challenge for governments in the next millennium involves the need to adapt 19th
century structures to 21st century needs. John Godfrey, a member of the Committee, described the
challenge in the following way:
[ W Jhat I want [everyone] to understand is that here we have a 19th century federal
government set up with departments that didn’t understand anything very much about
environment or telecommunications or any of the complexities of late 20th century
life. . .[F]or example, in the case of the drilling moratorium, the federal government is
going to deal with that through the Department of Natural Resources so. . .on these issues
there’s a natural resources component, there’s a Fisheries and Oceans component, there’s a
Department of the Environment component. . .[R]ight now we’re dealing with a
84 Emma Duncan, “Wheel of Fortune,” The Economist, November 21, 1998.
85 Perrin Beatty, President, CBC, Address to the Committee, April 2, 1998, p. 12.
86 Micheline L’Espérance-Labelle, Quebecor DIL Multimédia, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
46
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
Heritage-Parks Canada component. In other words, our governmental structures, both
federal-provincial and within one level of government, don’t deal very well with late 20th
century problems. 87
The Department of Canadian Heritage needs stronger horizontal links with other Departments
in the federal government. Cultural issues, for example, are occupying an increasingly prominent
place in international trade. Although the Department of Canadian Heritage is primarily responsible
for cultural matters, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) is
responsible for international trade. International trade agreements have a profound effect on culture.
This calls for timely cooperation between these departments.
Recommendation 21
The Committee recommends that the federal government create a special
committee of cabinet, including the ministers of Canadian Heritage,
International Trade, and industry and Finance, to develop a policy framework
that will provide Canadian cultural industries with the optimal environment to
sustain themselves and grow, both at home and abroad.
The Government of Canada can turn to a wealth of talent to help it address cultural issues.
However, a mechanism or model is needed, which will allow the government to draw upon that talent
on a continuing basis, while respecting the mandates of departments and the autonomy of
government agencies. The Committee is also convinced that mechanisms must be found to address
existing structures of the federal government, many of which are essentially out-of-date. While the
Committee is concerned primarily with this issue as it applies to cultural matters, it believes that it
also arises in other areas of federal responsibility.
The shift to interdependent and multi-sectoral planning and policy development is, in the
Committee’s opinion, one of the biggest challenges facing the federal government in the cultural
sector.
Recommendation 22
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
identify potential changes to the structure of government that would enable the
Government of Canada to respond in a timely manner to changes in the cultural
sector.
87 John Godfrey, Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Tuesday February 9, 1999.
47
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
NEW MEDIA®’
The creation, production and distribution of multimedia products is a new business. Although it
is growing at an exponential rate, it is still in a state of flux. The implications for the production and
distribution of cultural materials are only now beginning to be identified. The Committee notes from
the witnesses’ testimony and from the submissions received, the vitality of those Canadian
companies that are actively developing new media products.
Stentor presented the Committee with a report on a recent multimedia conference, which serves
as a useful snapshot of Canada’s developing multimedia sector:
[T]he participants represented a wide array of undertakings. They represented companies
consisting of a single person as well as those with 150+ people devoted entirely to
interactive digital media enterprises. The types of content products and services the
producers were involved in included: animation, CD-ROM title production, including
games, reference works, educational titles; Internet services of many kinds, corporate
presentations; computer based training; overall, an impressive array of what constitutes
new media in Canada today.®?
In his book The Bagel Effect, Paul Hoffert, a Canadian expert on digital technology, offers this
perspective on new media:
[Most new media are]. . . digital and interactive. These include CD-ROMs and the Internet
but would exclude music CDs, which are digital but not interactive. At some point these
media will cease being new and so the term will not last long. A more descriptive name
would simply be digital interactive media.??
Micheline L’Espérance-Labelle, of Quebecor, suggested that new media projects can have
educational as well as developmental components.
One thing I have been very happy to see is all the initiatives in the field of education. If we
want to preserve our culture, we have to start by thinking about children, our children. . . .
Initiatives include networks like SchoolNet/Rescol and others, that in my view are
extremely important. We have to focus on education.?!
88 In May 1999 the CRTC reported on its examination of regulatory issues related to new media, particularly the Internet. The
Committee has focused its review of new media on issues related to cultural industries and institutions.
89 Froman & Associates, Final Report on the CanCon New Media Sessions, included in the Stentor submission, joys th
90 Paul Hoffert, The Bagel Effect — A Compass to Navigate Our Wired World, Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1998, puliss:
91 Micheline L’Espérance-Labelle, Quebecor DIL Multimédia, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
48
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
The National Atlas/Canadian Community Atlas Project
Students across Canada are logging onto
SchoolNet to download portions of some of the
latest maps produced by Natural Resources
Canada. By setting out their own parameters and
imposing a series of filters such as population
density or geological composition, these maps
are electronically re-drawn according the
students’ specifications. The students can
download and eventually print these customized
maps. This is a two-way project. Students who
“take” information from this site are expected to
put something back. They are encouraged to
post their own data, their own maps,
photographs and descriptions of their local
surroundings. To make sure that this new data
can be interpreted and searched, the students use
a series of mapping templates devised by
teachers and available on the map site. These
student contributions to the understanding of
Canadian geography are then made available to
all subsequent users.
This interactive mapping site is a pilot
project called the National Atlas/Canadian
Community Atlas Project. It is the result of a
partnership involving Geo Access, formerly
known as the National Atlas Information
Service of Geomatics Canada (a division of the
Department of Natural Resources), SchoolNet,
and the Canadian Council for Geographic
Education, a national teacher’s organization.
The elements required for this project were
start-up support from the federal government, a
federally supplied data base, on-going support
from teachers, schools with access to computers
and modems, and students. In a swelling ocean
of sources of electronically accessible
information, this small project stands out as an
example of content development by and for
Canadian students. Because it is Internet-based,
others can access it around the world.
Paul Hoffert described the differences between two distinct interests in Canada’s new media
sector as follows:
The television industry has a broad business infrastructure, publicly traded companies, and
lots of money . . . Broadcasters have no experience with digital or interactive projects and
have little understanding of how to create them. They do have viable models for making
money on broadcast networks.2?
Hoffert also made this observation about Canada’s new media professionals:
[They] .. . know everything that is now known about how to create products for digital
networks and interactive media. But they are grossly underfunded and do not have viable
business models for making money on digital networks. 93
The Committee believes that new media is an area where an innovative combination of
pragmatic measures 1s required. The Committee also believes that new media is an area where the
cultural sector could adopt a set of program measures which have been developed and tested in the
areas of research and development, specifically the idea of a network of centres of excellence. Over
the past ten years, the federal government has funded a program called Networks of Centres of
Excellence. This program brings university researchers, private sector and graduate students
together in a network that is not determined by their physical location.
92 Hoffert, p. 189.
93 Ibid.
49
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
nn ED
Metropolis, for example, is the name of a cooperative, international research initiative created
to examine immigrant integration and the effects of international migration on Canadian urban
centres. It comprises four different centres of excellence: Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and
Vancouver.?4
Core funding for these centres was provided by a consortium of federal departments and
agencies, including Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council, Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism), Status of Women Canada,
Human Resources Development Canada, Statistics Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation, and Correctional Service of Canada.
Metropolis also has a strong international component, with partners in public and private
institutions from Canada, the United States, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Israel and Argentina.
Recommendation 23
The Committee recommends that the Department of Heritage, in collaboration
with the appropriate research granting and cultural agencies, establish a
network of centres of excellence for new media. Establishing a network of
centres of excellence for new media will require a feasibility study that should
examine substantive partnerships with educational institutions and the private
sector.
THE PERMISSIONS PROCESS
One of the major obstacles facing new media producers is the difficulty of securing permission
to use copyright materials in their products.?° The process of obtaining permission to reproduce text,
music, images and any other copyright material that is needed in a new media product involves
identifying the owner of the copyright, locating the copyright owner, contacting that owner and then
negotiating an agreement for the use of the work. Each step in this process can be fraught with
difficulties. Sometimes the owner cannot be identified because authors and creators are not always
the copyright owners. Even when there is clear identification, it is sometimes impossible to locate the
owner because he or she has moved, is deceased or the company has gone out of business. There can
be further difficulties after contact is made because acceptable financial terms cannot be negotiated
or because the request to use the work is not acceptable to the copyright owner.
In June 1998, the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage produced a
three-minute video explaining new media in connection with the launch of a $30 million, five-year
program administered by Telefilm to assist in the production and marketing of Canadian cultural
94 Further details on Metropolis and each of the centres of excellence can be found at:
95 Copyright is also discussed in Chapter Two.
50
A SENSE OF PLAce — A SENSE OF BEING
multimedia products in both official languages. In order to produce that video, it was necessary to
obtain authorization for approximately 130 still photos and video segments and seven segments from
musical works. It was also necessary to secure permissions from a number of individual performers
for their performances in the video segments. In one instance, the launch of the work was delayed
until authorization was obtained from a performer who insisted on seeing what segment was being
used, and in what context. This copyright clearance exercise required the full-time work of three
lawyers over a three-week period.
The difficulties in securing copyright permission can cause undesirable results. Producers are
choosing to use material in which copyright has expired to avoid having to get permission. They are
also creating original material, such as music and text, instead of undertaking the difficult task of
clearing the rights for existing material, or are buying material from stock libraries that provide them
with copyright-cleared material. This can reduce the use of existing Canadian cultural materials.
PROVIDING ACCESS TO OUR HERITAGE
The Committee believes that the wealth of the holdings of our heritage institutions should be
more accessible. New media is one way to improve access and awareness to users throughout the
world to the holdings of Canada’s heritage institutions. The difficulties associated with copyright
clearances in new media must be solved. With efficient royalty collection and rights clearance
mechanisms in place, new media companies could add a new dimension to our national heritage
collections and holdings by promoting and publicizing them and, on a broader level, contribute
substantially to the overall development of this new media sector. From a cultural perspective, new
media represents a genuine opportunity for Canadians. CBC and NFB productions, as well as
millions of works in the national collections and holdings in libraries, archives and museums, can be
re-packaged in new media formats for a new market, both in Canada and abroad. People who would
otherwise never enter a museum or archive will then have access to many of Canada’s national
treasures, on the internet or on a CD-ROM, for example.
The Committee recognizes that the new media sector holds enormous potential for growth. Of
course, there are difficulties in identifying, locating, contacting and negotiating with copyright
owners. Canada is well placed to create a niche for itself in this part of the global high technology
sector. And the government has an important role to play if this is to happen. Under the
circumstances, the Committee considers the federal government to have an obligation to assist this
fledgling industry. An important initiative could include providing a forum for the exchange of
information in this new field.
Recommendation 24
The Committee recommends that:
24.1 The Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry jointly work with
those involved in new media with respect to obtaining copyright clearances
more easily and in identifying the role of collectives in the administration of
copyright.
51
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Neen eee aaa
24.2 The Department of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada jointly fund a
study to determine whether a central clearing mechanism for obtaining
copyright permission to use copyright materials in new media is feasible.
24.3 The study should include at a minimum an analysis of what should be done;
the costs of doing it, an analysis of financial viability, and the design of a fully
funded pilot project. The feasibility study, including the design of a pilot
project, should be implemented within one year of the presentation of this
report.
ACCOMODATING THE NEW ENVIRONMENT
The government has a wide range of effective policy and program instruments at its disposal.
The combination that will best serve the long-term development of the Canadian new media sector
has yet to be determined. Moreover, the Department of Canadian Heritage is only one of several
stakeholders. Industry Canada also has a role to play, as does the Department of Finance. Working
together in the area of new media, they can do much to help Canadian new media producers establish
a niche in world markets.
Recommendation 25
The Committee recommends that within one year of the presentation of this
Report, the Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada jointly
develop and establish objectives and criteria for federal support to Canada’s
new media sector.
New media can help make Canadians and others more aware of our cultural heritage. It can also
provide new media users, both at home and abroad, with access to the rich holdings of Canada’s
heritage institutions. There are, however, other vehicles through which this can be done including:
ongoing support for the CBC, tours by performing arts companies and travelling exhibitions.
FORGING LINKS ACROSS CANADA
A. THE CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
The Committee heard repeatedly from Canadians about the importance of the CBC. For
example, Mia Weinberg told the Committee:
I’ve been a Canadian for three years now. But when I went for my citizenship test, my
knowledge of Canada came from having listened to the CBC. That’s how I knew about this
country. I knew .. . more than what I needed. . . for that test because I'd listened to the
CBC radio.”©
96 Mia Weinberg, Representative of the National Council of CARFAC, Vancouver Round Table, February 25, 1999.
52
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
The testimony is unassuming, simplicity itself. Yet it expresses what the CBC is about. The
CBC tells the story of Canada to its audience. The testimony presented to the Committee referred to
the role of the CBC in a multitude of ways. The following are examples of the views of witnesses.
° I'd like to say that the CBC has been a tremendous resource for the theatre
community in Canada and certainly in this province and the cuts over the past
five years to CBC have had a profound effect on theatre artists and musicians
and writers and also for us as a theatre company, the CBC did a lot of seeding
of projects. They would often seed a small radio play, then we as a theatre
company could take up and put on the stage. Things would grow from the
CBC and that’s been much more difficult recently.”
¢ Please continue the CBC’s funding. As you’ ve heard today, it’s crucial to
isolated communities. I grew up in Toronto where you can push a button and
you ve got 400 radio stations. You can’t do that in northwestern Ontario and
it’s crucial that information be available to the people all across this region.?®
¢ CBC has also helped the flowering of our culture and continues its
commitment and its work with the creative people. The Corporation must have
the means to continue doing this.??
The tenor of the testimony suggests to the Committee that the CBC is perceived by Canadians as
an integral part of the fabric of this country. The testimony also speaks to a shared appreciation by
Canadians of the CBC’s immeasurable contribution to Canadian cultural life.
The Committee recognizes the CBC’s position in the very heart of cultural expression in
Canada. The Committee would like to endorse a number of recommendations contained in the 1996
Mandate Review Committee — CBC, NFB, Telefilm:
e CBC radio should maintain its regional and local presence and continue to
operate four national networks.
e CBC’s radio services should maintain their distinctive, non-commercial
character as provided in the CRTC’s conditions of licence.
e Both CBC television networks should continue to provide programming that
informs, enlightens and entertains their audiences. But their program services
should be distinctively and almost totally Canadian; they should be a clear and
intelligent alternative to commercial television; and they should be committed
to quality, innovation and public service. 10°
Members of the Committee believe that the above recommendations of the mandate review
committee address the concerns of Canadians as they were presented during the Committee’s travels
97 Gay Hauser, General Manager, Eastern Front Theatre Co., Halifax Round Table, February 23, 1999.
98 Diane Imrie, Executive Director, Northwestern Ontario Ports Hall of Fame, Thunder Bay Round Table, February 22, 1999.
99 Louise Baillargeon, President and General Director, “Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec”, Round
Table in Montreal, February 25, 1999.
100 Making our Voices Heard, Mandate Review Committee CBC, NFB, Telefilm, Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1996,
Recommendations 1, 2, and 11.
33
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
to every region of Canada. Therefore, the Committee urges the federal government to provide the
CBC with the support which will allow it to continue to fulfil Canadians’ expectations of their public
broadcaster.
Recommendation 26
The Committee recommends that:
26.1 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation receive continuing, stable
funding so that it remains a public, non-profit corporation for the common
good.
26.2 CBC Radio receive sufficient levels of stable, sustained funding so that it
need not resort to corporate sponsorships, commercial or non-commercial
advertising.
26.3 CBC Television receive sufficient levels of stable, sustained funding so that
advertising can be reduced to minimal levels.
B. CROSS-CANADA TOURS
When audiences in one region of the country are exposed to creative expressions from other
parts of Canada, marvelous things are often known to happen.!?! For example, twenty years after the
fact, one west coast witness recalled the deep impression a play that had traveled to British Columbia
from Newfoundland had had on him.
In my past, when the seal hunt was huge, I was able to work with people to bring the
Mummer’s Theatre from Newfoundland with a show called They Club Seals Don’t They?
to [British Columbia] the heart of Greenpeace country. It changed minds.!9
Domestically, the Touring Office of the Canada Council for the Arts has had a profound
influence on the accessibility of the professional performing arts in all regions of the country.
Established in the early seventies with modest resources of approximately $3 million, the Touring
Office has contributed to the development of touring performing arts circuits throughout Canada. It
has achieved this by collaborating with other orders of government and with the enthusiastic
participation of community volunteers who are committed to providing access to the performing arts
for their fellow citizens. The touring circuits that were established with the help of the Canada
Council for the Arts involved “regional contacts.” At these three-day events the representatives of
performing artists and impresarios made contact with community presenters who were looking for
groups to perform in their communities the following year. The Touring Office provided subsidies to
cover part of the cost of the tours that were planned as a result of the regional contacts.
101 Additional material on the importance of touring is presented in the chapter on preservation.
102 Chris Tyrell, Vancouver Round Table, February 25, 1999.
54
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
In terms of value for money and broadly based community support, very few federal programs
pon compare with the results obtained through the Touring Office programs. However, funding for
this important program has remained static for 20 years, despite the extraordinary growth in the
number of performing arts organizations that could have taken advantage of it. Fortunately, as noted
earlier, the Canada Council for the Arts is planning to provide additional resources to the Touring
Office program.
C. CROSS-CANADA EXHIBITIONS
In the heritage sector, the Museum Assistance Program (MAP) created by the 1972 Museum
Policy has been a highly successful initiative in support of the collection, conservation,
interpretation and distribution of museum holdings in every region of Canada. Museum directors
from across the country spoke of the important contribution that MAP has made, particularly to the
intra-regional and inter-regional touring of museum exhibitions. This activity has helped create
strong working relationships among museums across Canada, and has provided Canadians with
access to the proud heritage of every region in Canada through travelling exhibitions. Unfortunately,
major cutbacks to this program have reduced these travelling exhibitions to a mere handful, and
those that remain tend not to travel outside their own region.
As Candace Stevenson, a museum director from Nova Scotia told the Committee:
I believe we're really at a crossroads right now as to whether the federal government wants
to be involved in a leadership role or whether it wants to... .watch us . . decline from the
heights we have reached.!03
Based on her experiences in a remote part of the province, Rose Marie Sackela, an Alberta
educator, raised an important point with the Committee:
Alder Flats has 105 official residents. We have brought in museum collections to the
classrooms. We used to have access to trailer travelling-museum collections. Those would
be the only museums that people would go to. They are two hours from Edmonton, but
people in rural areas, and I think especially in central Alberta and the North, just don’t see
that as a priority.!0*
William Barkley, another museum director, had this to say:
We’ ve built this very professional infrastructure, but it’s not being used by the country. It’s
: : : 2105
ing isolated in our provincial settings.” !
eing p
The Committee notes the Minister of Canadian Heritage increased the resources available to the
MAP by $2 million beginning in 1999. However, these additional dollars do not fully restore the
monies lost through earlier budget reductions, nor will they alone generate the long-term results that
a review of federal support to distribution could bring. For these reasons:
103 Candace Stevenson, Museum Director, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
104 Rose Marie Sackela, Educator, Edmonton Round Table, February 24, 1999.
105 William Barkley, Museum Director, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
55
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
re, ge ee ee a ee
Recommendation 27
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
increase funding to support more cross-Canada tours and exhibitions.
LINKS BEYOND OUR BORDERS
Just as links can be forged within Canada through effective touring programs and travelling
exhibitions, people outside Canada can be introduced to aspects of Canadian culture through the
effective promotion of Canadian cultural expression in international settings. The work of Luc
Plamondon illustrates this point.
Canadian Cultural Expression on the International Stage
The magazine L’Actualité identified Luc
Plamondon as its personality of the year for
1998. His outstanding career in popular music,
initially in Québec, and now encompassing
France and “la francophonie,” in general, could
serve as a case study for the successful strategic
marriage of production and distribution in one
of the most competitive environments
imaginable — that of popular music. The
success that Plamondon’s Starmania and
Notre-Dame de Paris currently enjoy in Paris,
draw on directorial, design and performing
talent from Québec and is a clear indication of
the extraordinary reach cultural and artistic
expression can have when it is supported by
effective distribution and promotion.
An article, written by Jacques Godbout, a
leading Québec cultural commentator, is careful
to make readers understand that Plamondon’s
success in Paris is an extension of his earlier
successes 1n Québec, and that ultimately, his
vision, and that of his creative and performing
colleagues, could and would prevail in Paris as it
has in Montréal.
On the international front, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, through
its International Cultural Relations programs, provides assistance for international tours by
Canadian performing arts organizations as well as for individual creative and performing artists.
Canada’s cultural industries also receive additional funding through the Program for Export
Marketing Development. Both these programs provide artistic and cultural organizations with
opportunities for artistic growth, for representing Canadian interests abroad and for the sale of their
materials and services internationally.
Witnesses pointed to a number of gaps in the federal government’s promotion of Canadian
culture internationally:
I remember when the minister announced culture as the third pillar of Canada’s foreign
policy. So far it hasn’t really been supported with the financial backing. I
would . . . encourage a much greater role for the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade in promoting Canadian culture internationally. 1°
106 Earl Rosen, Marquis Records, Ottawa Round Table on Sound Recording, March 10, 1998.
56
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Curtis Barlow of the Confederation Centre for the Performing Arts in Charlottetown also
referred to the third pillar initiative.
I ran the International Cultural Relations Program for Canada for ten years in London and
in Washington. . .. A number of years ago [DFAIT] adopted arts and cultural industries as
the so-called third pillar of Canadian foreign policy; the first being political, the second
trade. But they failed to follow through with any meaningful appropriations of public
funding. As a result, cultural attachés and cultural counselors abroad are fighting to fulfil
their mandates because they simply do not have the financial resources to do so. So I
would recommend that this committee take a very careful look at culture as the third pillar
of Canada’s foreign policy and recommend that the Department of Foreign Affairs and
pgatong Trade appropriate the requisite sums of money to make it a meaningful policy
decision. !97
Canada’s cultural community has always maintained that government support for distribution
Should be increased, and that its objectives should be broadened to reflect the importance of
distribution in promoting Canadian cultural enterprises internationally. The Committee agrees; a
major component in future cultural policy should provide effective financial and logistical support
for international touring, exhibitions and trade exchanges.
The Committee notes the important work done for the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (DFAIT) by the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade (SAGIT). This
group is comprised of men and women who have distinguished themselves by their leadership and
contributions to our cultural enterprises at home and abroad. They advise the Minister of
International Trade on a broad range of cultural issues and contribute their professional experience
and knowledge to the ongoing identification and promotion of Canadian interests internationally.
In February 1999, the SAGIT released a report titled Canadian Culture in a Global World that
suggests the federal government “call on other countries to develop a new international cultural
instrument that would acknowledge the importance of cultural diversity and address cultural policies
designed to promote and protect that diversity.” !08
According to the SAGIT report there are two approaches:
e the cultural exemption strategy used in the past that takes culture “off the table” in
international trade negotiations;
e anew strategy that involves negotiating a new international instrument that specifically
addresses cultural diversity and acknowledges the legitimate role of domestic cultural
policies in ensuring cultural diversity.
The tools and approaches used in the past to keep cultural goods and services from being subject
to the same treatment as other goods and services may no longer be enough. One does not usually
think of works of creators in the same way one views the products sold by department stores or
automobile manufacturers. To a much greater degree, culture deals with values, aesthetics,
spirituality, some of the central elements, which help define the human condition.
107 Curtis Barlow, Confederation Centre for the Performing Arts, Moncton Round Table, February 24, 1999.
108 SAGIT, Canadian Culture in a Global World, Ottawa, February 1999.
57
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
There are two dominant perspectives about international trade in cultural materials and
services. One is that they are goods and services just like any other; wheat, chickens and coffee
makers are traded just as books, films and magazines. The other view is that cultural materials and
services are outside conventional trading rules because of their importance to national identity and,
as such, should be exempt from rules regulating world trade practices.
Canadians are facing some crucial decisions. Do they define themselves as producers and
consumers of tradeable cultural goods and services; or are they prepared to affirm the value of their
cultural diversity and their right to ensure that their creative expression is accessible?
Members of the SAGIT believe it is time for Canada to step forward. Just as nations have come
together to protect and promote biodiversity, it is time for them to come together to promote cultural
and linguistic diversity.
This Committee believes that the SAGIT is proposing initiatives that take the strengths of
Canadian cultural industries into full account and make reasonable assumptions about their ability to
compete internationally. However, this assumes that agreement can be reached with some of
Canada’s key trading partners that a new order be established to support and promote cultural
industries. Therefore, the Committee endorses the approach proposed by the SAGIT which
recommends that Canada call on other countries to develop a new international cultural instrument
that would acknowledge the importance of cultural diversity and address the cultural policies
designed to promote and protect that diversity.
Recommendation 28
The Committee recommends that the federal government adopt the approach
proposed by the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade (SAGIT)
through which Canada would call on other countries to develop a new
international cultural instrument that would acknowledge the importance of
cultural diversity and address cultural policies designed to promote and protect
that diversity.
Recommendation 29
The Committee recommends that the initiative taken by the Minister of
Canadian Heritage to ensure continued diversity in cultural expression
internationally be placed at the centre of the federal government’s foreign
policy and international trade agenda.
Recommendation 30
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage form
an advisory group composed of individuals experienced in creation, cultural
policy and the marketing and distribution of cultural materials, to advise the
58
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
minister on issues affecting culture. This group should be modeled on the
SAGIT approach used by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, and Industry Canada.
The Committee believes that a forum based on the SAGIT model is much needed in the
changing cultural environment. This model should be as useful in addressing domestic issues as it
has proved to be in addressing international issues.
The initiative taken by the Minister of Canadian Heritage in June 1998 to invite ministers of
culture from a number of countries to discuss the nature of cultural diversity is an important first step
toward dealing with these issues. In time, this initiative could lead to a secure equilibrium between
the considerable financial benefits that accrue from the international trading of our cultural materials
and services and the imperative to conserve diversity in cultural expression.
A PIVOTAL DEBATE: PIERRE-MARC JOHNSON AND ROBERT PILON
An illuminating debate occurred at the round table in Montreal on closely related subjects
between Pierre-Marc Johnson, the former Premier of Quebec and current president of
Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux and Robert Pilon of ADISQ. Mr.
Johnson began:
Traditionally, in Canada, the government has defended specificities in a defensive manner.
It has barred entry of a certain number of products, formally or informally, explicitly or
not, in what’s called the Japanese way or not. That’s the debate around magazines. Or it
has supported the production of Canadian content, but always looking at the Canadian
market of the cultural universe and rarely looking towards the outside.
One of the challenges in coming years will be to switch from an essentially defensive
approach to an approach that sees the world of culture in the context of economic
globalization by allowing products made here to have a chance on outside markets.
I’m not saying that’s the only thing we should do, but I am saying that to neglect doing that
is missing a very important boat and ultimately those who will suffer will be the creators,
the authors, the composers. This is an approach that presupposes that the Canadian
government, taking into account the important role it has played historically in this area,
and possibly the Quebec government, must engage in rather radical change. We have to go
from a purely defensive situation in the use of taxation and subsidies for institutions to a
more aggressive approach in showcasing Canadian culture and creators. !09
Mr. Pilon replied:
That’s where the debate is and | think that things aren’t as simple as Mr. Johnson says. I
don’t think we can say that we used to have a defensive policy and that from now on our
policy will have to go on the offensive.
To get back to Economics 101, I don’t know of any sector of the economy, in whatever
ss re) : : A : A
country, that ever managed to be successful in the field of exports without having built a
solid domestic base for itself. But if you don’t look at that from the cultural point of view,
109 Pierre-Marc Johnson, President, Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux, Montreal Round Table, February 25,
1992:
59
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Mr. Johnson, even if you look at it strictly from a business point of view, from a basely
economic point of view, any strategy based only on concurring world markets wouldn’t
make sense. You first need a strategy for structuring your sector on your domestic market.
The present neo-liberal philosophy is an illusion, smoke and mirrors. We’re forever being
told: Stop seeking protection, stop being supported by governments, stop being led by the
hand by governments; be big boys, be good, go forward and everyone will buy your
products on the international market.
... In our sector, Quebec’s biggest business has a volume of maybe $5 million while its
competitors are playing with $5 billion dollars. Market rules and globalization are all well
and good, but we’re a long away from Adam Smith. Pure and perfect competition just
doesn’t exist.!!0
The debate is not about the need to defend Canadian interests in bilateral or multilateral
negotiations involving our cultural materials and services. Nor is it about domestic measures that
might be taken by the federal government to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to their
own cultural materials and services. On these matters, Pierre-Marc Johnson and Robert Pilon agree.
Rather, the debate revolves around the assumptions we should be making when we are
formulating policies related to international trade in the 21st century. Mr. Johnson proposes a more
aggressive and pro-active approach to complement the necessary defensive measures Canada has
adopted heretofore. Mr. Pilon believes that we should continue with the tried and true.
The Committee believes that this debate goes to the heart of this matter as it pertains to Canadian
cultural expression that insists on retaining its identity and diversity. The opposing views capture the
essence of some of the most difficult issues that will be confronting Canadian cultural industries in
the future.
110 Robert Pilon, ADISQ, Montreal Round Table, February 25, 1999.
60
CHAPTER FIVE: PRESERVATION
In his book, Inside Memory, Timothy Findley wrote that “Memory is survival.” He might just as
easily have been talking about preservation. This chapter addresses the conservation aspects of
cultural policy carried out by museums, galleries, archives and libraries and related organizations
such as the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network.
Together, these institutions, some of them in Canada’s smallest communities, others in the largest
cities, are responsible for collecting, storing and preserving the collective memory of our nation.
Together, these institutions have built collections and holdings that enable Canadians to know their
country and themselves. Together, they provide a gateway to national and international sources of
information and culture.
The role of government — federal, provincial, territorial and municipal — in preservation is
crucial. In 1904, when Sir Arthur Doughty was appointed Canada’s first Dominion Archivist and
Keeper of the Records, he asserted that a country’s approach to preservation is a measure of its
civilization.
The archives are, of all national assets, the most precious -- they are the bequest of one
generation to another, and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our
civilization!!!
Throughout this report the Committee refers to various aspects of the federal government’s role
in creating an environment in which cultural expression and identity can thrive and to the Canadians
who have contributed so much to that environment. The Committee was impressed by the strong
commitment to cultural expression and identity exhibited by many well-known Canadians.
Canada’s heritage institutions did not come into existence by accident. Just as it took a visionary
to spearhead the creation of the National Ballet, it took visionaries to establish the National Gallery,
the National Archives and the Museum of Civilization. The visionaries working in preservation are
not as well known, but their contributions to Canadian cultural life have been as important as those of
their more celebrated counterparts in the performing arts.
111 Sir Arthur Doughty, “Canada’s Record of the Wars,” TS in NA. RG.37 vol. 155. Reprinted in University Magazine. Vol. XV,
iene bete
December 1916. p. 471-472.
61
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Creating Canada’s National Library
The story of Dr. W. Kaye Lamb is a story of
one of Canada’s uncelebrated visionaries — a
man who saw the need for his country to have a
national library and what he did to make it
happen. Fifty years ago Dr. Lamb was appointed
Canada’s Dominion Archivist. His reluctant
acceptance of that prestigious appointment,
however, was linked to Prime Munister
Mackenzie King agreeing to create a National
Library for Canada.
The Canadian Library Association was
founded in 1947. At its annual meeting in 1948,
Dr. Lamb became its president. A showcase at
the meeting was an ongoing microfilming
project that focused on early Canadian
newspapers. Some of the material on microfilm
had been written by William Lyon Mackenzie,
the grandfather of Prime Minister Mackenzie
King. To promote the microfilming project, it
was arranged to present a copy of the film to
Prime Minister King. The idea of microfilming
was new to Mr. King and he became more
interested and enthusiastic, as Dr. Lamb
explained the possibilities of bringing scattered
materials together.
During Dr. Lamb’s presentation the
Honourable J. W. Pickersgill, then head of the
Prime Minister’s personal staff, was present.
Years later, he recorded Mr. King’s reaction to
the interview: “As soon as the delegation left the
office, Mackenzie King turned to me and said:
‘That man should become head of the Archives
right away. Find out more about him’.” !!?
Soon after, Dr. Lamb was back in Ottawa from
his native British Columbia to discuss a possible
appointment as Dominion Archivist. As Dr.
Lamb so diplomatically says, it was a proviso
that his becoming the Dominion Archivist be
linked to the development of a National Library
for Canada. Mr. King agreed and Dr. Lamb
became the Dominion Archivist.
By 1953, Canada not only had a Public
Archives that was gaining in reputation, but also
had a National Library, a national heritage
institution dedicated to building a strong
national resource enabling Canadians to know
their country and themselves through their
published heritage. One man’s vision, and his
ability to take advantage of an opportunity,
made a contribution to the federal government’s
mission of creating an environment in which
cultural expression could thrive.
The Canadian heritage sector consists of libraries, archives, galleries, museums and
organizations that service them. Recent statistics for museums highlight some good news.
[Fifty-six per cent] of all Canadians visit museums annually — which is more than the number
who attend all professional sporting events combined. Museums in Canada also contribute one
billion dollars annually to the gross domestic product. That includes 35,000 jobs, directly and
indirectly, as well as $650 million in labour income.!!3
Reduced funding, however, is the bad news. Funding cuts for heritage institutions affect not
only their ability to provide basic services but also their ability to perform their primary functions of
acquisition, preservation and exhibition. Testimony from the museum community indicated that
money previously used for public programming and touring exhibitions has virtually disappeared.
Public programming in archives and libraries is suffering the same fate.
112 National Library News, October 1998, Vol. 30, No. 10, p. 13.
113 Robert Janes, President, Glenbow Museum, Ottawa Round Table on the Heritage, March 10, 1998.
62
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF CANADA
Shortly after Confederation, parliamentarians recognized the importance of protecting
Canada S documentary heritage for future generations by establishing an archival program. Unique
in the world at that time, the Canadian archives collected colonial, private and public records,
regardless of the medium. The National Archives of Canada has continued that proud tradition
acquiring, preserving and making available records that have been used by producers of books, films
and other cultural materials.
The National Archives of Canada now holds more than 79,000 linear metres of government
records, 41,000 linear metres of private records, 1.2 million maps, 19 million photographs, 300,000
works of documentary art and over 200,000 hours of sound, film and video recordings.
Archives are a heavily used source of documentary evidence and information about the past for
creators, artists, television and film producers, publishers, writers, historians, researchers and
private citizens. In 1997, the National Archives of Canada received over 130,000 inquiries from
Canadian citizens by telephone, fax and e-mail. Reference staff handled close to 15,000 in-person
requests. In 1997-98, there were over nine million hits on the National Archives Web site, an increase
from six million the year before.
The National Archives, its provincial counterparts, and many other archival institutions across
the country have made a contribution to the international archival profession as well as to the
preservation of the record of our national identity. In 1992, Canada hosted the world’s archivists in
Montreal; in 1996, Canadian leadership was evident when Dr. Jean-Pierre Wallot, who was then
Canada’s National Archivist, presided over the 13th International Congress on Archives in Beijing.
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA
The National Library is another success story. The Library’s mandate is to build a strong
national resource for the study, understanding, appreciation and continued vitality of Canada’s
cultural heritage. The National Library facilitates access to a national and international network of
information resources for Canadians. The protection and promotion of Canada’s cultural heritage
are key to fostering Canadians’ sense of national pride. The National Library plays a pivotal role in
nation building by preserving published documents and by promoting awareness of the richness of
Canada’s heritage.
Canada does not have a national library for the social sciences and humanities; for many years
the National Library has served in this capacity, but cutbacks have forced it to abandon that role. At
present, the Library concentrates on the collection of Canadiana. Cutbacks have also affected
acquisitions. Formerly, the National Library purchased two copies of each work — one for use by
current researchers and one to be preserved for future generations. Budget reductions now generally
allow only one copy to be acquired. Because that copy must be made available to support current
research, it is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve these works.
Dr. Marianne Scott, Canada’s National Librarian, sees new technology as having an important
role in enabling the Library to fulfil its statutory mandate. She recently described the National
Library’s role:
63
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Our responsibilities have broadened as information has globalized. The digital
agenda — an important aspect of making our collections available to remote
locations — is timely and costly. We must, therefore, capitalize on our strengths:
¢ Our strength as the repository of the most comprehensive collection of Canadiana in
the world.
¢ Our strength as a leader in library technology developments and standards.
¢ Our strength as a coordinator of national programs.
* Our strength in adapting to changed circumstances and demands. !!4
Through mandatory legal deposit, all works published in Canada become part of the National
Library’s collections and are available to all Canadians. The Canadiana collection of the National
Library and other repositories across the country represent an enormously rich resource for the study
of Canada and its heritage. The Committee concurs with the National Library’s position that the
wealth of materials in the Library’s Canadiana collection is “unmatched.”!!5 To maximize the value
of these resources, the Library actively promotes their use and has developed a portfolio of
specialized research services, exhibits and cultural events that support the needs of writers, scholars,
creative artists and the Canadian public.!!°
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
For Canadians, the public library is the most frequently used of all government-supported
cultural institutions. The National Library of Canada’s Core Library Statistics Program identified
that in 1994, some 275 million items contained in 1,719 Canadian libraries were circulated no fewer
than 266 million times.!!7 In 1997, 8,042,891 people borrowed a staggering 158,554,437 items from
Canada’s public libraries. It is, therefore, not surprising that libraries are major recipients of cultural
expenditures from all orders of government. As the Canadian Library Association noted in its
written submission to the Committee, 30% of public expenditure on culture goes to libraries.!!8
However, that funding is derived mainly from provincial government sources and is directed to
university and school libraries as well as to public libraries. Municipal governments also fund public
and school libraries.
Although the federal government’s contribution to the funding of public libraries is small
compared to those of the provinces and municipalities, the Committee believes that the federal
government’s support of public libraries, although indirect, has been crucial in the past and will
114 Marianne Scott, “A Word from the National Librarian,” National Library News, Vol. 30, no. 12, December 1998, p. 2.
115 National Library of Canada, Submission to the Committee, April 3, 1997, p. 3.
116 Ibid, p. 4.
117 Statistics Canada, Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective, Ottawa, 1997, 4.3.1. p. 85. (Note that these
statistics are not a complete accounting for every library in Canada.)
118 Canadian Library Association, Brief to the Committee, March 1997, p. 2.
64
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
$A SENSE OF PLacE—A SENSE OF BEI
continue to be so in the future. Table 5.1 shows library expenditure levels for Canada’s three orders of
government for 1991 through 1995, 119
The reference in the table below to a federal expenditure on libraries is to funding for the
operation of the National Library of Canada, whose progr
across the country.
ams and services are available to libraries
Table 5.1
Expenditures on Canadian Libraries
($ millions)
Expenditure 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95
Federal
Provincial
Municipal
A recent survey of Canadian experiences and attitudes with respect to the level of service
provided by public and private institutions produced some surprising results. “Contrary to popular
belief, Canadians rate the quality of many government services as high or higher than private sector
services.”!20 Moreover, Canadians ranked the services of their local public library as second only to
that provided by the local fire department.
PRESERVATION IS AN INVESTMENT
The maturity of Canada’s heritage profession and its institutions is evident throughout the
heritage sector. The Government of Canada has achieved this, in part, by investing in the education
of heritage professionals and technicians who organize activities in Canada’s museums, archives and
libraries.!2! Canadian heritage professionals are often called upon by other countries for their
expertise in creating exhibitions, in training and in applying their skills to the needs of other
countries.
Heritage institutions are part of Canada’s cultural sector in much the same way as highways are
part of Canada’s transportation network. All Canadians share in the cost because all Canadians
benefit from them.
119 Statistics Canada, Canada’s Culture Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Portrait, Ottawa, 1997 , Table 4.3.b. p. 84. “Total
I i iversi ic ‘incial and national libraries.
expenditures” include school, university, college, public, provincial
120 “Citizens First,” October 1998. Canadian Centre for Management Development website , p.2.
121 One example is the Canadian Conservation Institute. For information on the programs and services of The Canadian
Conservation Institute, see: .
65
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Fe cee ee ee igen
Witnesses congratulated the federal government for its extensive investments in the heritage
sector in the 1960s and 1970s. Buildings were constructed to house our heritage institutions, art was
purchased, and ambitious collection programs with generous budgets were launched. The resulting
heritage infrastructure is world-class. As Francois Lachapelle observed:
Canada is also a country that has made significant investments in the past two generations
in educating its technicians and professionals to be able to organize quality activities such
as those that we are able to see in the field of museology. Canadian museums and
particularly Québec museums that I am more familiar with are often called upon by other
countries for their expertise in making our heritage known whether it be through
exhibitions, cultural activities or education. Canadian museums have acquired
acknowledged expertise with highly trained and qualified staff members. !??
The Committee recognizes the past achievements of Canada’s heritage institutions. However,
the Committee also believes that the notion of maturity, when applied to preservation, has a quite
different connotation. In some respects heritage institutions will never mature. As items are added to
collections and holdings, more space is needed, more shelving is required and, eventually, more
buildings will be required. As William Barkley pointed out to the Committee:
[W]e have a very restrictive collection policy at our museum, which is 114 years old.
Based on our history with that restrictive policy our collections double every 20 years.!?4
Reductions in public funding have forced heritage institutions to abandon the notion of keeping
everything. For some years now, many have been quietly removing items considered to be of
marginal value. Testimony from witnesses revealed that, at present, Canadian museums acquire only
0.4% of the total output of the professional arts in Canada for preservation. !24
Maturity is an elusive concept when applied to libraries, museums and galleries. Heritage
institutions work in the context of very long time frames. Museums, for example, work in 500-year
time frames. Objects of cultural significance, whether books, works of art, or historical records,
should be acquired and preserved. Taking care of museum and library collections and archival
holdings is costly. On this point, Robert Janes of the Glenbow Museum informed the Committee that:
[The] commitment to taking care of the collections is a very expensive one. We have a
small collection. We only have about 1.2 million objects, but we spend close to $3.5
million a year just taking care of those objects.!25
Taking care of collections and holdings is not a glamorous activity. This makes fund-raising
difficult. In this period of fiscal restraint, money that was previously used to develop public
programming is now being used to care for collections. Witnesses suggested that the Government of
Canada has an obligation to assume responsibility for preservation on behalf of all Canadians, so that
heritage institutions might focus on mounting exhibitions and delivering public programs that will
bring Canadians into contact with their heritage.
122 Francois Lachapelle, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
123 William Barkley, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
124 Francois Lachapelle, Director General, Corporation du musée régional de Rimouski, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March
10, 1998.
125 Robert Janes, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998
66
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
[Collections] belong to everybody and it’s a collective responsibility. I think one major role
for government is to assume that collective responsibility on behalf of all citizens so that
[museums], with our meager resources, can get on to developing education and meaning
for our visiting public.!26
Before leaving the subject of the federal government's role in conserving Canada’s national
heritage, the Committee wishes to make a recommendation concerning the urgent issue of our
disappearing heritage. In 1995, Dr. Jean-Pierre Wallot, then the National Archivist, chaired a federal
government study on the loss of Canada’s heritage. The report pointed out that of the 20 feature films
produced in Canada between 1913 and 1929, “only one has survived.” !27 Fading Away went on to
warn Canadians that:
This vast source of information, inspiration and creativity — the most known
contemporary archive of our society — is threatened. Through technological obsolescence,
negligence and physical degradation of audio-visual materials, we are losing large parts of
our recorded past.!28
The report called upon the Government of Canada to act quickly to provide the necessary
funding for the digitization of nationally significant audio-visual materials that will be lost to
Canadians forever unless immediate action is taken.!??
Recommendation 31
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage take
immediate action to obtain additional resources and to establish a fund
dedicated to the preservation of items of national significance that are in danger
of being lost through deterioration. The Department of Canadian Heritage
should present a progress report to this Committee within two years of the
presentation of this report.
126 Ibid.
127 Task Force on the Preservation and Enhanced Use of C
Ensure the Protection of and Access to Our Audio-Visual Memory, Ottawa, June 1995, p. 4.
anada’s Audio-Visual Heritage, Fading Away. Strategic Options to
128 Ibid, p. i.
129 Ibid, p. 29.
67
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
A Reason to Remember
Since 1967, no one has asked what it is to be
a Canadian. Perhaps we can’t yet articulate
it, but we know: we grew up to be one
hundred together, and we all shared that
experience. We learned to have our own
style... The year 1967 changed us all
profoundly, and we will never look back.!30
Wonderful things happen when we take the
time to remember and celebrate. That happened
in a profound way in 1967 when Canadians
celebrated their Centennial Year. The year 1967
still serves as a symbolic marker; it was the high
point of the post-war era. Many of the
celebrations focused on artifacts, writings, and
historical records that were carefully preserved
by earlier generations of Canadians in libraries,
archives, galleries and museums across the
country. There were also major Centennial
building projects in every province and territory,
resulting in such venues as the Arts and Cultural
Centre in St. John’s, Le Grand Théatre de
Québec in Québec City, the Centennial Concert
Hall in Winnipeg, Performing Arts Centres in
Regina and Saskatchewan, and Provincial
Museums and Archives in Edmonton and
Victoria and the Museum and_ Civic
Administration Building in Whitehorse.
The Centennial Committee had money to
spend on projects intended to be of national
significance. This included $47 million for the
Centennial Train, a history-based exhibition
that travelled across Canada and was seen by
nearly 10 million people — practically half the
population of Canada at the time. The
Committee also spent $17 million on visual and
performing arts projects, $3 million on films and
almost the same amount on publishing projects,
such as The Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
As historian Pierre Berton wryly notes in
1967 dhe. Last Best: \Weatson ,When..the
Centennial year opened there were seventeen
book publishers in Canada. Within two years
there were thirty nine.”!3!
Peter Ackroyd, who worked on_ the
Centennial celebration, describes 1967 as “a
civilizing year.’ In The Anniversary
Compulsion, he lists spending on cultural
infrastructure and projects. The Federal
government provided $16.5 million, the
provinces and territorial governments another
$18.1 million, while municipal funding and
local fundraising accounted for the remaining
$53.4 million. Not surprisingly, municipal
projects dominate the list. Of the 2,300
Centennial projects listed by Ackroyd, by far the
most popular were recreation and community
centres and parks, which together accounted for
more than half the total number of projects. Next
came other types of municipal buildings,
libraries, museums and art galleries, some 378
projects in all.!32
In 1967— The Last Best Year, Pierre
Berton concludes that the triumph of the
Centennial is:
not to be measured in the number of cultural
monuments we erected across the land.
Rather it flourished because of an
awakening of spirit that seduced all of us.
For an entire year we shared an invisible
bond as we pondered our past and present
and resolved to build a brighter future.
130 Judy LaMarsh, Memoirs of a Bird in a Gilded Cage, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1968, (quoted in Pierre Berton,
1967 — The Last Good Year, Doubleday, Toronto, 1997, p. 367).
131 Berton, p. 363-367.
132 Peter H. Ackroyd, The Anniversary Compulsion, Dundurn, Toronto, 1992, p.180-199.
68
A SENSE OF PLAcE — A SENSE OF BEING
PRESERVING CANADA’S CULTURAL FACILITIES
It is worth recalling that Canada’s Centennial projects were created by a partnership among
municipal, provincial and federal governments and private initiatives. Now, 30 years later, many of
the buildings that were erected to celebrate the Centennial are in need of attention. Vincent Varga
reminded the Committee:
We’re all ending the life cycles of our buildings and it’s time that the federal government
continue on and recognize its fiduciary responsibility to also maintain that infrastructure.
They urged communities to build these buildings 30 some years ago so let’s make sure that
we maintain them for future generations as well.!33
Other witnesses reminded the Committee that although governments have contributed to the
building of Canada’s cultural facilities there are serious gaps in the arrangements made to maintain
and improve them.
During the Winnipeg round table, Zaz Bajon pointed out:
The federal government used to have a cultural initiative program in which capital money
was provided, and it was a great program because it forced the province and the
municipality to get involved. It was the leader . . . You know the money doesn’t seem to be
there. !34
There are two issues related to maintaining Canada’s existing cultural facilities. First, the
buildings, collections and performance spaces they house are vital to the preservation of our cultural
heritage. A leaky roof not only threatens the building but the contents of the building and the ability
to use the space for a performance. Second, prudent government suggests that the costs of
maintaining the infrastructure should be subject to long-term planning. Little is gained if
maintenance is ignored until emergencies arise.
Recommendation 32
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada re-establish a
capital fund over three consecutive fiscal years, starting in 2001-2002, or sooner
if possible, for essential maintenance to Canada’s deteriorating cultural
facilities.
Recommendation 33
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada establish a
long-term financial strategy to deal with Canada’s deteriorating cultural
facilities.
133 Vincent Varga, Executive Director, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton Round Table, February 24, 1999.
134 Zaz Bajon, General Manager, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg Round Table, February 23, 1999.
69
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Some buildings are much older. The issue here is the preservation of architectural heritage. As
Brian Anthony of the Heritage Canada Foundation told the Committee:
We live in a society where everything is disposable, including buildings. And our
buildings, our built heritage, are the most visible and tangible aspects of our culture. !3>
In his presentation he provided the Committee with the example of Canada’s lighthouses, which
he says are at risk.
[Lighthouses are] on every postcard and . . . on every fridge magnet, and yet they’ll only
be existing on fridge magnets and postcards in the future unless something is done to help
the custodial department in question find a workable solution to save those distinctive
buildings.!36
To preserve Canada’s architectural heritage Mr. Anthony went on to suggest that new uses and
new users should be found for such heritage buildings and sites.
SHARING CANADA’S HERITAGE
Canadian heritage institutions contain a wealth of materials. These resources are not acquired,
stored and preserved for their own sake; they are maintained at great cost so that Canadians will have
a permanent record of their past. The Committee is concerned that the ability of Canadians to share
their cultural heritage is in jeopardy.
When federal funding through the museums assistance program was at $14 million, there were
twenty travelling exhibitions in British Columbia. Although most were circulating in the province
along with three or four exhibitions from other parts of Canada, four or five travelled across Canada.
In 1998, however, there was only one travelling exhibition.!37 As William Barkley pointed out to the
Committee:
In response to the question of what the decline in federal funding has done, I think the
major thing it has done to institutions such as my own is it has created a sense of isolation.
I think we do wonderful programming in British Columbia, but we have no funding to get
it outside the province. !38
Similar evidence was presented by witnesses from libraries and archival institutions.
One of the functions of the Government of Canada is to assist and promote the sharing of our
heritage, within and among provinces and territories. Indeed, the Committee believes that this
should be a primary function of the federal government. The contribution of tours and exhibitions of
Canada’s cultural materials was addressed in Chapter Four.
135 Brian Anthony, Executive Director, Heritage Canada Foundation, Submission, Thursday, October 29, 1998.
136 Ibid.
137 William Barkley, Chief Executive Officer, Royal British Columbia Museum, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
138 Ibid.
70
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
FUNDING RESEARCH
The federal government needs to address how heritage research is supported. Many Canadian
archives, museum, galleries and preservation institutions engage in research, and although such
research is an essential aspect of their work, the staff in heritage institutions is generally not eligible
to recelve grants that are available to researchers in other disciplines or at academic institutions. A
witness made this point to the Committee:
Seventy-two percent of the collection at the Royal British Columbia Museum is natural
history. A biologist doing research at the museum is not eligible for grants from the federal
government under the NSERC program. The researcher must be appointed to a university
and then apply through the university in order to get funding to support the research. 139
The Committee believes that the question of funding for research at Canadian heritage
institutions should be reviewed.
Recommendation 34
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with Canada’s research agencies, examine the broadening of the
criteria for research funding eligibility to ensure research conducted by
Canada’s heritage institutions is supported, where appropriate.
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
New technologies are already being used for the dissemination of Canada’s heritage. For
example, the SchoolNet Digital Collections Program permits heritage institutions to place
components of their collections online. The Internet enables heritage institutions to take advantage
of a relatively inexpensive means to provide Canadians access to collections and holdings. The
Internet may also be a source of additional revenue for some heritage institutions.
A notable feature of new technologies is that they allow individuals to visit galleries, archives,
museums and libraries without leaving home. With a personal computer, Canadians who might not
visit a library, archive, gallery or museum can do so via the Internet or a CD-ROM. This represents an
opportunity for heritage institutions to reach a new audience, and to generate revenue from sales.
It is now possible for images from Canadian galleries, museums and archives to be distributed
as multimedia. Online sources or access through consumer products such as CD-ROMs are
becoming a low-cost and convenient way to view collections. Another possible by-product of
Internet access is increased attendance at cultural venues since viewing a collection online may
foster the desire to visit a heritage institution.
139 Ibid.
71
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Management of information has always been a core business of libraries, archives, galleries and
museums, and this is unlikely to change. What is likely to change, however, is the sophistication of
the tools used. For example many already use the Internet and CD-ROMs to make their collections
and holdings more widely accessible. Public libraries, found in communities of all sizes all across the
country, provide a good example. Although the Government of Canada has no direct role in the
funding of public libraries, it does play an indirect role by providing them with, among other things,
resources to install and sustain what librarians refer to as “community access points,” that is, a
computer terminal with on-line access to the Internet. !40
Recommendation 35
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage work
jointly with key federal heritage institutions and appropriate federal
departments to ensure that community-based heritage institutions continue to
be an access point for information about programs, services and initiatives of
relevance to Canadians offered by federal heritage institutions.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND CANADA’S MUSEUMS
Canadian museums use various technologies to provide information and services. The
Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) provides an electronic gateway to Canada’s
cultural and natural heritage. It offers online services to museum visitors, libraries, schools, colleges,
universities, communities and tourists. CHIN’s mission is to broker effective access to Canadian and
international heritage information for public education and enjoyment. CHIN also provides those
who work in museums with news of upcoming events of interest to the museum community, and
information about special studies conducted on topics relevant to museums. It also provides access to
relevant discussion groups and connects museum professionals from around the world.
The Committee believes that the CHIN model can be applied with success in the archival sector.
Archivists want to make more use of their archival materials. The Committee believes the way to do
this is to use online resources to make archival materials available to a wider audience. In October
1998, the Canadian Council of Archives, published a proposal to create such a network. !4!
Recommendation 36
The Committee recommends that a Canadian archival information network be
created that is modeled after the Canadian Heritage Information Network.
140 The Final Report of the Information Highway Council, September 1997, Recommendation 4.9.
141 Raising CAIN, The Canadian Archival Information Network, Exploring the Collective Memory of Our Nation, October 1998,
Canadian Council of Archives.
72
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
CANADIANS’ INTEREST IN HISTORY
The Committee shares the opinion of witnesses who argued for stronger links between schools
ZING heritage institutions. Heritage institutions celebrate Canadian heroes and history in stories
paint, sculpture, artifacts, images, photographs, and manuscripts. Schools provide a valuable ere
LOr learning about our shared history. By combining visits to heritage institutions with a broader
history curriculum in schools, students would have more opportunities to learn about Canada.
~ survey conducted by the Environics Research Group in January 1999 reveals that most
Canadians support the teaching of more history in school. The survey results noted that most
Canadians (97%) feel it is important for school-aged children to learn about the history of Canada
and the province in which they live. Eighty-eight per cent of the survey respondents also indicated
that they were interested in learning about history. Furthermore, approximately half the respondents
(45%) revealed that they had learned some Canadian history outside of school. These results are
summarized in Table 5.2.14?
Table 5.2
Respondent Attitudes Toward Canadian History
Interest in learning about Canadian History
Learned their Canadian history outside the school setting (reading,
visiting, museums, broadcast media)
How learned about Canadian history:
Television
Visits to historic and other sites
Reading non-fiction and fiction literature
Watching films and videos
Reading newspapers and magazines
Interest in classroom settings
Libraries and archives
Community networks
The Internet
This report envisions creation, training, production and distribution as part of a continuum. The
continuum begins with the work of creators and ends, ultimately, with the consumer. Preservation is
e other elements of this continuum because creators use libraries,
no less important than any of th
lop their work. Tastes and interests may come and go, but the
archives, galleries and museums to deve :
literature, art and artifacts of the past must remain. The only way to ensure that they do is for the
Canadian government to invest in preservation.
142 Environics Research Group, Interest in Canadian History, January 1999,
73
i7perag
iy nlite wen Pao sviranel ett) pty
Heed wall feat altuetn yay ib 2M anda eden. cit weet
stn 1G ‘ehuleteh ads pels a ee seanbb ro hong tietloe woh ied aud
hatvalhni wate 1 ye) ee ee bib eet diet
ie shag SI TEU Gd cent Na ey eneriagt sprit pane em
ns Tip ape onl, zn a Ut Gara pustlounabibesetie beau
' ; é %. : Pigs id the
love ete eine = ehnEg
: ” Aunt siaallcy Rit s
we pr ar ter re eile. : =
<
| oe aT a 7 a
ES * a crenkga vgs igo apa Ah ies mp
oman ee ee
. /apllio) ely vat s, a tetas «|
| . a staat stem
. . >
lj. . wo {
! ee
Hes’, ; Wy
i ; Lashes Aah iv uit
‘
; oa = 7
| ; 6
a f
i
femal" > 4. pele a
r_)
ont ABEND Wh fy 26 fodunniab, nus otaubongy aif ian
syne ee Sift an 8 MA Abn, bata!) Ye Sunday ax
adits ih 2 coat CE NI: epeea ga aay
iN wth ae a vil i hu afr it began
wt) Ch ity goat if i Mite ra ; Vit met
>» iat Oe al , et! Baie = | PR a ves
ae WN, 1m ae : aa we (PRR! pepanel, ve ‘ ‘ j
AGP? Obauesi) 7 Aronia had
7 on a
een ie - = =
CHAPTER SIX: CONSUMERS AND CITIZENS
Canadians have become accustomed to a high level of access to a remarkable array of cultural
expression, much of which is produced elsewhere. As Terry Cheney observed:
People tend to think of culture as being elite, but in fact when you think that culture is
public libraries, the museums you take your kids to, reading a book or a magazine, let
alone watching TV or going to a movie, in a sense it’s in every community across the
country and it touches everybody’s life. Large percentages of Canadians do these things.
For example, 50% of people go to a museum at some point over a year,!43
Before discussing the role of the federal government in supporting culture, it is worthwhile to
examine briefly the kinds of cultural choices Canadians now make.
SOME CANADIAN CONSUMER PROFILES
The number of Canadians involved in cultural activities is much larger than is generally
imagined. The Committee does not share the view that culture is an elitist pursuit, but rather that
culture encompasses the daily activities of almost every Canadian. These include reading, listening
to music, listening to radio, watching television, and attending live performances. Tables 6.1 through
6.5 show the extent to which Canadians participate in such activities. !44
READING
Statistics on Canadian reading habits show that, in 1992 (the latest year for which statistics are
available), over 80% of Canadians read a newspaper in the past week; over 60% read a magazine in
the past week; and more than 40% read a book in the past week. Table 6.1 breaks down these reading
habits in greater detail.!*
Table 6.1
Canadian Reading Habits (1992)
Canadians who read: ae | Canadians who read: | %
| Newspaper Book
in the past week | — 82.8 in the past week 43.9
in the past 12 months oe aaa __in the past 12 months 66.0 —
Magazine t% | Type of last book read
in the past week | 61.8 Fiction _ 349
in the past 12 months |> 795s Non-fiction f
a, | Not stated 34.7
143 Terry Cheney, Consultant, February 10, 1998. |
e Canada Year Book 1999 Edition, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, 1998. Further details can
; from tables in th aay
[44 These excerpts are taken ir A Statistical Survey, 1997 Edition, Statistics Canada.
be found in Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity:
145 Statistics Canada, General Social Survey. 1992.
75
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
TELEVISION VIEWING
Statistics on television viewing habits show that, on average, Canadians watch 22.7 hours of
television every week (1997)!46; and that 69% of Canadian households subscribe to cable television
(1996).!47 How those television viewing hours break out by source of television signal and language
of the viewer are set out in Table 6.2.!48
Table 6.2
Canadian Television Viewing Habits (1996-1997)
Source ; Anglophones | Francophones
% %
Canadian conventional TV signals 53.4 77.8
Canadian Pay TV & Specialty
Cable 13.8 125
VCR Dee 4.2
Foreign Conventional TV signals 18.3 355)
Foreign Pay & Specialty Dew) Ox |
RADIO LISTENING
Canadians listen to the radio for an average 19.9 hours per week.!*? The table below illustrates
the percentage of time Canadians spend listening to different types of radio stations. !°°
Table 6.3
Canadian Radio Listening Habits (1997)
__ Radio Station Format _ = ; % of listening time —
Contemporary/Golden oldies/ Rock 38.7
Country music 13.4
| Talk radio 1322)
CBC Ne
146 Statistics Canada, “Television Viewing, Fall 1997,” The Daily, Ottawa, January 29, 1999.
147 Statistics Canada, “Entertainment Services 1986-1996,” The Daily, Ottawa, January 15, 1999.
148 Statistics Canada, “Television Viewing, Fall 1997,” The Daily, Ottawa, January 29, 1999.
149 Statistics Canada, “Radio Listening, Fall 1997,” The Daily, Ottawa, September 8, 1998.
150. Ibid.
76
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ATTENDING PERFORMING ARTS
banadians attend a variety of different types of performing arts events. Table 6.4 illustrates the
number of admissions to performing arts events in Canada for the period 1993-1997, and show
admissions to performing theatre, music, dance, opera and movies.!5!
Table 6.4
Performing Arts Attendance (1993-1997)
1993-1994 1994-1995 1996-1997
| Theatre 8,207,000 8,469,000 7,760,248
| Music 3,188,000 3,217,000 3,446,580 |
Dance 1,231,000 1,115,000 1,307,153
Opera 638,000 751,000 687,739
Subtotal _ 13,264,000 13,552,000 13,201,720
| Movies... 78,812,000... ... 83,766,000. 91,800,000
i Total § ~—=—-92,076,000~=——=~*~CS*«*«*Sz«B3'1B8,OOD.=S—S—S~*~*~S*«*S 001,720
VISITING MUSEUMS, ARCHIVES, AND HERITAGE SITES
The number of Canadians who visited museums, archives, historic sites, and nature parks,
1992-1996 is outlined in Table 6.5 below. !5?
Table 6.5
Visits to Canadian Museums, Archives, and Heritage Sites (1992-1996)
PF aa 1992-1993 _ 1993-1994 1995-1996
Museums &
Galleries 24,883,000 25,445,000 26,882,000 |
Historic Sites 16,725,000 17,020,000 16,535,000 |
Archives 905,000 933,000 641,000 |
| Nature Parks 53,866,000 _ 56,307,000 _ 58,483,000
Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective, 1997, p. 100-108. The 1996-1997 figures
Ad! a7 sheen e ; -1997.” The Daily, Ottawa, Tuesday March 4, 1999. Except for movies,
stics Canada “Performing Arts, 1996-1997, The Dail) aw !
ae UB Romana att sector, that is, arts organizations that are eligible to receive public funding. For example, the
o
number of tickets purchased for music would not include most rock concerts.
eritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective, 1997.
151 Statistics Canada, Canada’s Culture,
152 Statistics Canada, Canada’s Culture, Hi
07
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
These audience statistics illuminate the size of the cultural sector and show that a notable
number of Canadians regularly attend a variety of cultural events. Financial support from the
Government of Canada to performing arts organizations is an important element in audience
building. It can help keep ticket prices affordable. It can even mean free admission in some cases. It
can also enable performing arts companies to present outreach programs such as performances of
dance, theatre and music in parks, shopping malls and other venues. .
The participation rates set out in the tables above will undoubtedly change as demographic
factors reshape the nature, composition and growth of audiences. Indeed, demographic changes will
create opportunities and challenges for cultural enterprises.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
While the number of Canadians under 15 years of age is a smaller percentage of the total
population than it once was, the overall number of children continues to increase. To date, their
voices and their concerns have remained relatively absent from policy and program discussions of
culture in Canada. This oversight will need to be addressed as access to technology by younger
Canadians fosters more sophisticated cultural consumers.
Canada’s population is aging. The baby boom had a notable impact on the age distribution and
structure of the general population. In the 1950s, the median age — the age at which the total
population is equally divided — hovered between 25 and 27. Since 1970, the median age has
climbed steadily, reaching 38 in 1991. Various projections show that the median age is likely to reach
50 by the year 2036. In the early 1960s, close to 35% of Canada’s population were children under 15
years of age; only 8% were seniors 65 years of age and older.!>> This compares sharply with the trend
of current projections indicating that in 2036 nearly 25% of the population will be seniors, 65 years
of age and older. If the same trend continues the result would be approximately 8.7 million seniors,
500,000 of whom will be over 90 years of age.!54
Immigration also has an important impact. Whereas earlier immigrants were encouraged or
required to settle in rural areas, today’s immigrants settle primarily in the largest census metropolitan
areas (CMAs) of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, with Toronto attracting the largest share (39%)
of immigrants between 1981 and 1991. Since the early 1960s, the proportion of immigrants of
European origin has declined steadily. Today’s immigrants are also more likely to be of Asian and
Middle Eastern origin than in the past, representing 48% of the immigrants that arrived in Canada
between 1981 and 1991.
These demographic changes will have three important consequences. First, as the population
ages the audience for cultural activities will likely increase. While a series of projections prepared by
Statistics Canada provide differing perspectives on the total population and on the age and gender
distribution of the population to 2036, there is no question that the number of seniors living in
153 Terry Cheney, Consultant, February 10, 1998.
154 Ibid.
78
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
Canada will increase notably over the next 20 years. Accordingly, they will likely become an
increasing percentage of those “consuming” cultural products.
Second, the number and composition of Canada’s immigrant population may have an influence
on the cultural choices available, for example, the growth of world music. Third, the marketing effort
required to reach people will necessarily be more intense than it has been in the past. While the
numbers of Canadians with leisure time will grow as the population ages, the choices available to
them will increase.
The growth of the cultural sector over the past 50 years has been truly remarkable and Statistics
Canada projections indicate that this rapid rate of growth is likely to continue. The financial and
other resources needed to support that growth must be found. Public funding will continue to play an
important part, but the bulk of the financial resources will have to come from individual Canadians,
either as members of an audience, as volunteers or as patrons.
THE MARKETING CHALLENGE
Demographic shifts hold implications for the way cultural products are marketed in Canada. As
Michéle Martin of Carleton University noted:
We must develop and offer Canadian content products to Canadians. ... [A mJarketing
strategy in this kind of global cultural policy is very important. ... We live in
an... consumer society where everyone advertises their products and claims they are the
best in the world. Why would we not do the same thing as part of a cultural strategy?!°°
At present, consumer practices are the object of a great deal of scrutiny in Canada and in other
developed countries. The choices consumers make in the pursuit of their interests, in the use of their
free time and in disposing of their income is carefully monitored and scrutinized by both the public
and private sectors in order to tailor policies, programs, products and services to meet changing
consumer expectations. It is therefore sensible and to be expected that producers of cultural and
artistic products and services would be mindful of these expectations when planning and developing
their offerings.
Every purchase is, in one way or another, an act of consumption. However, the transaction does
not explain motivation. For example, some aspects of a consumer’s interest in Leonard Cohen can be
described as consumption. The consumer purchases a compact disc or a book ne typical consumer
activity. However, the person buying may also be caught up in intellectual Dn about the poetry,
ic, or about the artist’s career. Artistic expression resonates with us as individuals
about the mus
because, as was eloquently put by Sandra Macdonald, the Chairperson of the NFB, cultural
expression is “rooted in our geography, our politics, our distinctive fashion of relating to the world
around us.” !5°
Carleton University, expert witness, Tuesday, February 10, 1998.
155 Michéle Martin, School of Journalism & Communications,
27, 1998.
156 Sandra Macdonald, Chair, National Film Board, submission, October
79
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
The more choices consumers are offered, the more they have the capacity to influence the
marketplace. For example, in the 1950s, many Canadians, particularly in border regions, could
watch the major U.S. television networks as well as the CBC. Today, however, Canadian consumers
have more television services available to them than at any time in the history of broadcasting. The
consequences of this increase in choice are:
e the fragmentation of audiences will likely continue; and
e audiences for these niche markets will become more sophisticated and demanding
The Committee notes the power of consumers to shape the market and recognizes that factors
surrounding audience development should be considered in determining appropriate levels of
support to Canada’s cultural industries and institutions. In 1996, Richard Baumgartel, an
independent video producer in Vancouver, set up his own experiment to track what happens when
Canadian films are promoted as such, or merely mixed up with everything else. “The Canada Rack
Project” as it was called, lasted for six months. During the term of the experiment, the Canadian films
did surprisingly well. “The beauty of this study is that it shows significant increase in the reach of
Canadian film is possible at a local level for a small promotional effort,” !°’ observed Robert
Everett-Green in the Globe and Mail. Because so many people in video stores are just browsing, the
challenge is to catch their attention. “It’s about getting on the menu, a term customary in restaurants,”
continues Everett-Green, “but one that we’re going to be hearing much more about as the
convergence of digital media draws near.” !°8
Micheline L’Espérance-Labelle told the Committee what happened when her company focused
attention on the source of its products.
In 1996, 2% of Quebecor DIL Multimédia’s sales were Quebec sales, Quebec software.
How is it then, that in 1997, 25% of our business was made up of Quebec software sales?
We simply put a Qualité Québec logo at our points of sale to give it exposure, right in front
of the CD-ROM box with Quebec content. That gave us a 23% increase. !9?
There is increasing competition among a wide array of services and activities for both the time
and the disposable income of Canadians. These activities are often referred to as recreation and in the
view of the Committee the term is, indeed, apt. Whether we participate in sports, read a book or
magazine, visit a museum, spend time in our garden or workshop, go to the cinema or take a trip at
home or abroad, we are in fact re-creating ourselves. We are replenishing our energies, delighting our
senses, giving ourselves a break from the day-to-day demands of life. The poet William Blake
captured the essence of recreation in his observation that it is the “gratification of the heart’s desire.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF TIMELY INFORMATION
Recent Statistics Canada reports show how well the not-for-profit arts sector has performed
over the past decade in controlling and reducing its deficits on a year-by-year basis. The data show
157 Robert Everett-Green, “The Great Canadian hunt for home-grown videos,” The Globe and Mail, Thursday, June 13, 1996, C1.
158 The Globe and Mail, Thursday, June 13, 1996, Cl.
159 Micheline L’Espérance Labelle, Quebecor DIL Multimédia, Ottawa Round Table on Publishing, March 10, 1998.
80
A SENSE oF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
a, ee
how many performances were given by how many groups in a given year and how much was taken in
at the box-office. The data also reveal how many books were published, how much money was spent
at concession stands in Canadian movie theatres, how many times the turnstiles clicked at Canada’s
heritage institutions, and how many paid staff and how many volunteers worked there. The numbers
also show the shift in the pattern of funding among the various orders of government.
Statistics are useful because the fi gures provide a numerical snapshot at a moment in time. They
show how Canadians spent their money on entertainment in 1986 and again in 1996. What the
numbers cannot explain is why. The Committee believes that investigations into cultural policy tend
to pay insufficient attention to the “whys” of the consumer, audience, or the participant in cultural
events.
Although its findings are now dated, one such investigation into Canadian audiences was
carried out in 1991-1992 by the (then) Department of Communications in partnership with the
provincial and territorial governments, and the municipal governments of Montreal, Vancouver,
Edmonton and Toronto. This research offers insights into the tastes and preferences of Canadians,
which the report describes as “meetings between people and art in Canadian society.”!© Although
Canada has continued to change in the intervening years, the broad analysis contained in this report
has influenced the Committee’s thinking about these “meetings.”
In brief, the 1991 survey concluded that:
¢ Canadians exhibit much good will and many good intentions with respect to
the performing and visual arts.
e While there is good access to the cultural materials, the customer services
surrounding their delivery need to be improved.
e Marketing of the arts pays insufficient attention to different audience needs.
It further notes:
Custom designed methods can be created that will allow the performing and the visual arts
to better compete with other at-home and out-of-home leisure activities, and to ensure
improved market share and visibility for Canadian artists.'©!
Given the scale and importance of Canada’s cultural community, the Committee looks to
Statistics Canada for improvement in the timeliness and comprehensiveness of its cultural statistics.
The Committee notes that better statistical data are available on other sectors of the Canadian
economy in comparison to what is available for the cultural sector.
Recommendation 37
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage ensure
the collection of statistics on cultural activity be of the same quality and
timeliness as those now available for other sectors of the Canadian economy.
160 Decima Research/Les Consultants Cultur’inc, Canadian Arts Consumer Profile, 1990-1991, May 1992, p. 486.
161 Ibid.
81
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Recommendation 38
The Committee recommends that the Canadian Arts Consumer Profile of the
arts and heritage sector (conducted in 1991-92) be updated and expanded.
In making these recommendations, it is the Committee’s belief that timely information is
critical to the success of the marketing efforts required for the survival and the growth of Canada’s
cultural sector.
VOLUNTEERS
When not participating in a cultural event as a member of an audience, many Canadians are
actively involved in forms of cultural expression as non-professional (i.e., unpaid) participants,
working for the love of the art. There are literally thousands of community choirs, orchestras, theatre
groups, dance ensembles, visual art workshops, writer’s groups, and film and video collectives,
where Canadians express their love of the arts in an active way. For some, these opportunities are an
invaluable preparation for a professional career in the arts. But for most, such creative outlets
represent a kind of cultural “participaction,” an opportunity to do something they truly enjoy.
Before World War IJ, community endeavours were, to a large extent, the mainstay of the
Canadian cultural scene. There were non-professional community theatre companies in Canada long
before there were local professional companies. In Edmonton, there was Walterdale Theatre, in
Ottawa there was the Ottawa Little Theatre, in St. Boniface there was Le Cercle Moliére.!© All of
these, and dozens more, still provide a dual service to Canadians: they allow audiences to see
inexpensive, live theatre while, at the same time, they also provide other Canadians with an
opportunity to express themselves artistically. Across Canada, these theatre companies continue to
flourish alongside their professional counterparts, often selling out their seasons well in advance.
Community, non-professional theatre offers creative opportunities for Canadians who want to
do more than just watch a live stage performance. They serve as a training ground for emerging
artists and technicians. The late George Ryga, author of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, had his first
production at Walterdale Theatre in Edmonton in 1966. In 1980 Brad Fraser, a young Alberta writer
who is now one of Canada’s most commercially successful playwrights also had his first play
produced there.!©?
As the Gabrielle Roy vignette illustrates, non-professional companies continue to be an
important part of Canada’s cultural heritage. These companies and many professional arts
organizations rely on a small army of volunteers.
162 Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre, Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1986, p. 86-87.
163 Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre, Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1986, p. 480.
82
Community Roots
Manitoba’s Le Cercle Moliére was a
non-professional theatre company when the late
Gabrielle Roy performed there in the 1930s. The
experience that she had in her youth shows how
non-professional theatre can provide Canadians
with formative, career-enhancing cultural
experiences and, as her experience illustrates, it
can do this in both official languages. “I had
some success on the stage with our amateur
theatre groups, Le Cercle Moliére, where I
played in French...and then with the
Winnipeg Little Theatre in English.”!64
Roy’s creative journey took her to Europe
and then to Montreal, where she worked as a
freelance journalist while writing her first novel,
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
a EE ee
Bonheur d’occasion, which was published in
Québec in 1945. Two years later her novel
appeared in English as The Tin Flute and, as the
writers of the Massey-Lévesque Report
observed in 1951, “We were reminded that it
was an American publisher who undertook to
translate and publish in English Bonheur
d’Occasion by Gabrielle Roy.”!® Roy’s
illustrious literary career in both French and
English was launched.
Over the years Le Cercle Moliére evolved
into a highly respected, and eventually
professional, French language theatre company
that presents contemporary plays, some
classics, and also commissions new work.
The Committee supports the idea brought forward by many witnesses that Canadian arts and
heritage organizations should have strong roots in their communities. Community support was
necessary when they were formed and it is equally important today. It is an ongoing challenge for
these organizations to continue to nurture and sustain the communities that support them. Without
that support, it would be difficult — if not impossible — for these groups to survive.
Artists, like audiences, need to feel that they are part of a community. As Carol Shields told the
Committee, artists “need to feel that they are part of their own community, that there are people
around them doing what they are doing . . . It’s important to me to feel that sense of my working
community around me.”!®
Canada’s cultural infrastructure relies to a great extent on the input of thousands of volunteers.
These are the people who dedicate countless hours of their time to cultural organizations of all types
and sizes in communities large and small all over Canada. Many Canadians also contribute money in
the form of donations to the performing arts and heritage activities in Canada. In Newfoundland,
New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Yukon, volunteers outnumber paid staff, 167
And it is not just in culture. The 1997 National Survey of Giving, VIS and Participating
paints a portrait of Canadian generosity. In that year eight out of ten Canadians over the age ps 15
made financial contributions to at least one charitable organization. In the same year, Salsas
donated an estimated $4.5 billion in direct support of charities and pO Ese ez ONS They
spent an additional $1.3 billion in indirect support through other activities such as charity raffles.
164 Gabrielle Roy, Enchantment and Sorrow, Lester, Orpen and Dennys, Toronto, 1987, p. 46.
165 Massey-Lévesque, Ottawa, 1951, p. Deo:
166 Carol Shields, Author, Ottawa Round Table on the Arts, March 10, 1998.
167 Statistics Canada, Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective, 1997, Table 4.4.d., p. 103.
ati ,
83
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Se ee ee re ee ee 2 A 2s eee
Countless thousands of Canadians have contributed to the development of our arts and heritage
institutions over the past 40 years. Volunteer and benefactor support is a fundamental feature of arts
and heritage institutions in Canada. The effective and productive partnerships forged between these
grassroots organizations and the federal government are critical to these organizations’ growth.
The men and women of all ages who volunteer their time and energy to the support of
community cultural organizations do so as ordinary citizens. In 1997, three out of ten Canadians over
the age of 15 volunteered their time and their skills. On average, each volunteer contributed 149
hours in 1997.!68 In addition, 11.8 million Canadians said they were involved in some way with a
local association or community organization. This represents an astonishing 49.5% of the Canadian
population, 15 years of age and older.
The Committee acknowledges this high level of individual support and citizens’ participation
and applauds their spirit of generosity. However, there was a notable drop between 1987 and
1997 — from 191 to 149 — in the average number of volunteer hours. This decline speaks to the
growing complexity of life today. Robert Janes from Calgary’s Glenbow Museum proposed an
incentive program.
Tax relief for volunteer hours, and if not volunteer hours at least their expenses. At our
organization we have a minimum of $300,000 worth of volunteer work done per year, and
we simply couldn’t be where we are without volunteers. We would suggest that they be
given tax relief either for the time they’ ve contributed or minimally, their expenses. !6
Recommendation 39
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with appropriate federal departments, investigate the feasibility of
developing incentives that provide volunteers with tax relief for legitimate
expenses associated with their volunteer activities in the cultural sector.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
A number of witnesses discussed the importance of encountering the arts early in life. Early
exposure to the arts and culture can be a life-changing experience for many young people. From an
audience-building perspective, early childhood experience is also an essential building block. The
Committee agrees with the observation made in the submission from the Canadian Conference of the
Arts, which stated:
168 Statistics Canada, The Daily, Ottawa, August 24, 1998.
169 Robert Janes, President, Glenbow Museum, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
84
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
The importance of cultivating the next generation of arts supporters, audiences and patrons
is integral to the long term survival and prosperity of the arts and cultural industries. The
fragile infrastructure currently in place merits an infusion
of creativity, imagination and
public support if we are to attain this goal,.!70
In its submission to the Committee, the Alliance for Children and Television, reinforced the
cultural as well as the economic significance of reaching young Canadians.
We note, with respect, that if our telecasters fail to develop in young viewers an
appreciation of television programming that reflects the uniqueness of their experience of
being Canadian, it is unlikely those children when grown will be an eager part of the adult
audience for Canadian television. . . . Canadian children’s television is often the earliest
and most frequent point at which our children intersect with their culture. It is of enormous
importance to them, and to the creators of children’s product, whether in the form of
music, stories, songs or drama.!7!
Today, Canadian children’s books, magazines, television and new media materials are highly
respected both at home and abroad. Indeed, foreign demand now provides Canadian producers of
children’s cultural products with opportunities in the international marketplace. Over the past 30
years, the federal government has contributed to the development of cultural materials for children
through programs such as the Canada Council for the Arts’ Public Literary Readings Program and
the Governor-General’s Literary Awards. However, the Committee was told repeatedly that more
must be done and that federal support programs should place even more emphasis on children’s
authors and illustrators.
The Committee suggests that existing federal programs, such as those mentioned above, widen
their focus to include more cultural materials for young Canadians. One suggestion made to the
Committee was that illustrators of children’s books, in addition to the authors, should be eligible for
support under the Canada Council for the Arts’ Literary Readings Program. The basis for their
eligibility should be the importance of their illustrations in the books themselves.
Some provincial governments have well-established Artists in the Schools programs that send
artists into schools as performers or as workshop leaders. These initiatives are important because
they build the audiences of the future and they can inspire the artists of tomorrow. The Committee
views Artists in the Schools initiatives, whether they are the work of provincial governments, arts
organizations or individual artists, or a combination of all three, as highly desirable investments with
important long-term benefits to cultural participation.
Recommendation 40
The Committee recommends that federal government programs and services
ensure access to cultural materials and activities for children.
TratCanAtind Conference Of the Arts Final Report of the Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, Ottawa, June 1998,
ana , :
p. 28. |
171 Alliance for Children and Television, Submission, April 1997, p. 10.
85
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Recommendation 41
The Committee recommends that the Minister of Canadian Heritage request
the Canada Council for the Arts review its policies and programs to ensure that
they recognize, support and encourage cultural activity in the lives of children.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES
The Government of Canada cannot be the sole source of funding for cultural initiatives. As
such, the Committee recognizes the need to develop and strengthen additional funding sources.
These include private and public sector giving, partnerships, consortia, endowments and the creation
of “friends” organizations specifically dedicated to furthering the objectives of cultural institutions.
The creation of an environment that facilitates donations by individuals is equally important.
Much of what cannot be done by institutions working alone can be achieved by working
together. The idea of linking cultural organizations was raised by several witnesses. Robert Janes
from the Glenbow Museum in Calgary argues that this is “a critically important point.” He notes that
“Glenbow is actually a four-part institution, and . . . operate(s) the largest non-government archives
in Canada.” !72
The Committee learned that Canadians from the smallest towns to the largest cities are proud of
their culture and heritage. Moreover, many are willing to support it in a variety of ways. The
Committee would like to see new initiatives to further encourage them to do so. Since the present
period of restraint is likely to continue, new ways of developing support for cultural organizations
must be developed.
The Committee also proposes that the concept of linkages between institutions be taken a step
further. Linkages, for example, could be developed between public institutions and the business
community. An interesting approach that might prove useful in broadening the funding base of
heritage institutions, was provided to the Committee by The Council for Business in the Arts in
Canada:
One of the examples . . . is one that has worked extremely well in Britain. Our counterpart
there, the Association for Business Sponsorships of the Arts, works with the Department of
National Heritage in Britain, and together they manage a. . . pairing scheme, by which the
federal government in Britain matches new donors and sponsors of the arts. It’s a great way
to bring people in, it’s a great way to increase the level of private sector support, and it’s a
great way also to put a federal face on support of the arts. It has worked extremely well,
and it has brought something like £110 million worth of new money to the table for the arts
in the United Kingdom.!73
172 Robert Janes, President, Glenbow Museum, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
173 Sarah Hey, President, Business for the Arts, October 27, 1998.
86
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
The Committee recognizes that many Canadian cultural organizations already work in
partnership with the private sector, For example, Bell Canada, the Stentor Alliance, and the Friends
of the National Library of Canada have collaborated on a fund to support digitization projects at the
National Library. There are also several digitization projects at the National Library funded by a mix
of private donations, the SchoolNet Digital Collections Fund and the National Library. Other
projects have produced web sites as varied as “The Glenn Gould Archive” and the site for the Royal
Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, 1949-1951
(Massey-Lévesque). All of these represent solid beginnings and the Committee would like to see
more of them.
Overall, the Committee received a very clear message from the witnesses that the federal
government can be more creative, and “must work together to define innovative policies in terms of
our tax system and in terms of a larger system for public donations.” !74
Recommendation 42
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with the Department of Finance and the Department of Revenue,
develop amendments to legislation to further encourage donations to the
cultural sector.
Recommendation 43
The Committee recommends that within two years of presenting this report, the
Department of Canadian Heritage:
43.1 Sponsor an information sharing initiative on fund-raising, partnership
development and public awareness; and
43.2 Develop workshops to share that information with Canada’s cultural
institutions, taking full advantage of the latest technology.
A FINAL COMMENT
Canadian artists know what it means to depend on the general public. Every book, every show,
every solo performance or every canvas is incomplete without a respouss from some form of
audience. One of the most poignant descriptions of an artist’s Moo) before his or her audience
is described in the song “Pacing the Cage” from Bruce Cockburn's 1996 album, The Charity of
Night:
174 Summary by Clifford Lincoln, Chair of the Committee, Ottawa Round Table on Heritage, March 10, 1998.
87
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
I’ve proven who I am so many times
The magnetic strip’s worn thin
And each time I was someone else
And every one was taken in...
I never knew what you all wanted
So I gave you everything
All that I could pillage
All the spells that I could sing. . .!79
The imagery of Cockburn’s lyrics offers insights into the link between creators and their
audiences. The Committee is persuaded that a cultural policy can be created that is forward looking
and links artists, communities and audiences. An important element in such a policy is stable
multi-year funding, which the Committee believes can be partly achieved by facilitating stronger
links among individual citizens, the private sector and arts organizations.
175 “Pacing the Cage” Words by Bruce Cockburn. © Golden Mountain Music Corp. Used by permission.
88
CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter summarizes the conclusions drawn by the Committee from the testimony of
witnesses and the submissions received.
CREATORS
We need creators. By virtue of their inspirational and intuitive nature, creators often challenge
the status quo, placing them at the very cusp of social change and at the foundation of all our cultural
enterprises. Indeed, without their commitment to their talent and their craft, our cultural industries
would be relegated to the distribution of foreign voices and perspectives.
Canada’s artistic community is truly national in character with creators in every discipline and
form of creative expression. Their achievements and successes attest to the high quality of their work
and their contributions to Canadian culture. Although the Committee agrees with witnesses who
pointed to the maturity of Canada’s creative community, the income levels of many individual
creators, despite their comparatively high levels of education, remain generally lower than national
averages. The Committee believes that existing financial support measures for creators are too
modest. Support should be increased and provided for longer periods of time.
The Committee recognizes the central importance of a comprehensive legal framework for the
protection of creators. Specifically, copyright legislation should be vigilantly monitored and
amended to keep pace with technological change. In addition, federal status of the artist legislation
will fulfil its purpose only if it is accompanied by complementary provincial legislation.
THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF CANADA’S CULTURAL AGENCIES
Canada’s federal cultural agencies are one of the main vehicles of support for creators. These
agencies are the principal means through which the federal government provides policy and program
support to the cultural sector. Over the years, each has developed a strong and dynamic relationship
with its constituency, thereby promoting an appreciation of the changing needs of the organizations
they serve and support.
Witnesses appearing before the Committee repeatedly referred to the leadership roles played by
federal cultural agencies. The testimony makes it clear that these agencies are expected to play
5 . ~ = .
important roles in the future of Canadian cultural development, just as they have done in the past.
On a basic level, the existence of public funding and support through institutions such as the
Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board, and the CBC has provided generations of
89
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ee I —LK§
training and support to our writers, artists and creators. We all reap the benefits of that support and
suffer the consequences when it is not there.!7°
Canadians still believe that federal cultural agencies have an important role to play. It is clear
from the testimony of the witnesses that the challenges currently facing these agencies are as
demanding of vision and imaginative management today as they were when they were first created.
Federal cultural agencies continue to be the flagships that give strategic focus and direction to federal
cultural policies. A collegial approach to the exercise of their respective mandates has become
essential.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Many creators are self-employed. Self-employment raises questions about legal, health,
insurance and tax matters, that are not unique to the cultural sector. The Committee sees the
clarification of the rights and obligations of the self-employed as fundamental to the successful
growth and development of cultural life in Canada.
The issue of self-employment is complex and cuts across several departments and most orders
of government. Nonetheless, the implications of being self-employed must be examined as soon as
possible. While this report’s particular concern is Canada’s cultural life, all Canadians face the
challenges of an increasing shift from employment as a wage earner to self-employment. The
solutions must be workable for all Canadians, not only for creators and artists.
CELEBRATING CREATIVE VISION
One of the fundamental objectives pursued by federal cultural policy has been the development
and growth of cultural expression in both of Canada’s official language communities. Based on the
evidence it received, the Committee believes that the federal government has been successful in
reaching that objective. The Committee also notes that more recent federal government initiatives,
such as those of the Canada Council for the Arts, have contributed to burgeoning cultural expression
in our Aboriginal communities. The resonance of those distinctive voices has given Canadian
cultural life a unique richness and vitality.
Nevertheless, the Committee has concluded that much more remains to be done. Exceptional
artists show the fundamental importance of creativity and imagination. Their work, passion and
commitment to their art can lead the way. However, just as artists have to be creative, the cultural
policy of the federal government must also be creative. In the years to come, the cultural policy of the
federal government should strive to ensure that more cultural products, initiatives and ideas cross
borders between people.
176 Michael Algey, Vice-President and General Manager, ATV/ASM Division of CTV, Halifax Round Table, February 23, 1999.
90
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
KEY ROLE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
The sharing of cultural expression within and between regions of Canada is a subject that was
addressed repeatedly by witnesses appearing before the Committee. As the Committee has noted
elsewhere in this report, the federal government has developed and implemented a number of
programs that support such activities. These include tours by performing arts companies, travelling
museum and gallery exhibitions and the distribution of books to all regions, both rural and urban.
However, as the Committee has also seen, during periods of financial constraints, these programs are
often the first to be affected. Unfortunately, they are not perceived to be as important as those that
contribute financially to the continued operations of cultural organizations. As Richard Hornsby of
the New Brunswick Arts Board told the Committee:
I was enthused to hear . . . that the National Arts Centre Orchestra is actually considering
touring out east this fall for the first time, I believe, in 12 to 14 years .. . This is
encouraging . . . We need to be able to speak to each other and send our products across
the country and we need help to do that.!77
The Committee understands the imperative of survival and the importance of ensuring that
cultural organizations continue to thrive in their own communities. However, the Committee
believes that there is a second imperative. In a country as geographically vast and as socially and
culturally diverse as Canada, exchanges between regions and between various regional cultural
expressions contribute enormously to the strengthening of our identity and nationhood. The federal
government alone has the mandate to maintain communication and exchanges between Canada’s
regions.
A number of programs are already in place, but the federal government’s commitment to them
is uneven. There is a demonstrated need for them and they enjoy strong public support. It is time the
federal government gave them the priority they deserve. They will ensure that Canadians share and
are given the opportunity to enjoy one another’s cultural vitality and bring all parts of our country
closer together.
REDUCING THE RATE OF LOSS
Budget constraints have caused heritage institutions to review and revise their collection
strategies and the criteria they use to decide what to keep. In many institutions, the period of difficult
internal reflection resulted in a more finely tuned collection and selection strategies. However, the
Committee also noted another issue pertaining to collections practices in heritage institutions. Just as
some items from heritage collections were “de-accessioned” because of their marginal relevance,
others are being lost because the budget to acquire or keep them iS lacking. Material in Canadian
heritage institutions by its very nature is subject to damage, Sige SNC! and even permanent loss,
unless it is preserved through a variety of conservation techniques.
177 Richard Hornsby, Member of the New Brunswick Arts Board, Moncton Round Table, February 24, 1999.
1 d ;
o4
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
There is a line to be drawn between conserving too much material in the interests of not losing
anything valuable, and not preserving enough so that it is lost. There are two aspects to this issue.
First, some preservation problems are more urgent than others. Into this category fall heritage
materials that will be lost unless funds are found to preserve them. Many have heard the story of the
television series, La Famille Plouffe, which was tremendously popular at the time it was broadcast in
Quebec. This material, which was of enormous historical value to Quebec and to the country, was
lost forever because the funding needed for its preservation came too late. The Committee believes
that this experience should not be repeated in any Canadian library, archive, museum or gallery.
The Committee, however, has no wish to become involved in the complex subject of selection
criteria. There are highly competent professionals in our heritage institutions who spend their careers
making important decisions about what to acquire, what to keep and what not to keep. The
Committee’s concern, then, is that budgets, overall, are sufficient to avoid a repeat of the failure to
preserve La Famille Plouffe.
PAYING ATTENTION TO CAPITAL BUDGETS
Although governments have contributed to the building of Canada’s cultural infrastructure
there are serious gaps in the support programs for maintenance and improvements. Many buildings
erected to celebrate Canada’s Centennial in 1967 are now in need of repair. Prudent government
suggests that the costs of maintaining this infrastructure be recognized and that appropriate
arrangements be made to plan for necessary repairs and improvements. Little is gained and much is
lost if the situation is ignored until costly emergency repairs are required.
THE NEED FOR FOCUS
This report is not the time or place to review all of the changes that have occurred over the past
ten years, nor can anyone foresee exactly what will emerge in the near term. However, two things
seem clear. First, there will continue to be change. Second, technological change, in whatever form,
will undermine some advantages Canadians now enjoy because of particular cultural policies and
programs.
These changes will have a profound impact on the notion of Canadian content rules. Various
federal government regulations require Canadian television and broadcasting companies to provide
Canadian content. Other policies and programs, such as federal support for the CBC, enhance access
to Canadian content. These support measures worked well in an era when there was a small number
of radio and television broadcasters. However, the creation of new media distribution mechanisms
and the proliferation of cable television channels could lessen the effectiveness of existing regulatory
mechanisms.
The implications of these developments for governments are profound. They not only signal the
need to reinvent the structures and business of government, but also the way in which consultations
are undertaken. This includes the way legislation, policy and programs are developed, implemented,
evaluated and revised.
92
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
ee EE CRC
A final point must be made about the speed of the social and technological change. The
Committee is convinced that we do not have the luxury of a decade or two to adapt, therefore, the
Government of Canada must act now.
Canada needs creators because the works they create are intimately linked to our sense of place
and our sense of being. Creators cannot accomplish this on their own, even though much begins in a
private ea He succeed they need the opportunity to pursue their art, which must include the
opportunity for training, ways to produce and distribute their works and an audience. Governments
can help but as this report has shown much depends on individuals and the way they respond to the
gifts creators bring.
A living culture must be shared, enjoyed, lived in, preserved and passed on. The Government of
Canada cannot create a work of art but it can do much to encourage the creators and visionaries who
will give Canada the gift of a living culture to enjoy, preserve and share with the world.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends that:
1.1 The Canada Council for the Arts, as the main source of federal government
support for creators, continue to provide grants to creators that enable
them to devote themselves full-time to a creative project. The Government
of Canada should encourage long-term and sustainable support to
creators.
1.2 The additional resources required by the Canada Council for the Arts to
implement Recommendation 1.1 should be provided.
1.3 The Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with the Canada
Council for the Arts, develop a plan to secure the funding proposed in
Recommendation 1.2 and report back to this Committee within one year of
the tabling of this report.
Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends that:
2.1. The Department of Canadian Heritage ensure ongoing federal initiatives
examining issues of self-employment include the interests of self-employed
artists and creators.
2.2 The Minister of Canadian Heritage appoint a task force to review
self-employment issues in the cultural sector. The task force should include
from the Department of Revenue, the Department of
representatives
f Human Resources Development Canada,
Finance, and the Department 0 50
and should report its recommendations within one year.
93
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends that:
3.1 Existing federal programs should also support the creation of traditional
cultural materials (books, music, films, and images) in electronic formats.
In addition, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with
the Department of Industry and the Department of Finance, should
encourage investment in enterprises that market and sell access to these
products; and
3.2 The Minister of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with the Ministers of
Industry and _ Finance, develop a_ strategy that implements
Recommendation 3.1.
Recommendation 4
Legislation implementing the two World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) Treaties should be introduced by the government and enacted by
Parliament as soon as possible.
Recommendation 5
The Government of Canada should take appropriate measures to ensure that
amendments to the Copyright Act keep pace with technological change.
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage invite
its counterparts in provincial governments to put in place complementary
legislation relating to the status of the artist.
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends that the federal government affirm its
commitment to the continuing development of Canada’s national training
schools and support additional national training schools with appropriate
resources as they emerge.
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada’s support to
national training schools be provided on a stable, multi-year basis.
94
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING
NSS PERCH BOAO TSRIOMIBER
Recommendation 9
a Committee recommends that the federal commitment to professional
training for arts and cultural industries and institutions give priority to the
development of co-op and intern programs. These programs should promote
strong links between training institutions and arts and cultural organizations,
allowing trainees to earn while they learn.
Recommendation 10
The Committee recommends that the federal government, through
sector-based training and professional development councils, develop a shared
cost program with cultural organizations that is designed to provide
professional training in the effective use of new media.
Recommendation 11
The Committee recommends that the Departments of Canadian Heritage and
Human Resources Development Canada develop new media programs and
training packages that can be used by community-based cultural organizations.
Recommendation 12
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage and
the Department of Industry jointly develop a program that will support more
research and study of domestic and international cultural issues in Canada’s
graduate schools through the financial involvement of key federal cultural
agencies.
Recommendation 13
The Committee recommends that one year after Recommendations 11 and 12
have been implemented, the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership
with other federal departments and agencies, conduct a review of federal
training support initiatives to determine the overall adequacy of the support
measures and their consistency in application among different client groups.
Recommendation 14
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
addition to existing ownership and citizenship requirements, develop
ici hich focus on, ensure and enhance
complementary policies and programs w :
Canadian content in cultural works.
95
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
LS ee
Recommendation 15
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage review
its financial support measures to clarify the distinction between for-profit and
not-for-profit cultural organizations.
Recommendation 16
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with appropriate cultural agencies, develop mechanisms to ensure
sustainable, long-term, multi-year funding for not-for-profit cultural
organizations.
Recommendation 17
The Committee recommends that support for the developmental phase of a new
company (start-ups) be designed to include specific performance targets and
that there be a sunset clause for federal support to the start-up phase of the
company’s development.
Recommendation 18
The Committee recommends that in the case of viable, for-profit, commercial
enterprises, federal support should be targeted for specific projects or ventures.
Recommendation 19
The Committee recommends that an _ independent, objective and
cross-disciplined analysis be commissioned by the Department of Canadian
Heritage to develop strategies that promote essential links among production,
distribution and marketing.
Recommendation 20
The Committee recommends that within a year of the presentation of this
report, the Minister of Canadian Heritage should ensure that the department’s
program objectives relating to the essential links among _ production,
distribution and marketing and those of its portfolio agencies are
complementary.
Recommendation 21
The Committee recommends that the federal government create a special
committee of cabinet, including the ministers of Canadian Heritage,
International Trade, and Industry and Finance, to develop a policy framework
that will provide Canadian cultural industries with the optimal environment to
sustain themselves and grow, both at home and abroad.
96
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
a eee
Recommendation 22
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
identify potential changes to the structure of government that would enable the
Government of Canada to respond in a timely manner to changes in the cultural
sector.
Recommendation 23
The Committee recommends that the Department of Heritage, in collaboration
with the appropriate research granting and cultural agencies, establish a
network of centres of excellence for new media. Establishing a network of
centres of excellence for new media will require a feasibility study that should
examine substantive partnerships with educational institutions and the private
sector.
Recommendation 24
The Committee recommends that:
24.1 The Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry jointly work with
those involved in new media with respect to obtaining copyright clearances
more easily and in identifying the role of collectives in the administration of
copyright.
24.2 The Department of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada jointly fund a
study to determine whether a central clearing mechanism for obtaining
copyright permission to use copyright materials in new media is feasible.
24.3 The study should include at a minimum an analysis of what should be done;
the costs of doing it, an analysis of financial viability, and the design of a
fully funded pilot project. The feasibility study, including the design of a
pilot project, should be implemented within one year of the presentation of
this report.
Recommendation 25
The Committee recommends that within one year of the presentation of this
Report, the Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada jointly
develop and establish objectives and criteria for federal support to Canada’s
new media sector.
oF,
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
NL
Recommendation 26
The Committee recommends that:
26.1 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation receive continuing, stable
funding so that it remains a public, non-profit corporation for the common
good.
26.2 CBC Radio receive sufficient levels of stable, sustained funding so that it
need not resort to corporate sponsorships, commercial or non-commercial
advertising.
26.3 CBC Television receive sufficient levels of stable, sustained funding so that
advertising can be reduced to minimal levels.
Recommendation 27
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
increase funding to support more cross-Canada tours and exhibitions.
Recommendation 28
The Committee recommends that the federal government adopt the approach
proposed by the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade (SAGIT)
through which Canada would call on other countries to develop a new
international cultural instrument that would acknowledge the importance of
cultural diversity and address cultural policies designed to promote and protect
that diversity.
Recommendation 29
The Committee recommends that the initiative taken by the Minister of
Canadian Heritage to ensure continued diversity in cultural expression
internationally be placed at the centre of the federal government’s foreign
policy and international trade agenda.
Recommendation 30
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage form
an advisory group composed of individuals experienced in creation, cultural
policy and the marketing and distribution of cultural materials, to advise the
minister on issues affecting culture. This group should be modeled on the
SAGIT approach used by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, and Industry Canada.
98
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
Fe eemnMnn Anite sia Fe
Recommendation 31
a Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage take
immediate action to obtain additional resources and to establish a fund
dedicated to the preservation of items of national significance that are in danger
of being lost through deterioration. The Department of Canadian Heritage
should present a progress report to this Committee within two years of the
presentation of this report.
Recommendation 32
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada re-establish a
capital fund over three consecutive fiscal years, starting in 2001-2002, or sooner
if possible, for essential maintenance to Canada’s deteriorating cultural
facilities.
Recommendation 33
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada establish a
long-term financial strategy to deal with Canada’s deteriorating cultural
facilities.
Recommendation 34
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with Canada’s research agencies, examine the broadening of the
criteria for research funding eligibility to ensure research conducted by
Canada’s heritage institutions is supported, where appropriate.
Recommendation 35
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage work
jointly with key federal heritage institutions and SpUL Opa federal
departments to ensure that community-based heritage insGtusions OLDE to
be an access point for information about programs, services and initiatives of
relevance to Canadians offered by federal heritage institutions.
Recommendation 36
The Committee recommends that a Canadian archival information network be
created that is modeled after the Canadian Heritage Information Network.
99
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Recommendation 37
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage ensure
the collection of statistics on cultural activity be of the same quality and
timeliness as those now available for other sectors of the Canadian economy.
Recommendation 38
The Committee recommends that the Canadian Arts Consumer Profile of the
arts and heritage sector (conducted in 1991-92) be updated and expanded.
Recommendation 39
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with appropriate federal departments, investigate the feasibility of
developing incentives that provide volunteers with tax relief for legitimate
expenses associated with their volunteer activities in the cultural sector.
Recommendation 40
The Committee recommends that federal government programs and services
ensure access to cultural materials and activities for children.
Recommendation 41
The Committee recommends that the Minister of Canadian Heritage request
the Canada Council for the Arts review its policies and programs to ensure that
they recognize, support and encourage cultural activity in the lives of children.
Recommendation 42
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in
consultation with the Department of Finance and the Department of Revenue,
develop amendments to legislation to further encourage donations to the
cultural sector.
Recommendation 43
The Committee recommends that within two years of presenting this report, the
Department of Canadian Heritage:
100
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
43.1 Sponsor an information sharing initiative on fund-raising, partnership
development and public awareness; and
43.2 Develop workshops to share that information with Canada’s cultural
institutions, taking full advantage of the latest technology.
101
- eo > ay
ane we a - “- 7 oe i
, D
.. "he Toman eet ae eaten, ag we.
eS ® iti é ine rh hud wu
a iq Gate. Ae O24 Aes, _s
parts = ‘ahd: pw. te a
iv 24
Os +o eee, 2 OD ie ened toy ot iteitey Oe. |
" . ~ fie ‘
"3
J-
*
| ia
te eo
1 : u
: ee) oe ee v bot S ae aoe = eet sii
mw “Sir Wwe rig be ‘a
j
ye
a nN do Fae gann © peel hen igs aceite requ
ps = & « 9® © dh AVOe eh Gonghenee iy waiters that -
” ig gem @ geheds @ wer lives of chdhiren,
¥ | ‘ > iv © k :
7 —. ee) oe ie oneal ye! Contin Heritage, in’
al Mita ae ' poe aie cell Ge Yrpaeeend of Revenge,
e VO) 6 @ then “cwrege donate io. the
i | |
a Ar
- ’
sn)
APPENDIX 1
The Canadian Heritage Portfolio
a ee ee
The Canadian Heritage Portfolio includes:
The Department of Canadian Heritage, responsible for arts policy, broadcasting policy,
Canadian identity, cultural industries, heritage, multiculturalism, national parks and national
historic sites, official languages and sport; as well as the Canadian Conservation Institute, the
Canadian Heritage Information Network, the Cultural Property Export Review Board, and
the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Seven Departmental Agencies: The Canada Information Office, the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (an independent regulatory
agency), the National Archives of Canada, the National Battlefields Commission, the
National Film Board of Canada, the National Library of Canada, and Status of Women
Canada.
Ten Crown Corporations: The Canada Council for the Arts, The Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, the Canadian Film Development Corporation (Telefilm Canada), the Canadian
Museum of Civilization, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian Race Relations
Foundation, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Arts Centre, the National Capital
Commission, and the National Museum of Science and Technology.
The Public Service Commission also reports to Parliament through the Minister of
Canadian Heritage.
103
atiog sane i¢ailon ena i itch one
Issostan fru she Ianorer oneihoniltscibuct 4 |
att 1uiitenl aeitswmen@Onwthann’s oft op low an re
how moth weivoAineqged ynaqort — ened oe!
Ps
a ERS
cuibene> of 970 aomernmetal sheen att ..9
wishes nibosaalaa iit) neler) anion
ot nendeinres > cbiottching toenail oil euanie yt
momo te sue bin, zbeee> tor suas ieavieelt ot
guides thet ashore Dot? 2iA obettione? shape Dae te
Apthanes > ot Aah attpels®) mois soe 10D Footnote lt
agoticion eanK vaibvens'> ot sie Yo ainganl a >
iesige™) (nein el) aa) ath incicsitcl Seb ;Absons) Te
YEMondost lee saadiad ten
d hed : aon
te caainlt ont dgnerrl snommete) alent ove noierieeme). sobre 2 . iT
j - Oa ns _
APPENDIX 2
Selected Statistics
Government Expenditures
Table A-1
Federal, provincial and municipal governments expenditures on culture!
(1992-1997)
($ millions)
1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97
Federal
Provincial/Territorial
Municipal?
All levels — current dollars?
1 The Daily, Statistics Canada, 24 September 1998.
Municipal spending is on a calendar year basis
3 These totals exclude inter-governmental transfers and thus cannot be derived by adding the three figures above.
105
A SENSE OF PLAcE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 2
Creation
Table A-2
Selected indicators for the culture labour force, 1993+
Selected occupation Male Female ae % Level of | Average | Average
re education > total ue
>45 | high school | income> income®
Artists
Painters, sculptors and related artists
Craftspeople
Designers
Directors, producers and choreographers
Musicians and other music occupations
Dancers
Actors and other performers
Writers
Other writing occupations
Other Jobs Within the Culture Sector
= An Overview of the Cultural Sector in Canada. Statistics Canada — Cat. no. 87-211-XPB, P. 17.
Average total income refers to the weighted mean income of individuals reporting income from all sources (including
royalties, investment income, unemployment insurance etc) for 1993, net of expenses from cultural work.
Average cultural income refers to the weighted mean of income of individuals reporting income from cultural work in 1993, net
of expenses from cultural work.
Table A-3
Cultural labour force changes between 1991 and 1996’
Writers 15,290 18,585
Producers, directors, choreographers and related
occupations 12,820 15,900
Conductors, composers and arrangers 1,915 2,090
Musicians and singers 25,105 29,265
Dancers 3,835 5,730
Actors 4,550 6,815
Painters, sculptors and other visual artists 11,320 13,300
Artisans and other craftspersons 20,790 18,685
Total, selected occupations 95,625 110,370
Total, Canadian labour force 14,220,235 14,317,545
Focus on Culture, Summer 1998. Statistics Canada — Cat. no. 87-2004-XPB.
106
STANDING ComMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Training
Table A-4
Education and training® activities, 1993°
(thousands! of activities)! !
Total Career or
Personal | Programs!* | Courses!3 | Male | Female
activities | Job-related | interest
All education/training activities 10,856 7,478
All culture-related activities | 2,060 541
Field of study 810 | 160
Fine and Performing Arts A87 58
Commercial, Promotional and
Graphic Arts Sie 25
Creative and Design Arts 268 30
Other Applied Arts | 64 48
Communications and Media |
Studies ff 41
Language Arts and Literature 409 169
Lang arts/Lit/Creative writing 242 8]
8 The Adult Education and Training Survey, conducted in January 1994, asked a sample of individuals aged 17 years and older to
identify any education and training activities taken throughout 1993.
9 Values that have been replaced by a ‘q’ have a coefficient of variation greater then 25% and are not considered to be reliable
estimates.
10 Note: Totals may not add due to rounding.
i An Overview of the Cultural Sector in Canada. Statistics Canada — Cat. no. 87-211-XPB, P. 19.
- ‘Programs’ lead to high school or post-secondary certification and may include a number of courses.
- ‘Courses’ are taken individually and are typically of shorter duration.
107
A SENSE OF PLAceE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 2
Production and Distribution
Table A-5
Recording Industry Data!*
(1989-1996)!5
lyme ee: eagees eee 1989-90 | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1994-94 | 1995-96
Reporting companies
Canadian
Foreign
Canadian content/artists (% sales)
Revenue from the sales of recordings
($millions)
14 Canada Year Book, 1999. P. 280.
Is Data for 1994-1995 are not available.
Table A-6
Film, video and audio-visual production!®
(1994-95)
Number of producers
Number of productions
Revenues ($ millions)
Profit margin (% of total revenue)
16 An Overview of the Cultural Sector in Canada. Statistics Canada — Cat. no. 87-211-XPB, P. 59.
108
STANDING CommMITTEE on CANADIAN HERITAGE
Table A-7
Film and Video Distribution and Wholesaling!7
(1990-95)!8 19
1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1995-96
Film and video distribution only
Employment 2,023 1,973 : 1,923 DRO
Primary market ($ millions) 1,183.8 | 1,230.7 5229. 1533671 e17503:5
Expenses ($ millions) 1,065.1 1,084.3 ,091. WSS EA a IL PAD Tes
Profit Margin2° 10.0 11.9 ; ie 13
7 Canada Year Book, 1999. P. 283.
18 From April 1 to March 31.
19 Data for 1994-1995 are not available.
Profit margin is defined as total revenue less total expenses (profit or loss) shown as % of total revenues.
Table A-8
Performing Arts?!
(1993-97)*?
Theatre Dance
1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1996-97 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 1996-97
Number of companies 293
Total performances 1 ot oS
Total revenue ($millions) 80. 183.4
Total expenditures 2S 183.8
Surplus (deficit) ; (0.4)
Volunteers (number) DH 12,451
1993-94 | 1994-95 1996-97 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1996-97
Number of companies
Total performances
Total revenue ($millions)
Total expenditures
Surplus (deficit)
Volunteers (number)
21. Canada Year Book, 1999. P. 286.
oe 1996-1997 data source, The Daily, Statistics Canada, 4 March 1999.
109
A SENSE OF PLacE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 2
Table A-9
Books and Periodicals*> 24
(1990-95)2>
1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95
Total sales by English-language firms?° 995,193 981,261 979,780 978,016 | 1,093,832
Total sales by French-language firms 256,950 264,121 PEL ae 287,620 306,475
Books
Periodicals
Number of reporting publishers 1,099 1,055 1,047 1,000 1,083
Number of reported periodicals 1,501 1,440 1,400 133351! 1,404
Total circulation per issue 39,457 39,050 37,108 36,396 38,816
Revenues ($ thousands) 866,032 838,374 852,041 795,419 866,860
Expenses 847,645 819,108 806,098 TSO2Q3T 800,031
Profit before taxes as % of total rev. 2.1 D3 5.4 57] ed
23 Book sales refer to the sales of all titles produced for sale through any of the print, micro format, computer software or
audiovisual formats.
24 Canada Year Book, 1999. P. 287, 291.
25 From April 1 to March 31.
26 Includes firms for “other languages.”
Table A-10
Selected indicators for the book publishing industry?’ 28
(1990-95)
Publishers
Exclusive agents
New Titles published??
Titles reprinted
Total revenue ($ millions)
Export sales
Net/profit loss before taxes (% total revenue)
Percentage of firms with a loss (%)
en Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective. Statistics Canada. Cat. No. 87-211-XPB. P. 88.
28 ‘Includes English and French language publishers.
29 Includes the activities of book publishers only.
110
STANDING CommMITTEE on CANADIAN HERITAGE
Table A-11
Selected indicators for Canadian-controlled book publishers??
(1990-91; 1994.95)
1990-91 1994-95
Number Share of total Share of total
industry industry
(%) (%)
New titles published?! 6,581 9,117
Titles reprinted 4,646 5,996
Full-time employees 4.358 4,452
Total revenue ($ thousands) 898,962 1,199,367
30 Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective. Statistics Canada. Cat. No. 87-211-XPB. P. 90.
31 Includes the activities of book publishers only.
Table A-12
Selected indicators for Canadian authors>2
(1990-91; 1994.95)
1991-92 1994-95
Number | Share of total Number Share of total
industry industry
P .@) (%)
New titles published?* | 5,970 72.0 7,878 TN
Titles reprinted | 5,877 91.0 6,326 83.4
Total revenue ($ thousands)°* 643,843 |} ; ee 731,068 41.6
ee Canada’s Culture, Heritage and Identity: A Statistical Perspective. Statistics Canada. Cat. No. 87-211-XPB. P. 90.
2 Includes the activities of book publishers only.
34 Does not include other related revenue.
111
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 2
Conservation
Table A-13
Heritage Institutions>>
(1989-1996)36
| pantera 1989-90 | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1994-94 | 1995-96
All heritage institutions
(excluding nature parks) ZAl2S) 2,06 2,098 2,1 5) 2,390
Employment?’ 23,474 | 23,827 23,969 24,127 233173
Attendance (thousands) 57,202 57,120 54,464 54,929 54,482
Revenues ($ thousands)? 940,924 | 959,218 | 1,014,671 986,056 1,095,103
Expenditures ($ thousands) 907,194 | 953,788 | 1,004,405 969,338 1,103,446
35 Canada Year Book, 1999. P. 293.
36 Data for 1994-1995 are not available.
37 Full-time and part-time
38 Includes operating and capital expenditures and/or revenues.
112
STANDING ComMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Consumption
Ft ATM Table A-14
Percentage Distribution of Current F amily Expenditures (FAMAX), 1986 and 199239 40
Recreation and culture
Food
Shelter
Household operation and furnishings
Transportation
Communication
Clothing
Education
Health and personal care
Security
Gifts
Tobacco and alcohol
Total
39 The Health and Vitality of the Culture Sector in British Columbia. Statistics Canada, Culture Statistics Program, Research and
Communications Section. June 1997 P. 171.
40 Although data from 1996 are available, they cannot be compared with 1992 for trend analysis due to alterations in the
classification of household spending categories used by Statistics Canada. For 1996 data, see The Daily, Statistics Canada, 12
February 1998.
113
oe
a a
ae
—
ae
ye eat
WO}: ove ,
CR = MESS aay a
H% ae ine Gees
Ure! ;
ye i "WK r
=) a) ay.
-
zx
ee
“8.1
hi
mp
A a i A Se eee ———
fa =
aad ; EA Che
ae « ba A roe
afi. wt “Ei 3
| i =s
Lae thowsad contol SH hud oul oan) ebaelialt adit ‘Seanipcibeumauaiae
Det HO ant . ar
ne
yh eee SOk Ae ipti Lara tot CPD) aitee Gar POS wi as hia ou
© gees.) chek yet) a) See ciel POO lel sere ead wel ey eee
APPENDIX 3
Cultural Policy Support
(April 1997)
————
Canadian culture is a mirror which reflects the lives, histories and identities of Canadians. Because
of the importance of culture in nation building, trade, employment and tourism, governments have
created a series of measures which have tried, with varying success, to nurture, promote and protect
Canadian culture. These measures broadly include the creation of public services and institutions
such as the CBC, direct funding, financial or investment incentives, levies, Canadian ownership
rules, Canadian content requirements, legislated rights and international trade and production
agreements. This Appendix consists of four tables which outline the main federal support measures
initiated for culture. The tables provide an inventory of existing measures and a comparative
summary of the different policy approaches across the cultural field.
List of Abbreviations
DCH - Department of Canadian Heritage
DFAIT - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
FTA - Free Trade Agreement
GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
HRDC - Human Resources Development Canada
IC - Industry Canada
ICRP - International Cultural Relations Program
MAP - Museums Assistance Program
MCP - Movable Cultural Property Program
NA - National Archives of Canada
NAC - Nationai Arts Centre
NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement
NCC - National Capital Commission
NFB - National Film Board
NGC - National Gallery of Canada
NLC - National Library of Canada
NMST _ National Museum of Science and Technology
115
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
PAP
SPI
SRC
SRDP
TAD
TBS
WTO
BDC
BPIDP
CANARIE
CBC
ce
CCPERB
CCI
CFVCO
CHIN
GHRC
CIDF
CIP
CMC
CMN
ERLE
CICPer
Publications Assistance Program
Sectoral Partnership Initiative
Société Radio-Canada
Sound Recording Development Program
Technology and Applications Development
Treasury Board Secretariat
World Trade Organization
The following tables use the abbreviations listed below.
Business Development Bank of Canada
Book Publishing Industry Development Program
Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education
Canadian Broadcast Corporation
Canada Council for the Arts
Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board
Canadian Conservation Institute
Canadian Film and Video Certification Office
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Cultural Human Resources Council
Cultural Industries Development Fund
Cultural Initiatives Program
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Canada Television and Cable Production Fund
e fonds d’assistance au Conseil des arts établi par le Parlement en 1957
116
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 3
TABLE 1
Support Measures for the Arts
SUPPORT
MEASURES PERFORMING ARTS VISUAL ARTS LITERARY ARTS
PUBLIC e National Arts Centre
DIRECT FUNDING > a pee appropriation to | ¢ parliamentary appropriation to | * parliamentary appropriation to
* parliamentary appropriation to
the Canada Council for the
Arts Endowment Fund for the
Canada Council established
by Parliament in 1957
grants to support the work of
professional Canadian artists
and organisations in the
performing arts (CC)
contribution to Canadian
Conference of the Arts (DCH)
federal contribution, in
partnership with provincial &
municipal governments &
private sector, to help arts
organisations eliminate
operating deficits and create
working capital (DCH — Arts
Stabilization Projects)
federal contribution to
festivals and special events,
capital projects (construction,
equipment purchases),
management and market
development (DCH — CIP)
contribution to Canadian
Native Arts Foundation
(DCH-Contribution
Agreement)
contributions to National
Ballet School, National
Theatre School and National
Circus School (DCH)
federal contribution to cultural
infrastructure projects in the
provinces (DCH)
grants to promote & develop
international markets for
Canadian performing arts
(DFAIT—ICRP) _
federal seed funding for
CHRC to plan, promote &
support a systemic approach
to training cultural workers,
including the self-employed
(HRDC — SPI)
the Canada Council for the the Canada Council for the
Arts Arts
¢ Endowment Fund for the ¢ Endowment Fund for the
Canada Council established Canada Council established
by Parliament in 1957 by Parliament in 1957
* grants to support the work of | ¢ grants to support the work of
professional Canadian artists professional Canadian artists
and organisations in the visual | and organisations in the
and media arts (CC) literary arts (CC)
contribution to Canadian contribution to Canadian
Conference of the Arts (DCH) Conference of the Arts (DCH)
federal contribution, in federal contribution, in
partnership with provincial & partnership with provincial &
municipal governments & municipal governments &
private sector, to help arts private sector, to help arts
organisations eliminate organisations eliminate
operating deficits and create operating deficits and create
working capital (DCH — Arts | working capital (DCH — Arts
Stabilization Projects) Stabilization Projects)
federal contribution to contribution to Canadian
festivals and special events, Native Arts Foundation
capital projects (construction, (DCH-Contribution
equipment purchases), Agreement)
management and market federal contribution to cultural
development (DCH — CIP) infrastructure projects in the
contribution to Canadian provinces (DCH)
Native Arts Foundation grants to promote & develop
(DCH-Contribution international markets for
Agreement) Canadian literature
federal contribution to cultural (DFAIT — ICRP)
infrastructure projects in the payments to Canadian authors
provinces (DCH) for public use of their works
grants to promote & develop held in Canadian libraries
international markets for (DCH — Public Lending
Canadian visual & media arts Right Commission)
(DFAIT — ICRP) federal seed funding for
federal seed funding for CHRC to plan, promote &
CHRC to plan, promote & support a systemic approach
support a systemic approach to training cultural workers,
to training cultural workers, including the self-employed
including the self-employed (HRDC — SPI)
(HRDC — SPI)
117
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
SUPPORT
MEASURES PERFORMING ARTS VISUAL ARTS LITERARY ARTS
FINANCIAL e donations to registered ¢ donations to registered e donations to registered
INCENTIVES national arts service national arts service national arts service
Tax organisations eligible for organisations eligible for organisations eligible for
charitable-type tax credit / charitable-type tax credit / charitable-type tax credit /
Investment deduction (Income Tax Act s. deduction (Income Tax Act s. deduction (Income Tax Act s.
Independent funds 149.1(6.4) and Reg. 8700) 149.1(6.4) and Reg. 8700) 149.1(6.4) and Reg. 8700)
salaried musicians can deduct tax credit for fair market ¢ salaried writers can deduct
capital cost allowance, value of artwork to artists who | certain expenses incurred in
expenses incurred to acquire donate works from their earning their income from
and maintain their instruments | inventory to designated artistic activities (Income Tax
and certain other expenses institutions (Income Tax Act s. Act s. 8(1)(q))
incurred in earning income as 118.1) ¢ changes to charitable tax
a musician (Income Tax Act s. salaried artists can deduct credit system, introduced in
8(1)(p)& (q)) certain expenses incurred in recent federal budgets (e.g.,
changes to charitable tax earning their income from 1996 & 1997), to foster
credit system, introduced in artistic activities (Income Tax charitable giving (Department
recent federal budgets (e.g., Act s. 8(1)(q)) of Finance)
1996 & 1997), to foster changes to charitable tax ¢ authority to receive private
charitable giving (Department credit system, introduced in donations & bequests
of Finance) recent federal budgets (e.g., (Canada Council Act s.18)
¢ authority to receive private 1996 & 1997), to foster
donations & bequests charitable giving (Department
(Canada Council Act s.18) of Finance)
e authority to receive private
donations & bequests
(Canada Council Act s.18)
LEVIES
CANADIAN
OWNERSHIP RULES
CANADIAN
CONTENT
REQUIREMENTS
LEGISLATED
e exclusive right of performers | ¢ exclusive right of artists to e exclusive rights of authors to
RIGHTS / PROTEC- to tape or broadcast their live reproduce, broadcast, perform reproduce, broadcast and
TIONS performances in a WTO or exhibit their works in perform their works in public
county (Copyright Act) public (Copyright Act) (Copyright Act)
Copyright
Professional rights
e right of independent creative
contractors to bargain
collectively the terms and
conditions of scale
agreements (Status of the
Artist Act)
¢ right of independent creative
contractors to bargain
collectively the terms and
conditions of scale
agreements (Status of the
Artist Act)
¢ protection against
unauthorised importation of
literary materials (Copyright
Act)
¢ right of independent creative
contractors to bargain
collectively the terms and
conditions of scale
agreements (Status of the
Artist Act)
INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
e the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright
Convention
e the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright
Convention
e the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright
Convention
118
A SENSE OF PLAcE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 3
PERFORMING ARTS VISUAL ARTS LITERARY ARTS
¢ rental of contemporary
Canadian art to the private
sector, government and public
institutions (CC — Art Bank)
* plan to establish special Fund | ¢ plan to establish special Fund | « plan to establish special Fund
for Future Generations for Future Generations for Future Generations
whereby former grant whereby former grant whereby former grant
recipients, now established in recipients, now established in recipients, now established in
their careers, could make their careers, could make their careers, could make
donations eligible for tax donations eligible for tax donations eligible for tax
credit (CC) credit (CC) credit (CC)
adherence to Rome ¢ drafting guidelines for ¢ drafting guidelines for
Convention (Bill C-32 Government of Canada Government of Canada
amending Copyright Act) training activities for the training activities for the
exclusive right of performers cultural sector (TBS) cultural sector (TBS)
to rent sound recordings and
selected reproduction rights
(Bill C-32 amending
Copyright Act)
royalty payments to
performers for public
performance and broadcasting
of their performances on
sound recordings (Bill C-32
amending Copyright Act)
royalty payments to
performers for private
copying of sound recordings
(Bill C-32 amending
Copyright Act)
drafting guidelines for
Government of Canada
training activities for the
cultural sector (TBS)
SUPPORT
MEASURES
PUBLIC SERVICES
POLICY UNDER
DEVELOPMENT
119
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
TABLE 2
Support Measures for Heritage Preservation
SUPPORT MUSEUMS AND HISTORIC SITES AND LIBRARIES AND
MEASURES GALLERIES BUILDINGS ARCHIVES
PUBLIC e National Gallery e various historic sites and ¢ National Library of Canada
INFRASTRUCTURE |°¢ Museum of Civilization buildings owned by the e National Archives of Canada
e Museum of Nature Government of Canada
¢ Museum of Science &
Technology
DIRECT FUNDING ¢ parliamentary appropriation to
the National Library of Canada
¢ parliamentary appropriation to
the National Archives of
Canada
¢ grants and loans to Canadian
institutions to help purchase
cultural property either
available for repatriation or
denied an export permit
(parliamentary appropriation
or moneys from Canadian
Heritage Preservation
Endowment
Account — Cultural Property
Export and Import Act, ss. 35
& 36)
federal seed funding for
CHRC to plan, promote &
support a systemic approach to
training cultural workers,
including the self-employed
(HRDC — SPI)
federal government
administers 131 out of 786
designated national historic
sites across Canada (including
historic canals) and
contributes, through
cost-sharing agreements, to the
administration of an additional
60 sites (Historic Sites and
Monuments Act;
DCH — Parks Canada
Program)
federal government’s
allocation of resources to the
protection of Crown-owned,
designated federal heritage
buildings such as the
Parliament Buildings (DCH &
TBS — Policy on Federal
Heritage Buildings)
federal contributions for
renovating heritage buildings
(DCH — CIP)
NCC allocation of resources to
the conservation and
improvement of heritage sites
and buildings owned by the
Commission (National Capital
Act)
one-time federal grant to
establish the Heritage Canada
Foundation endowment fund
(S97)
¢ parliamentary appropriation to
four national museums
corporations (NGC, CMC,
CMN, NMST)
e funding of Canadian
Conservation Institute to
promote the care and
preservation of heritage
collections by providing
conservation services, training
and research (DCH)
e federal funding for non-federal
Canadian museums and related
institutions to support
collections, public access to
collections and services,
organizational and human
resources development and
Aboriginal museum
development (DCH — MAP)
e federal contribution to
Canadian Museum Association
(DCH)
° grants and loans to Canadian
institutions to help purchase
cultural property either
available for repatriation or
denied an export permit
(parliamentary appropriation
or moneys from Canadian
Heritage Preservation
Endowment
Account — Cultural Property
Export and Import Act, ss. 35
& 36)
federal seed funding for
CHRC to plan, promote &
support a systemic approach to
training cultural workers,
including the self-employed
(HRDC — SPI)
120
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BeiInG — APPENDIX 3
SUPPORT
MEASURES
FINANCIAL
INCENTIVES
Tax
Investment
Independent funds
¢ tax credits for private
individuals or deductions for
corporations who donate
cultural objects, e.g., works of
art, to public institutions
(Income Tax Act ss. 118.1 &
110.1(1)(c) — CCPERB)
* taxpayer’s capital gain on
disposition of property
exempted from taxation where
it is certified cultural property
donated or sold to a designated
public institution (Income Tax
Act s.
39(1)(a)(.1) — CCPERB)
* authority of NGC, CMC,
CMN and NMST to acquire
property by gift or bequest
(Museums Act )
LEVIES
CANADIAN
OWNERSHIP
RULES
CANADIAN
CONTENT
REQUIREMENTS
LEGISLATED
RIGHTS / PROTEC-
TIONS
Copyright
Professional rights
¢ permit required to export
cultural property on Export
Control List, e.g., art, books,
photographs, sound recordings
(Cultural Property Export and
Import Act — CCPERB)
e UNESCO Convention on the
Means of Prohibiting and
Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural
Property
INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
MUSEUMS AND
GALLERIES
° gifts to Heritage Canada, as a
registered charity, considered
to be a gift to the Crown for
income tax purposes (Minister
of Revenue)
° federally regulated railway
companies owning designated
heritage railway stations need
authorisation to dispose of the
station or alter its heritage
features (Heritage Railway
Stations Protection Act)
e federal incorporation of
Heritage Canada Foundation,
under Canada Corporations
Act as a quasi
non-governmental
organization / national trust, to
promote and preserve
Canada’s built heritage
e UNESCO Convention
Concerning the Protection of
the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage
HISTORIC SITES AND
BUILDINGS
LIBRARIES AND
ARCHIVES
tax credits for private
individuals or deduction for
corporations who donate
cultural objects, e.g., archival
and book collections, to public
institutions (Income Tax Act ss.
118.1 &
110.1(1)(c) — CCPERB)
taxpayer’s capital gain on
disposition of property
exempted from taxation where
it is certified cultural property
donated or sold to a designated
public institution (Income Tax
Acts.
39(1)(a)(i.1) — CCPERB)
comprehensive collection of
Canada’s published heritage
ensured by legal requirement
that Canadian publishers
deposit copies of new
Canadian publications at the
National Library (National
Library Act)
permit required to export
cultural property on Export
Control List, e.g., art, books,
photographs, sound recordings
(Cultural Property Export and
Import Act — CCPERB)
UNESCO Convention on the
Means of Prohibiting and
Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural
Property
121
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
SUPPORT MUSEUMS AND HISTORIC SITES AND LIBRARIES AND
MEASURES GALLERIES BUILDINGS ARCHIVES
PUBLIC SERVICES | ¢ researching, collecting, * protecting and presenting ¢ collecting and preserving
preserving, interpreting and national historic sites under the | Canada’s published heritage
presenting natural history administration of Parks (NLC)
(CMN), human history Canada (DCH) e facilitating Canadians’ access
(CMC), art history (NGC) and | ¢ conserving, improving and to national and world-wide
the products and processes of presenting heritage sites and networks of information
science and technology buildings in the national resources, e.g., through the
(NMST) from a Canadian capital region (NCC) AMICUS database
perspective (NLC — Access AMICUS
on-line access via Internet to service)
heritage reference services and exposing Canadians to their
objects in collections of published heritage, e.g., by
Canadian museums presenting literary and musical
(DCH — CHIN) events and producing
¢ museum outreach, e.g., by Canadian electronic
developing CD-ROM and information resources for the
Photo-CD products (CMC) World Wide Web, e.g., The
Glen Gould Archive (NLC)
acquiring and preserving
private and public records of
national significance (NA)
facilitating public access to
National Archives collections,
e.g., by creating access to
collections over the Internet
and publishing databases
describing specific holdings on
CD-ROM (NA)
POLICY UNDER
DEVELOPMENT
developing policies for digital
conversion of federally-held
cultural and scientific
collections, e.g., collections of
the National Library and
Archives (DCH &
IC — Federal Task Force on
Digitization)
drafting guidelines for
Government of Canada
training activities for the
cultural sector (TBS)
developing policies for digital
conversion of federally-held
cultural and scientific
collections, e.g., collections of
the national museums (DCH &
IC — Federal Task Force on
Digitization)
drafting guidelines for
Government of Canada
training activities for the
cultural sector (TBS)
122
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 3
TABLE 3
Support Measures for Film, Video, Sound Recordings and Publishing
SUPPORT
MEASURES
PUBLISHING
(Books, periodicals, CD-ROM &
multimedia)
FILM AND VIDEO SOUND RECORDINGS
PUBLIC
INFRASTRUCTURE
¢ NFB production facilities
¢ Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris,
Centre for New Media (DFAIT)
DIRECT FUNDING * federal contribution to Telefilm | ¢ federal contribution to e funding to assist Canadian book
Canada film production, Canadian-owned companies for publishers with publishing and
development, distribution and the production, marketing and marketing Canadian titles
marketing funds (Memoranda of distribution of Canadian (DCH — BPIDP)
Understanding between Telefilm recordings, music videos and * postal rate subsidy provided to
and DCH) music-driven radio programs eligible Canadian publications
¢ federal contribution to NFB film (DCH — SRDP)
production programs federal funding to support
* grants to support international business development in the
market development for Canadian sound recording
Canadian films and videos industry (DCH — SRDP)
(DFAIT — ICRP) radio licensees contribution to
e federal contribution under the development of Canadian talent
terms and conditions of (CRTC Canadian Talent
federal/provincial agreements to Development Policy)
support regional cultural federal contribution under the
industries development (DCH) terms and conditions of
¢ federal contribution to film and federal/provincial agreements to
video training initiatives (DCH) support regional cultural
¢ federal seed funding for CHRC industries development (DCH)
to plan, promote and support a federal seed funding for CHRC to
systemic approach to training plan, promote and support a
cultural workers, including the systemic approach to training
self-employed (HRDC — SPI) cultural workers, including the
self-employed (HRDC — SPI)
(DCH — PAP, formerly the Postal
Subsidy Program, and
Memorandum of Agreement
between DCH and Canada Post
Corporation)
book publishing grants (Canada
Council)
grants for the publication of
literary and art magazines
(Canada Council)
federal & private sector
shared-cost funding to stimulate
application and product
development for the information
highway, especially multimedia
(CANARIE Inc. — TAD
Program)
grants to support international
market development for Canadian
multimedia products
(DFAIT — ICRP)
multimedia production pilot
program (Telefilm)
funding to new media productions
as part of NFB production
programs
federal contribution under the
terms and contributions of
federal/provincial agreements to
support regional cultural
industries development (DCH)
federal seed funding for CHRC to
plan, promote and support a
systemic approach to training
cultural workers, including the
self-employed (HRDC — SPI)
123
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
SUPPORT
MEASURES
FINANCIAL
INCENTIVES
Tax
Investment
Independent funds
LEVIES
CANADIAN
OWNERSHIP RULES
CANADIAN CON-
TENT REQUIRE-
MENTS
LEGISLATED RIGHTS
/ PROTECTIONS
Copyright
Professional rights
124
FILM AND VIDEO
e refundable tax credit for eligible
films and videos produced and
owned by qualified Canadian
corporations (Income Tax Act Ss.
125.4 and Income Tax
Regulations s. 1106)
¢ flexible loans to film and video
production companies for
working capital and expansion
projects (DCH & BDC — CIDF)
e donations to registered national
arts service organisations eligible
for charitable-type tax
credit/deduction (Income Tax Act
s. 149.1(6.4) and Reg. 8700)
e review of foreign investments to
acquire control of Canadian film
or video businesses (Investment
Canada Act, s. 15 and Foreign
Investment Guidelines for the
Canadian Film Distribution
Sector)
e Canadian content requirement to
receive certification for income
tax purposes (CFVCO)
¢ minimum Canadian content
requirement to receive film
production support (CTCPF)
e Canadian content requirement to
receive Telefilm support
¢ exclusive rights to public
performance, broadcasting,
reproduction and other uses
(Copyright Act)
e right of independent creative
contractors to bargain
collectively the terms and
conditions of scale agreements
(Status of the Artist Act)
SOUND RECORDINGS
¢ loans and loan guarantees to
support production and marketing
in the Canadian sound recording
industry (DCH — SRDP)
flexible loans to sound recording
companies for working capital
and expansion projects (DCH &
BDC — CIDF)
Canadian music video channels
required to support production of
Canadian music videos (CRTC
condition of licence)
donations to registered national
arts service organisations eligible
for charitable-type tax
credit/deduction (Income Tax Act
s. 149.1(6.4) and Reg. 8700)
review of foreign investments to
acquire control of Canadian sound
recording businesses (Investment
Canada Act, s. 15; no guidelines
for this industry)
Canadian content requirements for
SRDP assistance
exclusive rights of songwriters,
composers and music publishers
as copyright owners to public
performance, broadcasting,
reproduction and other uses
(Copyright Act)
exclusive rights of record
producers to reproduce their
recordings (Copyright Act)
exclusive right of record
producers to rent sound
recordings (Copyright Act)
right of independent creative
contractors to bargain collectively
the terms and conditions of scale
agreements (Status of the Artist
Act)
PUBLISHING
(Books, periodicals, CD-ROM &
multimedia)
e limitation on expenses for
advertising to Canadians using
non-Canadian newspaper or
periodical (Income Tax Acts. 19)
flexible loans to book, magazine
and music publishing companies
and to multimedia and CD-ROM
production companies for working
capital and expansion projects
(DCH & BDC — CIDF)
80% excise tax on split-run
editions of foreign magazines
printed in Canada (Excise Tax Act,
ss. 35 — 41)
review of foreign investments to
acquire control of Canadian
publishing businesses (Investment
Canada Act, s. 15 and Foreign
Investment Guidelines for the
Book Trade)
Customs tariff prohibiting the
physical importation of split-run
editions of foreign periodicals
(Customs Tariff, s. 114, Schedule
VII, Code 9958)
exclusive rights of authors and
publishers as copyright owners to
reproduce and to publicly perform
their works (Copyright Act)
protection against unauthorised
importation of books and other
literary materials (Copyright Act)
right of independent creative
contractors to bargain collectively
the terms and conditions of scale
agreements (Status of the Artist
Act)
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 3
SUPPORT
MEASURES
PUBLISHING
(Books, periodicals, CD-ROM &
multimedia)
FILM AND VIDEO SOUND RECORDINGS
INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
* cultural exemption applies to
production, distribution, sale or
exhibition of film or video
recordings (FTA, NAFTA &
GATT)
* agreements between Canada and
more than 30 foreign countries
for the co-production of films
and television projects (DCH
and Telefilm)
¢ the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright Convention
° cultural exemption applies to
production, distribution, sale or
exhibition of audio or video music
recordings (FTA, NAFTA &
GATT)
* the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright Convention
¢ cultural exemption applies to
publication, distribution or sale of
books, magazines, periodicals or
newspapers and music in print or
machine readable form (FTA,
NAFTA & GATT)
international agreements on the
development of multimedia
material (e.g., Canada-France
protocol)
the Berne Convention and
Universal Copyright Convention
PUBLIC SERVICES ¢ making NFB collection more
accessible, e.g., by loans and
rentals of NFB films from
libraries and educational
institutions and access over the
Internet (CinéRoute
films-on-demand pilot project)
POLICY UNDER ¢ develop policies for digital ° royalty payments to performers proposed Multimedia Assistance
DEVELOPMENT conversion of federally-held and producers of sound recordings | Fund (Telefilm)
cultural and scientific for public performance and e Ministers of Industry and
collections, e.g., collections of broadcasting of their sound Canadian Heritage to identify new
the NFB (DCH and recordings (Bill C-32 amending ways to facilitate access to capital
IC — Federal Task Force on Copyright. Act) by Canadian multimedia
Digitization) e royalty payments to performers, producers in 1997 (commitment
¢ drafting guidelines for songwriters, composers and made in Building the Information
Government of Canada training record producers for private Society)
activities for the cultural sector copying of sound recordings (Bill | * development of a comprehensive
(TBS) C-32 amending Copyright Act) strategy for Canadian cultural
content on the information
highway, including measures to
support the production and
promotion of content that reflects
our linguistic duality
(commitment made in Building
the Information Society)
Ministers of Industry, Canadian
Heritage, Foreign Affairs and
International Trade to develop and
implement an export development
strategy for Canadian content
products (commitment made in
Building the Information Society)
enforcement of exclusive book
distribution rights in Canada (Bill
C-32 amending Copyright Act)
drafting guidelines for
Government of Canada training
activities for the cultural sector
(TBS)
¢ exclusive right of composers and
performers to rent sound
recordings (Bill C-32 amending
Copyright Act)
e adherence to Rome Convention
(Bill C-32 amending Copyright
Act)
* drafting guidelines for
Government of Canada training
activities for the cultural sector
(TBS)
125
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
SUPPORT MEASURES
PUBLIC
INFRASTRUCTURE
DIRECT FUNDING
FINANCIAL
INCENTIVES
Tax
Investment
Independent funds
TABLE 4
Support Measures for Broadcasting and Distribution
BROADCASTING
(radio and television )
¢ CBC production and transmission facilities
¢ parliamentary appropriation to CBC
e federal contribution to TV5 (DCH)
° government-industry support for television
program production (CTCPF — Licence Fee
Program)
¢ federal contribution to aboriginal radio and
television program production in Northern Canada
(DCH — Northern Native Broadcast Access
Program)
* grants to support international market
development for Canadian television programs
(DFAIT-ICRP)
e federal seed funding for CHRC to plan, promote
and support a systemic approach to training
cultural workers, including the self-employed
(HRDC — SPI)
¢ federal investment support for film production
(CTCPF — Equity Investment Program)
¢ limitation on expenses for advertising to
Canadians using foreign broadcasters (Income Tax
Act s. 19.1)
¢ all telecommunications carriers that meet the
Canadian ownership and control requirements will
be eligible to apply for broadcasting licences
(federal government’s Convergence Policy
Statement, 1996)
DISTRIBUTION
(cable, DTH satellite &
information highway)
¢ federal contribution to Television Northern Canada
(TVNC) satellite distribution system
(DCH — Northern Distribution Program)
¢ federal contribution to CANARIE Inc. (public
-private sector) initiative to develop Canada’s
information highway infrastructure
¢ federal seed funding for CHRC to plan, promote and
support a systemic approach to training cultural
workers, including the self-employed (HRDC — SPI)
¢ local/Canadian signal substitution with distant/foreign
signal required of cable and DTH distributors (Cable
Television Regulations & DTH conditions of licence)
¢ percentage of all distribution undertakings revenues
to be contributed to independent Canadian program
production fund (CRTC conditions of licence and
federal government’s Convergence Policy Statement,
1996)
¢ pay-TV movie channels required to spend portion of
total revenues on Canadian programming (CRTC
conditions of licence)
CANADIAN
OWNERSHIP RULES
CANADIAN CONTENT
REQUIREMENTS
CANADA
126
¢ 80% Canadian ownership and control requirement
for all broadcast licensees and 66.6% for holding
companies (Broadcasting Act’s Broadcasting
Policy for Canada & Direction to
CRTC — Ineligibility of Non- Canadians)
° minimum Canadian content rules for conventional
broadcasters (Broadcasting Act’s Broadcasting
Policy for Canada; CRTC Radio Regulations and
Radio Policies; Television Broadcasting
Regulations)
° broadcaster-specific commitments for Canadian
programming (CRTC conditions of licence)
¢ minimum Canadian content requirement for
productions made for television (CTCPF)
¢ 80% Canadian ownership and control requirement for
all broadcast licensees and 66.6% for holding
companies (Broadcasting Act’s Broadcasting Policy
for Canada & Direction to CRTC — Ineligibility of
Non- Canadians)
preponderance and priority carriage of Canadian
television channels (services) by distribution
undertakings (Broadcasting Act’s Broadcasting Policy
for Canada, Cable Television Regulations, CRTC
conditions of licence for DTH satellite distribution
undertakings and federal government’s Convergence
Policy Statement, 1996)
rules for linking non-Canadian television services
with Canadian pay television and/or specialty services
in discretionary packages (CRTC Public Notice on
Distribution and Linkage rules for cable licensees &
DTH satellite distribution undertakings conditions of
licence)
¢ Canadian content requirements for Pay-T’V, specialty
and pay-per-view (conditions of licence)
SUPPORT MEASURES
LEGISLATED RIGHTS
/ PROTECTIONS
Copyright
Professional rights
INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
PUBLIC SERVICES
POLICY UNDER
DEVELOPMENT
A SENSE OF PLAce — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 3
BROADCASTING
(radio and television )
* payment of royalties to broadcasters as program
producers for the long distance retransmission of
their programs (Copyright Act)
* right of independent creative contractors to
bargain collectively the terms and conditions of
scale agreements (Status of the Artist Act)
* cultural exemption applies to radio and television
broadcasting (FTA, NAFTA and GATT)
° agreements between Canada and more than 30
foreign countries for the co-production of films
and television projects (DCH and Telefilm)
¢ public broadcasting (CBC/SRC)
¢ alternative broadcasting (e.g., CRTC Policies for
Community and Campus Radio)
* copyright in a communications signal (Bill C-32
amending Copyright Act)
e adherence to Rome Convention (Bill C-32
amending Copyright Act)
¢ drafting guidelines for Government of Canada
training activities for the cultural sector (TBS)
DISTRIBUTION
(cable, DTH satellite &
information highway)
* sanctions for receiving unauthorised DTH satellite
signals (Radiocommunication Act)
* cultural exemption applies to cable and satellite
programming undertakings (FTA, NAFTA and
GATT)
* greater competition in telecommunications services,
fostering development of information highway
(telecommunications agreements)
e duty to provide cable community channel (Cable
Television Regulations)
° availability of some CBC/SRC radio/stereo programs
on the Internet
¢ federal funding for rural and remote communities to
help establish sites for public access to the Internet
(Industry Canada — Community Access Program)
e CRTC regulations for distribution undertakings,
coming into effect early 1998 (CRTC Policy ona
New Regulatory Framework for Broadcasting
Distribution Undertakings)
e drafting guidelines for Government of Canada
training activities for the cultural sector (TBS)
¢ development of a comprehensive strategy for
Canadian cultural content on the information
highway, including mechanisms to support
French-language content (commitment made in
Building the Information Society)
127
uy
| : Ft 5o _ 7
= 7 _ : = [= a :
Pe eee T. : a
on
.
aia ch = eee Paes ia
niet
ae
wi.
pecan ie endl oe
pat vay wn lbactadinsin
ebaged oa
a
itt cae vinta
sme qoiny OMe gaben afte OF ohn
i oh irtummnm chin ta
arrays 4) wire ae gh
fh Greys gnt wear hae
~~
Api daira 6! aie fog:
Pee tty Me ere
aii meee)
?
as x. tee Piette me
$s = Noh hea nies
a, eae SPE st SOC Hi
; ate learnt ont hu eater eed
s
=
q
-
wai’: ae 8) ae wrth
) olatint oorde si 6 aes tie . ih
Se EEO
: : s
a ee ee
) be |
: adil aan’ DAA amare
j er
: . - Tew Te cae t pec
eh beh dats Secatinet
ee” oe se iberat Coe
APPENDIX 4
Witnesses
a ee ee i
Association and Individuals Meeting Date
Individuals
Bernard Ostry, Former Deputy Minister of the 1? Tuesday, December 2, 1997
Ministries of Industry, Trade,
Communications, Citizenship and Culture
and Former Chairman and CEO of
TV Ontario
Rohahes Iain Phillips 91 Thursday, April 22, 1999
Elder Mohawk, Kahnawake
Florian Sauvageau, Professor, « Faculté de 12 Tuesday, December 2, 1997
lettres », Laval University
Ivan Bernier, Professor, Faculty of Law, 15 Wednesday, February 4, 1998
Laval University
John Gray, Writer and Composer i Thursday, February 12, 1998
Karim Karim, Professor, School of 94 Tuesday, May 4, 1999
Journalism and Communications and
Director, Pearson-Shoyama Institute,
Carleton University
Michéle Martin, Professor, School of Journalism 16 Tuesday, February 10, 1998
and Communications, Carleton University
Terry Cheney, Consultant 16 Tuesday, February 10, 1998
Wanda Noel, Consultant, Barrister and Solicitor 17 Thursday, February 12, 1998
Wesley Crichlow, Lecturer, Ontario Institute for 94 Tuesday, May 4, 1999
Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Business for the Arts
Sarah J.E. Tey, President and CEO 48 Tuesday, October 27, 1998
49 Thursday, October 29, 1998
Canada Council of the Arts 43 Thursday, June 11, 1998
Shirley Thomson, Director
Francois Colbert, Former Vice-Chairman and
Special Advisor
Joanne Morrow, Director, Arts Division
Canadian Association of Broadcasters 42 Tuesday, June 9, 1998
Michael McCabe, President and CEO
129
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Association and Individuals Meeting Date
Duff Roman, President of the Board
Jill Birch, Vice-President, Radio
Michel Tremblay, Executive Vice-President
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation om | Thursday, April 2, 1998
Perrin Beatty, President and CEO
James McCoubrey, Executive Vice-President and
Chief Operating Officer
Louise Tremblay, Senior Vice-President,
Resources
Canadian Conference of the Arts
Keith Kelly, National Director 14 Tuesday, December 9, 1997
IS Wednesday, February 4, 1998
19 Tuesday, February 24, 1998
Gary Neil, Consultant 19 Tuesday, February 24, 1998
Paul Spurgeon, Associate 15 Wednesday, February 4, 1998
Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation 33 Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Adrienne Clarkson, Chairwoman
Canadian Museum of Nature 33 Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Joanne DiCosimo, President and CEO
Frank Ling, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC)
Francoise Bertrand, Chairperson 30 Thursday, April 23, 1998
40 Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Susan Baldwin, Executive Director, 30 Thursday, April 23, 1998
Broadcasting 40 Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Jean-Pierre Blais, Senior Legal Counsel 30 Thursday, April 23, 1998
40 Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Wayne Charman 30 Thursday, April 23, 1998
130
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 4
a
Association and Individuals
Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) (Cont’d)
Anne-Marie Desroches, Manager, French
Language Broadcasting, Broadcast Planning
Laura Talbot-Allan, Secretary General and Chief
Operating Officer
Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations
Fo Niemi, Executive Director
Jean Brown-Trickey, Social Worker
“Centre international pour le développement
de l’inforoute en francais (CIFIF)”
Jocelyn Nadeau, CEO
Department of Canadian Heritage
Bill Peters, Assistant Deputy Minister, Arts and
Heritage
Michael Wernick, Assistant Deputy Minister,
Strategic Management
Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade
John Gero, Director General, Trade Policy
Bureau II
Department of Industry Canada
Jamie Hum, Director, New Media and
Entertainment
Keith Parsonage, Acting Director General,
Information and Communications
Technologies
Sylvain de Tonnancour, Economist, New Media
and Entertainment
Government of Nunavut
Peter Ernerk, Deputy Minister, Culture,
Language, Elders, Youth
Meeting
30
40
30
94
17
—
oO
10
1]
91
Date
Thursday, April 23, 1998
Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Thursday, April 23, 1998
Tuesday, May 4, 1999
Thursday, February 12, 1998
Thursday, December 4, 1997
Wednesday, November 26, 1997
Thursday, November 27, 1997
Thursday, April 22, 1999
131
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Association and Individuals Meeting Date
Heritage Canada Foundation 48 Tuesday, October 27, 1998
Douglas Franklin, Director, Government and 48 Tuesday, October 27, 1998
Public Relations 49 Thursday, October 29, 1998
Brian Anthony, Executive Director 48 Tuesday, October 27, 1998
National Archives of Canada 4] Thursday, June 4, 1998
Francoise Houle, Director General, Client
Services and Communications Branch
Lee McDonald, Acting National Archivist
National Arts Centre 43 Thursday, June 11, 1998
Jean Thérése Riley, Chair, Board of Trustees
John Cripton, Director and CEO
Brian Macdonald, Senior Artistic Advisor
Jean-Claude Marcus, Artistic Advisor, French
Theatre
National Film Board 47 Thursday, October 22, 1998
Sandra Macdonald, Chairperson and
Government Film Commissioner
Barbara Janes, Director General
Lyette Doré, Director, Corporate Affairs
National Gallery of Canada 55 Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Pierre Théberge, Director
National Library of Canada 41 Thursday, June 4, 1998
Tom Delsey, Director General, Corporate Policy
and Communications
Marianne Scott, National Librarian
National Museum of Science and Technology 38 Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Christopher J. Terry, Director General, National
Museum of Aviation
Telefilm Canada 24 Tuesday, March 24, 1998
Robert Dinan, Chairman of the Board of
Directors
Francois Macerola, Executive Director
132
A SENSE OF PLACE — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 4
Round Tables
ROUND TABLES IN EDMONTON Meeting Date
——— ee OOO Si
ARTS, HERITAGE AND MUSEUMS: WD Wednesday, February 24, 1999
PARTICIPANTS
Alberta Ukrainian Commemorative Society
Peter Savaryn, President
“Association canadienne-francaise de
V’ Alberta”
Louisette Villeneuve, President
Calgary Opera Association
Bob McPhee, General Manager and CEO
Catalyst Theatre
Heather Redfern, General Manager
Edmonton Art Gallery
Vincent Varga, Executive Director
Edmonton Arts Council
John Mahon, Executive Director
Edmonton Opera
Robert R. Janes, President and CEO
Elizabeth Whitlock, General Manager
Latitude 53 Society of Artists
Todd Janes, Executive Director
Museums Alberta
Adriana A. Davies, Executive Director
Individual
Rose Marie Sackela
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Edmonton Symphony
Joan Greabeief, Director of Finance and
Planning
National Black Coalition of Canada
Michael Broodhagen
133
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLES IN EDMONTON Meeting Date
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES, FILM, NEW vl Wednesday, February 24, 1999
TECHNOLOGIES:
PARTICIPANTS
A-Channel Edmonton (CKEM)
Joanne Levy, Executive Director
Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association
Dale Phillips, President
Doug Lord, Member, Board of Directors
Book Publishers Association of Alberta
Glen Rollans, Past President
Film and Video Art Society
Helen Folkmann
National Screen Institute-Canada
Cheryl Ashton, Executive Director
Northwest Research and Consulting
David Balcon
Individual
Garth Pritchard
134
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 4
ROUND TABLES IN HALIFAX Meeting Date
et
HERITAGE: 71
Tuesday, February 23, 1999
PARTICIPANTS
Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum
Trina Whitehurst
‘Conseil culturel acadien de la
Nouvelle-Ecosse”
Yvon Aucoin, Coordinator
Martine Jacquot, President
Council of Nova Scotia Archives
Anita Price, President
Cultural Federation of Nova Scotia
Al Chaddock, Member
Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage
Susan Charles, Executive Director
Multicultural Association of Nova Scotia
Barbara Campbell, Executive Director
Nova Scotia Provincial Library
Mariam Pape
Pier 21 Society
Allison Bishop, General Manager
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Africville Geneology Society
Irvine Carvery, President
“Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Ecosse”’
Jim Aucoin, Director General
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES: 72 Tuesday, February 23, 1999
PARTICIPANTS
Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative
Walter Forsyth, Arts Coordinator
ATV
Mike Elgie, Vice-President and General
Manager
Johanna C. Montgomery, Head of Independent
Production, Atlantic Canada “CTV”
135
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLES IN HALIFAX
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES: (Cont’d)
PARTICIPANTS
CCA for Nova Scotia
James MacSwain, Board Member
Centre for Art Tapes
Catherine Phoenix, Director of Operations
Flashfire Productions
Ann Verrall
Formac Publishing Company Limited
James Lorimer
Nova Scotia Arts Council
Russell Kelley, Executive Director
Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation
Ann MacKenzie, Acting Chief Executive Officer
Writers’ Guild of Canada
Bruce McKenna, Writer
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Nova Scotia Cultural Network
Andrew David Terris, Executive Director
Geomarine Associates Ltd.
Allan Ruffman, President
Individual
Al Chaddock
ARTS:
PARTICIPANTS
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Bernard Riordon, Director and Chief Executive
Officer
Canadian Symphony Musicians
Robert McCosh, First Vice-President
Dalhousie Art Gallery
Mern O’Brien, Director
136
Meeting
WP
Date
Tuesday, February 23, 1999
Tuesday, February 23, 1999
A SENSE OF PLAce — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 4
ROUND TABLES IN HALIFAX Meeting Date
re ee
ARTS: (Cont’d) 74 Tuesday, February 23, 1999
Eastern Front Theatre Company
Gay Hauser, General Manager
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Al Chaddock, Member
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Sara Lee Lewis, Managing Director
Mt. St. Vincent Art Gallery
Ingrid Jenkner, Director
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Jessica Kerrin, Director of Development and
Communications
Nova Scotia Cultural Network
Andrew Terris, Executive Director
NS Designer Crafts Council
Susan Hanrahan, Executive Director
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
East Coast Art Productions
Bill Forbes
Individuals
Mike Laleune
Alan Andrews
Geoff McBride
Jane Condon
Jan Marontate, Professor, Department of
Sociology and Anthropology
137
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLE IN MONCTON Meeting Date
CULTURE: 76 Wednesday, February 24, 1999
PARTICIPANTS
‘Association acadienne des artistes
professionnel(le)s du
Nouveau-Brunswick”’
Jeanne Farrah, Director General
“Association des radios communautaires du
Nouveau-Brunswick”’
René Légére, President
Association Museums New Brunswick
Jeanne Mance Cormier, President
CJMO-FM Atlantic Stereo Ltd
J. Pat Donelan, General Manager
Community Museums Association of Prince
Edward Island
Barry King, Executive Director
Confederation Centre of the Arts
Curtis Barlow, Executive Director and CEO
‘‘Conseil provincial des sociétés culturelles”
Raymonde Boulay-LeBlanc, Executive Director
Cultural Human Resources Council
Jean-Philippe Tabet, Executive Director
Kings Landing Historical Settlement
Darrel N. Butler, Chief Curator
New Brunswick Arts Board
Richard Hornsby, Member of the Board
New Brunswick Labour Task Force
Development Board
Peter Thomas, Chair
Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage
Foundation
Christopher Severance, Executive Director
138
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING — APPENDIX 4
———— i eee
ROUND TABLE IN MONCTON Meeting Date
Ee
CULTURE: (Cont’d) 76 Wednesday, February 24, 1999
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
New Brunswick Arts Board
Charlotte Glencross, Program Officer
Individual
Kathlenne Machellan
“Association des acadiens et acadiennes”’
Ghislaine Fouléne, President
Contie Culturel Aberdeen
Paulette Thériault, Director
139
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLES IN MONTREAL Meeting Date
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES: 78 Thursday, February 25, 1999
PARTICIPANTS
‘Association québécoise de l’industrie du
disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo
(ADISQ)’”
Robert Pilon, Vice-President, Public Affairs
“Grands ballets canadiens”’
Alain Dancyger, Executive Director
“Equipe Spectra”
André Ménard, First Vice-President and Art
Director
Just for Laughs Festival
Andy Nulman, CEO
Gilbert Rozon, President and Founder
‘“‘Regroupement des événements majeurs
internationaux (REMI)”’
Pierre-Marc Johnson, President
‘Société des auteurs-compositeurs du Québec”
Pierre Bertrand, President
Francine Bertrand Venne
‘Société des auteurs, recherchistes,
documentalistes et compositeurs
(SARDeC)’”
Yves Légaré, Director General
Society of Composers, Authors and Music
Publishers of Canada
Gilles Valiquette, President
France Lafleur, Director, Québec Division
As Individuals
Audrey E. Bean
Judith Mermelstein
FILM PARTICIPANTS
‘‘Association des producteurs de films et de 79 Thursday, February 25, 1999
télévision du Québec (APFTQ)’”’
Louise Baillargeon, President and General
Director
Mylene Alder, Director, Legal Afffairs and
Labour Relations
140
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 4
ROUND TABLES IN MONTREAL Meeting Date
+ cn ee a ne aE
ROUND TABLE FILM: (Cont’d) 79 Thursday, February 25, 1999
Canadian Association of Film Distributors and
Exporters
Richard J. Paradis, President
CJAD 800 am — Mix 96 Variety, Standard
Broadcasting Company
Rob Braide
Geordie Productions
Zakia Demaghelatrous, Director General
Independent Film and Video Alliance
Peter Sandmark, National Coordinator
Literacy Partners of Quebec
Judy Brandeis, Executive Director
Scott and Aronoff — Translation and Editorial
Services
Howard Scott
‘Société des arts technologiques (SAT)”
Monique Savoie, Director General
TVA Group Inc
Chantal Fortier, Adviser to development
“Union des écrivaines et écrivains québécois”
Denise Boucher, President
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Individual
Roberta Anne Capelovitch, Student, Public
Relations Cultural Studies
HERITAGE: 81 Thursday, February 25 1999
PARTICIPANTS
Canadian Centre for Architecture
Nancy Dunton, Chief, Programming,
Universities and Professional
742 na 99
“Conseil des métiers d’art du Quebec
Yvan Gauthier, Director
141
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLES IN MONTREAL
HERITAGE: (Cont’d)
‘Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant”
Gilles Garand, President
Folklore Canada International
Guy Landry, Director General
Heritage Montreal Foundation
Dinu Bumbaru, Programs Director
ICOM-Canada
Johanne Landry, President
McCord Museum
Victoria Dickenson
Saidye Bronfman Centre of Arts
David Liss, Director and Curator
“Société des directeurs des musées
montréalais”’
Francine Leliévre, President
“Société des musées québécois”
Héléne Pagé, President
Michel Perron, General Director
AUDIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Individual
Roberta Anne Capelovitch, Student, Public
Relations Cultural Studies, McGill
University
ARTS:
PARTICIPANTS
‘‘Association des galeries d’art contemporain”
Eric Devlin, Vice-President and Director
‘Conseil du théatre québécois”’
Alain Fournier, President
“Conseil régional de développement de I’ile de
Montréal”
Richard Bonneau, Director, “Métropole et
culture”
André Gamache, General Director
142
Meeting
81
83
Date
Thursday, February 25 1999
Thursday, February 25, 1999
A SENSE OF PLAcE — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 4
ge ee
ROUND TABLES IN MONTREAL
Meeting Date
ee
ARTS: (Cont’d)
McGill University, Faculty of Music
Richard Lawton, Dean, Faculty of Music
Montreal Fringe Festival
Patrick Goddard, General Manager
Montreal Urban Community Arts Council
Jacques Cleary, Director General and Secretary
“Opéra de Montréal’
Elise Coté, Financial Director
*‘Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du
Québec”
Danielle April, President
Young Concert Artists Series
Sandra Wilson
Individual
Anna Fuerstenberg
83 Thursday, February 25, 1999
143
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
ROUND TABLES IN OTTAWA
ARTS:
PARTICIPANTS
Canadian Opera Company
Richard Bradshaw, General Director
Canadian Stage Company
Martin Bragg, Managing Director and Producer
National Ballet of Canada
Valerie Wilder, Executive Director
Individuals
Eddy Bayens, Musician
Myrna Kostash, Author
Carol Shields, Author
Jean-Michel Sivry, Visual Artist
HERITAGE:
PARTICIPANTS
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Bernard Riordon, Director
Caribbean Cultural Workshop
Clyde McNeil, Director
City of Montreal
Diane Charland, Director, Document and
Archives and President, Canadian Council of
Archives
“Corporation du musée régional de Rimouski’
Francois Lachapelle, Director General
Glenbow Museum, Art Gallery, Library,
Archives
Robert R. Janes, President and CEO
‘Musée acadien de I’Université de Moncton”
Jeanne Mance Cormier, Conservator
Nova Scotia Museum
Candace Stevenson, Executive Director
Royal British Columbia Museum
Bill Barkley, CEO
144
Meeting
20
20
Date
Tuesday, March 10, 1998
Tuesday, March 10, 1998
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE oF BEING — APPENDIX 4
ROUND TABLES IN OTTAWA Meeting Date
0 Caters WTR 7
Jiécid ,
wos wabis ,
a “es an |
.
| stm (eppesvet PQSTT, . Pl Re Pawan ld
nWeenee Cg. ea
sens BEd ee ee |S
ee ee
ae - Lone? - :
REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requests that the government provide a
comprehensive response to this Report.
A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
Cicennes Nos 10) J), 12,13, 14, 1), 16, 17, 19:20, 21,27, 23, 24°27, 30. 02, 35940, 41,-42, 4904.
46, 47, 48, 49, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 91, 92, 94, 98, 99,
100, 101, 102, 103 and 104, which includes this report) is tabled.
Respectfully submitted,
Clifford Lincoln, M.P. for Lac-Saint-Louis
Chair
169
REFORM PARTY MINORITY REPORT
ON CANADIAN CULTURE
This long overdue report on Canadian culture by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
generally reflects the view of the witnesses. The shortcoming of this report, I believe, is that the
Committee took too long to complete the task. I must commend my colleagues on their commitment
to completing this task.
The Reform Party supports the freedom of Canadian cultural communities to grow and develop
without needless protection and government regulation, encouraging a cultural free market which
offers choice, while lowering costs to consumers as services are provided by those sectors which are
able to do so most cost-effectively.
The staff did a commendable job in putting this report together. The lineal approach of analysis
clearly demonstrates how one end of the continuum is linked to the other end. This report examines
culture by discussing creation, training, production and distribution, conservation and consumption.
The Reform Party cannot support this report in its entirety although there are productive
recommendations. There are also recommendations which do not address how funds are allocated
and scrutinized.
Canadian culture has been defined through the eyes of the witnesses. This report reflects, in majority,
the views of federalists. In this country we still do not have a complete singular view of culture from a
broad perspective, recognizing and respecting the role of the provinces and the municipalities in the
big picture. This country needs a single cultural policy meets the needs of all Canadians at all three
levels of government. Common principles need to be established for this policy. The federal
government should take the leadership and get together with the provinces and municipalities to talk,
discuss, and plan to develop a single cultural policy that would benefit all Canadians wherever they
live in this great country. The federal government must recognize that the practise of culture occurs at
the grassroots as well as in the Nation’s capital.
An area of concern that needs to be addressed is the millions of dollars in grants from many federal
government departments. Government grants and contributions are among the most sues ways
that this Liberal government pursues its program objectives. These are also the most criticized by the
public when grants are not scrutinized properly, 1.¢. Dumb Blonde Joke Book and pornographic films
such as Bubbles Galore. In his 1998 December report, the Auditor General of Canada reported that
171
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
upwards of 20 departments and agencies were guilty of (1) inconsistent application or interpretation
of government policy on grants and contributions; (2) inefficient use of funds and inadequate
measures to ensure accountability by program recipients; (3) lack of control, monitoring and
evaluation. We know that everybody wants a grant. Through a single cultural policy, the taxpayers’
money will be spent more efficiently and effectively. Even the Auditor General recommended that
better coordination take place with other federal and provincial departments in view of the potential
for duplication of effort and funding.
Reform believes that it is critical that all government subsidies or grants be conditional to review
with a time limit attached. We believe that a disciplined free-market system is the best way for the
culture industry to succeed.
There are many creative ways governments can enable individuals and organizations to become
successful in the cultural sector. Endowments, foundations, tax deductions and partnerships are only
a few.
Today we are at the edge of technological change. The Internet will have a huge impact on our
culture. In fact the Internet may just make many of the federal governments regulatory agencies
obsolete.
Canada has a very rich and diverse culture, much more than that offered by the two founding nations
concept. The utilization of this cultural wealth has the potential to make Canada a culture leader of
the world.
Inky Mark, MP
Chief Opposition Critic for Canadian Heritage
172
Bloc Québécois Dissenting Report,
Tabled to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in
the Framework of the Committee’s Consideration of the
Federal Government’s Role in Culture in the 21st Century
Summary
The Bloc Québécois is tabling this dissenting report to the Standing Committee on Canadian
Heritage essentially for the following reasons:
The Committee’s Report is a disappointment to the cultural sector workers who expected that
this document would set out clearly the problems confronting them in the contemporary context
of technological development and trade globalization, and that it would propose concrete
solutions to these problems.
The Report repeatedly praises the Liberal government, but fails to mention the cuts imposed by
that government on the cultural sector. The Bloc Québécois would describe as timid the
Committee’s recommendations that call for expenditures by the government in the cultural
sector, even though the need for more money was the core idea put forward during the
Committee’s hearings and the federal government currently has at its disposal a considerable
financial margin of manoeuvre.
The Committee’s Report misapprehends Quebec culture and the role that must be assumed by
the Quebec government, and is in fact now assumed by it, in the cultural sector. Like every
Quebec government of the past 30 years, the Bloc Québécois wants the federal government to
recognize that the Quebec government has jurisdiction over culture and to respect this fact by
withdrawing from the area. There are legal precedents requiring the federal government to
recognize Quebec’s right to maintain jurisdiction over its culture at the international level. The
Bloc Québécois also wants to see a Canada-Quebec agreement on communications and
telecommunications, so that Quebec can assume responsibility for these sectors, which are
essential to the development of any consistent cultural policy. Lastly, the Bloc Québécois calls
on the federal government to comply with the Charter of the French Language on Quebec
territory.
It is the Bloc Québécois’s conviction that sovereignty for Quebec is the best way of protecting
Quebec culture and ensuring its development in the current context of technological change and
trade globalization. We are confident that Quebec talent, with the support of the Open
government, will be able to adapt successfully to the challenges of the 21st century. However, in this
173
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
dissenting report we have limited ourselves to recommendations that are as concrete as possible for
the well-being of Quebec’s culture and its cultural community within the existing federal
framework.
Creation: The Heart of any Cultural Policy
Creation is the cornerstone of any cultural policy. This is all the more true now that recent
technological developments make everyone a potential creator and allow the fruits of creativity to be
accessible to all. These technological developments are democratic tools, as long as each culture
retains the capacity to express its uniqueness.
An integrated and consistent cultural policy is vital if the artistic and cultural skills and
sensitivities of the people of Quebec and of Canada are to be developed to their maximum, and if
career development and ongoing training are to be encouraged in this sector. Incidentally, the
agreement signed in April 1997 by the Quebec ministers responsible for Culture and
Communications and for Education, the goal of which is to strengthen the link between culture and
education, fits perfectly into this strategy for a consistent cultural policy.
At the present time, the financial situation of creators, despite their high-education levels, is
precarious. According to Statistics Canada, 58% of artists need back-up income to survive.!
On April 13, 1999, Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications, Ms. Agnés Maltais, made
a formal commitment to tackle the problem of poverty among young artists. In his opening address
to the National Assembly, the Premier of Quebec announced for his part that he intends to make
culture an important component of the next youth summit.
Self-employment is another characteristic of workers in the cultural sector. According to
Statistics Canada, workers in the cultural sector are twice as likely as other workers in Canada to be
self-employed. In 1993, 29% of workers in the cultural sector were self-employed, compared to 15%
of the active population as a whole.”
This means that workers in the cultural sector experience even more acutely than others the
absence of specific provisions for the self-employed in the legislation on income tax, labour, income
security and professional training.
In its Report, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage fails to note that the governments of
Quebec and Canada have signed an agreement on manpower, and suggests that the federal
government should move back into this area of jurisdiction. In response to the agreement, however,
Quebec’s cultural sector has already set up the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en
u Statistics Canada - 11-008-XPF - summer 1996.
2 Idem.
174
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
culture, which has a mandate to advise Emploi Québec on manpower strategies for the cultural
sector. In addition, the Quebec government has created an inter-ministerial task force? to draft a
consistent policy for strengthening enterprises in the cultural sector while ensuring manpower
development.
The federal Department of Human Resources Development retained two sectors of intervention
as regards manpower: the Youth Strategy and the Canada Jobs Fund. To achieve maximum
efficiency, it would be better if the Quebec government had control of all manpower-related
measures. It should be noted as well that the Department of Canadian Heritage youth programs do
not set aside any funding specifically for young creators.
Recommendations
1. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government respect the spirit
and the letter of its agreement on manpower and restore to the Quebec government
all new funding earmarked for professional training, without imposing national
guidelines. Ottawa should also transfer all manpower programs to Quebec, again
without imposing national guidelines.
2. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government harmonize its tax
system with that of the Quebec government, which provides that copyright revenue
is not taxable under $15,000.
3. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government follow up on the
recommendation of its Finance Committee and give cultural workers access to
income averaging, as it did in the 1970s.*
4. The Bloc Québécois endorses the Committee’s recommendation on the
importance of reviewing the legislation and regulations on income tax, income
security, labour and professional training, in order to adapt them to the realities of
self-employed workers in the cultural sector.
Content
The federal government wants to make Canada the most “connected” country in the world. To do
so, it has ended the monopoly situation in telecommunications, it has made the legislative and
° The Quebec ministries of Social Solidarity, Culture and Communications, and Employment are participating in the task
force.
r Artists, the Standing Committee on Finance wrote in its pre-budget report of
. Under the heading /ncome Averaging fo )
“The Committee therefore continues to recommend
December 1998, entitled Facing the Future: Challenges and Choices,
that the government consider the introduction of income averaging for those forms of income that fluctuate substantially
from year to year.”
175
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
regulatory framework more flexible, it has overturned the CRTC decisions that gave discounts to the
consumer on long-distance telephone service and allocated these hundreds of millions of dollars to
the shareholders of telecommunications companies in order to finance the information highway, etc.
But federal initiatives aimed at developing the content that should circulate on the information
highway as well as via our traditional media have remained timid. While investment was becoming
more necessary than ever to sustain content development in all cultural sectors, the federal
government was going ahead with unprecedented budget cuts. The CBC, the National Film Board
and Telefilm Canada were the biggest victims of those cuts, but all federal cultural programs were
seriously affected. The table on spending by department in the Budget Plan of March 6, 1996,
clearly demonstrates the federal government’s indifference to culture. The table shows that between
1994 and 1999, the cultural sector would have to absorb budget cuts of 30%, while other sectors
would be cut as follows: Justice — 7%, Foreign Affairs and International Trade — 10%, Canada
Mortgage and Housing — 10%, Veterans Affairs — 7%, Parliament and the Public Service
generally — 14%.> Moreover, during those years of austerity the Department of Canadian Heritage
did not hesitate to lavish tens of millions of dollars on a long list of propaganda initiatives. Lastly,
despite the restoration of certain funding announced by the federal government over the past two
years, the cultural sector has not regained the amounts that were taken from it.
In Quebec during this time, the government maintained and even increased its contribution to
culture and the arts. It started work on the building of the Grande Bibliothéque, a $85 million
project. It was the first to offer a tax credit for multimedia production; it set up the Fonds de la culture
et des communications. In the new media sector, the Quebec government implemented a major
initiative: the creation of the Cité du multimédia in Montreal.
It is essential to inject new funds into cultural production. Each dollar invested in culture and the
arts produces significant cultural, social and financial spin-offs. The Nova Scotia Film
Development Corporation estimates that for every public dollar invested in movie making, the
private sector injects $10 into the local economy. Another study has shown that Montreal’s four
main festivals generate spin-offs of $166 million every year. According to the Association des
producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec, every dollar invested in audiovisual production
generates private-sector investment in the order of $6 to $7. The Canadian Conference of the Arts
has determined that the cost of creating a job in the cultural sector is lower than in other sectors of the
economy: while it costs $100,000 to create a job in light industry and between $200,000 and
$300,000 in heavy industry, the cost in the cultural sector is $26,000. Arts and culture is a sector that
promises future growth and generates jobs. It is common knowledge that the federal government is
currently accumulating an unprecedented margin of manoeuvre. And the most recent information
S Budget Plan tabled in the House of Commons, March 6, 1996.
: Canadian Conference of the Arts, A Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance, Pre-Budget Hearings, 1998-99, October
1997.
176
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
suggests that Ottawa’s budget surplus should reach $10 billion in this fiscal year. It would seem
natural for the federal government to reinvest significantly in culture.
Public cultural institutions have played an indispensable role in the development of the Canadian
and Quebec cultures. Radio-Canada, because of the resources at its disposal, the talent available in
Quebec and the popularity of broadcasting, has been an especially important tool in the development
of Quebec culture. The National Film Board has trained generations of filmmakers, and allowed the
Quebec film industry to make a name for itself. Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council have
supported creation, and many artists owe what they are today to one of those agencies. Because of
repeated budget cuts since 1993, on the one hand, and the stated intention of the federal government
to use the cultural institutions for political purposes, on the other hand,’ their future is now hanging
in the balance. The Department of Canadian Heritage has bluntly announced, notably in its strategic
plan and other documents, that the job of the organizations within its portfolio is to foster a greater
sense of what it means to be part of the Canadian community.8 In its strategic plan, Canadian
Heritage affirms that it works to promote national unity. For the time being, public cultural
institutions have an important role to play in cultural development. However, they will have to be
guaranteed adequate financing and manoeuvring room, along with complete independence from
political pressure.
Cable companies contribute 5% of their gross annual revenue to an audiovisual production fund
and to community television. Telecommunications enterprises are not subject to a similar levy,
although they now carry more data than they do voice communication. Their operating revenues for
1997 were $22.8 billion.? There is no reason why they should not help to fund cultural content.
Bell Canada implicitly recognized the role of telecommunications enterprises in the financing of
content by the creation of its broadcasting and new media fund, established on September 10, 1997,
and given a $12 million budget for a period of 30 months.
It is regrettable that the cultural sector does not have access to data comparable to those available
for tourism, for example, which enjoys a consolidated fund of some two million dollars at Statistics
Canada. This absence of detailed data has consequences for the formulation of policies likely to
sustain the cultural sector.
Lastly, the Committee’s comments suggest that it wants the Department of Canadian Heritage to
influence the content of cultural production. We find this portion of the Report, found in Chapter 4,
q Regarding the use of cultural institutions for political ends, it should be noted that the government has tabled Bill C-44, which
would have made the tenure of the President of the CBC dependent on the government's pleasure. Faced with public outrage
and pressure from the Bloc Québécois, the government was obliged to retreat. However, the Bill would still leave the NFB
Commissioner and the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada appointed at pleasure, and it proposes a major encroachment
by the federal government into the appointment of the boards of other cultural institutions, such as museums.
8 1999-2000 Estimates, National Film Board.
z Statistics Canada — catalogue 56-203 - unpublished data.
177
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
extremely disturbing. We are energetically opposed to any interference by the Department in
cultural content as such. Artists and cultural institutions must remain independent, and be free to
express themselves on any subject without government interference.
Recommendations
5. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government reinvest in culture
and restore to the Quebec government, in accordance with the recommendations
below, the amounts owed to it.
6. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government assure public
cultural institutions stable, adequate, multi-year financing, to enable them to meet
the challenge of their mandates at the dawn of a new millennium.
7. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government guarantee the
independence of public cultural corporations, in particular by giving Parliament the
power to appoint the heads of cultural institutions (CBC, NFB, Telefilm Canada,
Canada Council) and giving the boards of directors of other institutions the power to
appoint their general management.
8. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the strategic plan of the Department of
Canadian Heritage be amended by removing all references to the political role of the
Department; and that documents produced by the cultural institutions under
federal jurisdiction be amended by removing all references to their political role.
9. The Bloc Québécois recommends that telecommunications enterprises
contribute to the creation of a support and development fund for the content of the
new technologies, at a rate of 1% of their gross revenue, and that this contribution be
increased as artistic and cultural communication increases on the Internet.
10. The Bloc Québécois recommends that Statistics Canada be given sufficient
resources to enable it to compile and publish data on culture, and that this federal
body work with the cultural sector to formulate the required research formula.
11. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the Department of Canadian Heritage that
it reject the Committee’s recommendation to formulate policies and programs that
would lead it to exercise control over the content of cultural production.
178
A SENSE OF PLAcE — A SENSE OF BEING
Copyright
Copyright is the daily bread of a number of creators. It may be thought that the new technologies
will severely test the right of copyright holders to dispose of their works and collect royalties. But as
the representative of ADISQ [Quebec’s recording and live performance industry association] in
Montreal pointed out, guaranteeing respect for copyright is essential to the development of the new
media. The sound recording sector, for example, is worried about the use of MP3 software, which
makes it possible to download a sound recording without paying. However, certain enterprises that
use this system are in fact complying with copyright legislation.
Agreements have been reached via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that
guarantee respect for copyright on the international scene in the context of the new technological
developments. One of these agreements deals with copyright, the other with neighbouring rights.
Canada has signed these international agreements, but has not yet integrated them into federal
legislation.
The Committee’s Report proposes that the Department of Canadian Heritage play a proactive role
in establishing a single window whose mandate would be to clear copyright in order to permit the use
of existing works by the multimedia sector and thus facilitate multimedia development. It is true that
this problem is a major obstacle in the development of this sector, but it is not appropriate to ask the
Department of Canadian Heritage to intervene and substitute itself for rights holders in the defence
of their own interests. However, the Department could provide copyright holders with the funding
needed to do a feasibility study on the idea of a single window, which could be beneficial both to
copyright holders and for the development of the multimedia sector.
During the study of Phase II of the copyright legislation, which was completed in 1997, copyright
holders called for a revision of the Act to make it technologically neutral, i.e., applicable whatever
the support used. For example, at the present time holders of copyright and neighbouring rights can
collect royalties on blank audio cassettes, but not on blank video cassettes. What is the justification
for this? And what will happen when reproduction technologies change? Will we always be 20 years
behind technological developments?
A number of witnesses argued that copyright legislation will only be useful if it is applied by a
body with the necessary expertise and resources. In Canada, the Department of Canadian Eembte 1S
responsible for copyright policy, while the Department of Industry is responsible for the Copyright
Board, a quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for applying the Act. Many groups in the re gectos
have criticized, and rightly, the Minister of Industry’s lack of interest in the Board, in ens its
failure to give the Board the financial resources it needs to operate properly. Since the Scr came
to power, the Board’s operating budget has fallen from $310,000 to $119,000, although its work
more than doubled with the 1997 copyright revision. It is clear that the reputation for competence
and credibility built up by the Board since its establishment is at risk.
179
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
Recommendations
11. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government proceed with
Phase III of the revision of the copyright legislation, with a view on the one hand to
incorporating the international obligations signed by Canada at the WIPO and on
the other hand to making the legislation technologically neutral.
12. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it provide the
funding for interested copyright holders to carry out a feasibility study on the idea of
creating a single window to govern copyright for the multimedia sector.
13. During Phase III of the copyright revision, the Bloc Québécois recommends to
the federal government that it recognize the “droits de suite” of visual artists.
14. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it give full
responsibility for the Copyright Board to the Department of Canadian Heritage.
International Trade
The cultural sector is aware of — and deplores — the weakness of the cultural clauses in
international trade agreements.
It should be recalled that, for all practical purposes, there is no cultural exemption clause in the
World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements on goods and services. The cultural exemption clause
negotiated under the Free Trade Agreement (Canada-United States) and carried over into the North
American Free Trade Agreement! (Canada-United States-Mexico) authorizes governments to
adopt cultural protection measures, but also authorizes other governments to take retaliatory
measures equal in value to the losses suffered as a result of the protection measures.
1]
The recent dispute over magazines’* is a good illustration of Canada’s difficulty in adopting
cultural protection measures without running into reprisals from the Americans. In this case the
10 FTA Article 2005:
Cultural industries are exempt from the provisions of this Agreement, except as specifically provided in Article 401 (Tariff
Elimination), paragraph 4 of Article 1607 (divestiture of a direct acquisition) and Articles 2006 and 2007 of this Chapter.
= Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, a Party may take measures of equivalent commercial effect in
response to actions that would have been inconsistent with this Agreement but for paragraph 1.
180
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
Canadian government has yielded to American pressure and opened the domestic advertising
market to foreign enterprises. Now, in Canada and abroad, a number of observers are asserting that
Canada is in no position to defend its cultural sovereignty and that the Americans have just created
the precedent they were looking for to knock down cultural protection measures they deem
unacceptable to the trade interests of American corporations and entertainment multinationals.
The federal government’s position on the place it intends to give culture in international trade
agreements is no longer clear. During the next WTO negotiations, due to begin this fall in Seattle,
does the federal government intend to promote a general cultural exemption? Or will it work for the
establishment of another agreement, totally independent of the trade agreements and dealing solely
with culture, as proposed by the Department of International Trade’s Cultural Industries Sectoral
Advisory Group on International Trade in February? Nobody knows.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage is currently attempting to set up a network of culture ministers,
with the aim of promoting cultural diversity. Among the countries participating in this network are
Armenia, Barbados, Brazil, Cote d’ Ivoire, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Poland,
Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of South
Africa, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Canada has just given the Quebec government the right to
speak at the next meeting of this network, which is being held in Mexico. It is essential that Quebec
speak for itself at international forums on language, culture and communications. The work of the
ministers’ group is still in the very early stages, and it is important to bear in mind that the members
do not all agree on the importance of promoting negotiation of a cultural exemption clause. The
United Kingdom and Sweden, for example, are totally opposed.
It should also be borne in mind that a cultural exemption measure can be inserted in an
international trade agreement only if it receives majority support not just from governments but also
from their respective populations. When France put a stop to talks during the Multilateral
Agreement on Investment (MAI) negotiations at the OECD, it was because civil society in France
mobilized to oppose the MAI and because of the public pressure exerted on the European
Parliament, which also rejected the MAI.
Canada puts very little in the way of financial resources at the disposal of its international
diplomacy to promote the Canadian position — whatever it may be — and gives very little financial
support to the Canadian Conference of the Arts or the Coalition québécoise pour la diversité
culturelle, which are both working to rally civil society around the idea of protecting the cultural
sector.
Without pre-judging the results of future international trade agreements, it would be prudent to
start thinking of setting up mechanisms that would make it possible to finance cultural content to a
13 The American government opposed the decision of the Canadian government to reserve the advertising market in Canada for
Canadian publications.
181
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
much greater extent than is being done at present, whether cultural protection measures emerge
successfully from multisectoral and multilateral negotiations or not. Jn the new competitive
environment, as traditional policy mechanisms are increasingly being criticized by Canada’s
trading partners as protectionist, direct subsidies for promotion and production are likely to be one
of the few cultural policy mechanisms that may withstand international trade pressures.”'* This
prediction has proved to be entirely correct in the case of magazines.
Recommendations
15. The Bloc Québécois recommends that the federal government sign a
framework agreement with the Quebec government that will enable Quebec to
defend cultural diversity on the international scene and to speak for itself
internationally in the areas of culture, communications and language.
16. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it invest the
financial resources needed to promote cultural diversity on the international scene.
17. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it provide
financial support to organizations working on behalf of cultural diversity, to enable
them to create an international cultural sector coalition in preparation for the next
round of World Trade Organization negotiations.
18. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it work to
implement measures that will make possible increased financing for the cultural
sector, and that it give the Quebec government all new moneys earmarked for this
purpose in Quebec.
Quebec’s Culture
There is a “Quebec culture”, and it is recognized both in Quebec and abroad for its dynamism and
originality. It is highly valued by its home audience. In all areas of cultural expression, Quebeckers
are partial — even greedy for — Quebec cultural productions, particularly in broadcasting, while
remaining very open to cultural production from outside. This ability on the part of Quebecers to
appreciate their own culture while still being very open to other cultures bodes well for the future.
Support for Quebec culture has been a common denominator of every Quebec government since
1961, when Premier Jean Lesage asked Georges-Emile Lapalme to create the first Ministry of
i Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, Interim Report, Wired to Win: Canada’s International
Competitive Position in Communications, April 1997. p.46.
182
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
Culture in North America, for Quebec. New terminology and new concepts were needed to create a
Ministry of Culture out of whole cloth, and the Liberals of the Quiet Revolution succeeded. So it is
not surprising that when other governments — federal and provincial — were reducing their
contribution to the arts, the Quebec government was maintaining its financial commitment and even
initiating new projects. It is important to note that Quebec has traditionally invested twice as much
per capita in the cultural sector as Ontario does.
The vigour of Quebec’s culture is also reflected in the organizations that have been created by
workers in the cultural sector. It has its own unions and professional groups, which operate
independently but collaborate when necessary with their Canadian and international counterparts, as
issues arise.
Quebec is not only a source of inspiration for all francophone artists in Canada and North
America, but also their main market — the one they have to crack.
The Heritage Committee denies these realities by ignoring them, and thus reduces Quebec culture
to the rank of just another regional element, in the name of Canadian unity.
No Quebec government can accept this reductive vision promoted by the federal government. In
continuity with Quebec’s historic claims, Mr Benoit Pelletier!? wrote in La Presse of April 19,
“[TRANSLATION] The time has come for Quebec to assume the full potential of its own identity and to
seek to obtain, with the other partners in the federation, total respect for its uniqueness.”
The Bloc Québécois regularly witnesses the federal government trying to diminish Quebec’s
place in Canada. The most recent of these attempts can be found in the strategic plan of the
Department of Canadian Heritage entitled Strengthening and Celebrating Canada. In this
document, not a single reference is made to the culture of Quebec. This is not surprising, because the
legislation creating the Department contains no references to it either. But the strategic plan goes
further. A real “speech for the defence” of a standardized and standardizing Canadian cultural
identity, the plan calls for providing Canadians with a sense of renewal, hope and a strengthened and
shared commitment to our future as a nation... [in order] to build a strong, cohesive and stable
country. The CBC and all the agencies that report to Canadian Heritage are being conscripted for this
purpose.
The Canadian government also works against Quebec on the international scene. The sorriest
episode in this regard was certainly the attempt by the Department of Foreign Affairs to make grants
for international tours subject to the criterion of promoting national unity. More recently, the
Minister of Canadian Heritage attacked France’s Minister of Culture, Ms. Catherine Trautman, who
had invited Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications, Ms. Agnés Maltais, to an informal
meeting of culture ministers. Moreover, the Canadian government did everything it could to reduce
5 MNA for Chapleau, constitutional expert and the LPQ’s Canadian intergovernmental affairs critic.
183
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
the impact of the Printemps du Québec in Paris by organizing at the same time, also in Paris, visits by
francophones from outside Quebec. Lastly, Canada forbade a meeting between the Premier of
Quebec, the Honourable Lucien Bouchard, and the President of Mexico, Mr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce
de Léon.
And yet, rulings by the Privy Council in London in 1883 and 1937, and more recently the
Gérin-Lajoie doctrine, established in 1965, make it clear that the provincial governments retain their
exclusive jurisdictions on the international scene. There are examples of subnational States
exercising their constitutional responsibilities internationally. On March 24, 1999, the Quebec
government adopted a Declaration on Quebec’s participation in international forums dealing with
education, language and culture, asserting loud and clear its intention of taking its rightful place on
the international scene in those areas that come under its jurisdiction. The Bloc Québécois supports
this declaration unreservedly, and urges the federal government to display a little open-mindedness.
As far as language is concerned, the demographic data show that Quebec must continue its efforts
to make French the common language of all Quebecers. The situation of French in the region of
Montreal, and demographic forecasts suggesting that the number of francophones (of all origins)
will start to diminish in 15 years’ time, mean that a stop must be put to contradictory language
policies on Quebec territory. The federal government must comply with the Charter of the French
Language inside Quebec’s borders, and it must convey the message to other countries that Quebec is
a territory where French is the official language.
In this era of trade globalization and technological development, and in order to develop a
consistent cultural policy, it is more crucial than ever that Quebec should have sole authority in an
area of jurisdiction that in any case belongs to it, that of arts and culture — an area that the federal
government has invaded with its spending power.
Quebec also plays an important role in promoting the use of French on the Internet. At a time when
there are about the same number of Internet users in Quebec as in France, Quebec is inspiring France
by its attempt to francize the cybernet vocabulary, and its multimedia production is expanding. The
Quebec multimedia industry has already racked up a number of successes.
Recommendations
19. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it recognize
Quebec as the sole authority in Quebec in the area of arts and culture, and that it sign
a framework agreement with the Quebec government recognizing Quebec’s
jurisdiction and giving it the appropriate budget envelopes.
20. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it sign an
agreement with the Quebec government enabling the latter to take control of the
communications and telecommunications sectors on Quebec territory.
184
A SENSE OF PLacE — A SENSE OF BEING
21. The Bloc Québécois recommends to the federal government that it comply with
the Charter of the French Language inside Quebec’s borders and in its relations with
foreign countries.
185
f; = ir Soca th ae
: 4 a
Asad yet, race
Gérin-Limie dévaring, es
othe ensiieon gabe i ma _ ~
ep thelr Sone Ie
sovenwetht idopiad 3 (Geta nrebexs’ ‘per | y
educatetin "gue i oe ering cabs aes rorencon Gf ¥
thet ifdersie vonal scene te hase anew uN x . oP a ch :
this coicsaratten Se =n (vo display @ little apr 7
owe >? = e ; :
As fw as Tonguage iacvetnneee rapt — Juwbe
rahe Pptrecty He S siees aged Jt ae p aE
Mustres!. acl derograpitile asrecasty Suggesting then te mi
i] wert to dinnnish ‘a 15 pears tee, ean that a co re prt lo en
ich ten “Soct pervitery “The posers amt ely .
L origa me steht Oialoes horton, cid It git Raitey ‘
Mai’ 9 tte PAG st i Oana tn 7 bpd vs in a
; Pin 7 7 i
si —« Af wade Gis oo a ee Ih 44m ?
» UU + Melk idly. Uf ng TV OPC Oy te c va ry 5
| opti? hie pu Sea EmCRLRAE TD NE ie th bs bryce she
les oo’ scan thee eante nner dt Taka 04 in oe
ha ove te Hopciow the opine’) val PE lune h: ction ) ay :
orhitees ler amarvity *oige ahead She up we wuerls ful ; ot rr os
- oe ~ . . : ar n }
ia ware ow hie oe ASD mye = re es Fi
+ Toye Mon Chaetaeaaae penmmendlae the idee wae |
Lmrlon ot em foe aan nerttprity Sauna or art oho a
+ Saearhy wgirerrneatt ») with tee Quebec ipove ment ‘Toee .
jar wees ety gc ion Mt Hg att Sis wee:
ai 7 Le Onn < s
a
J i tes
The te: Quit winds to the %
sl 7 - 7 oe, aut - 4 . ee o_
ae ook, se
Minority Report from Wendy Lill MP
on behalf of the NDP Federal Caucus
The scope of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Study, A Sense of Being — a Sense of
Place, has been immense, and the importance of this task should never be underestimated. We
congratulate the Committee, especially the Chair and the Committee’s Branch staff, for their support
and hard work.
The Committee had the privilege of hearing from hundreds of artists, creators, curators, painters,
playwrights, as well as representatives from vastly different groups such as arts organizations, media
conglomerates and tiny rural museums. People with enormous passion and commitment to their art,
and to the country they create it in. We thank them all for their enthusiasm, the time they took away
from their work, and their vision.
Over and over the Committee heard certain themes; the unquenchable desire of artists to create and
reflect their experience, the importance of the CBC, the need for a strong Canada Council and the
important role which the federal government has played in nurturing Canadian culture. We also
heard about the impact of fiscal cutbacks on all cultural institutions, and on the ability of our artists to
make a living. The report has put forward many good recommendations on such important issues as
continued and stable funding for the CBC, Copyright and Status of the Artist legislation, increased
support to educational institutions and cultural training initiatives, as well as a federal recommitment
to our libraries, archives, museums and our built heritage. We applaud these recommendations.
But the NDP believes that there are some serious concerns which have not been addressed
sufficiently, or at all, in this report. One of these is the area of Canadian content. Defining Canadian
content has now taken on a greater urgency given the new Canadian content definition used under the
recent Canadian-American agreement on Split-Run magazines. This definition allows for any
material to be considered Canadian as long as it is original to a publication distributed in Canada. We
believe this gravely undermines our cultural sovereignty and will set a precedent for trade challenges
in film, books, music and all other cultural endeavours.
The report accepts far too easily the inevitability and acceptability of globalization and corporate
concentration and does not take the time or the rigor to question how these forces will impact
negatively on a nation’s culture. This is immensely regrettable. I believe that a committee of this
stature should be a forum for these questions.
The report does not tackle the problem of foreign ownership of our film distribution system, nor the
almost complete foreign takeover of our book publishing houses and bookstore chains. Nor does the
report address the issue of media concentration and how this impacts on the abilities of Canadians to
hear and express diverse opinions.
We believe that the Government of Canada should review all takeovers and mergers in the cultural
sector in aid of achieving the maximum opportunity for creators as well as the maximum opportunity
of access for the public to Canadian culture.
187
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
On matters of Canada’s trade policy as it relates to culture, the Committee heard testimony about the
abject failure of both the WTO and NAFTA to protect Canadian culture. While there was lively
debate on where Canada should go from here, there was a majority who wanted strong protections
for our culture in any and all future trade deals. New Democrats concur. We believe that any cultural
policy must have as a premise our unfettered right to manage our cultural affairs as we see fit, without
challenge or threat of retaliation.
We believe that one of the greatest challenges facing the Government of Canada is to create, protect
and nurture a humane and creative environment for our artists and our citizens in the face of
globalization and corporate concentration.
The Main Committee Report starts out — quite rightly — praising the Final Report of the Working
Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century by the Canadian Conference of the Arts. The NDP
Caucus supports the excellent recommendations of this report. They are included here (with
permission) as the conclusion to our minority report.
The Working Group believes that the best approach is a simple one. First, the policy must be based
in legislation, in particular, the legislation that has created the Department of Canadian Heritage.
This legislation should be amended to reflect a number of elements:
e change the name to the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage;
e reestablish the linkage between cultural content and carrier issues by conferring an
exclusive mandate for these areas to the Department of Canadian Culture and
Heritage;
e articulate the key objectives of a Canadian cultural policy framework, namely:
i. That the federal government recognize its vital role in the sustenance,
promotion and development of the arts, heritage and cultural industries and
confer the coordinating role for these efforts upon the Department of Canadian
Culture and Heritage.
ii. That the federal cultural policy framework build upon the two official language
communities, and that it maintain throughout its various components a strong
commitment to the vitality of this fundamental dimension of Canadian artistic
and cultural life.
iii. That the full array of institutions, departments, and agencies involved in federal
cultural policy facilitate the broadest possible access by Canadians to works and
productions by Canadian artists and cultural producers.
a. That the Government of Canada, through the Department of Canadian
Culture and Heritage, apply the tools of legislation, regulation and direct
188
A SENSE OF PLacE — A SENSE OF BEING
and indirect financial support measures as well as the use of the taxation
System in pursuit of its cultural objectives.
b. That the Government of Canada confer upon the Department of Canadian
Culture and Heritage full authority to establish and administer foreign
investment measures in the arts and cultural industries.
iv. That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage promote and respect the
values of regional and ethnocultural diversity, the role of the First Peoples, and
the need to foster among Canadians a greater appreciation of our collective
experience and aspirations.
v. That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage be given overall
responsibility for the creation of an environment respectful of and conducive to
the work and rights of Canadian creators and artists through revisions to the
Copyright Act, the Status of the Artist Act, and the Cultural Property Act, and
other instruments at the disposition of the state.
vi. That the responsibility for the preservation and promotion of works important to
Canadian heritage in all of its manifestations be supported through a variety of
instruments dedicated to this mission, including private and public museums
and art galleries.
vii. That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage promote and facilitate
the development of a strong domestic base of artists, creators, producers and
audiences in partnership with other levels of government, the private sector and
the cultural sector.
viii. That the various institutions, agencies, programmes and measures that flow
from a federal cultural policy framework be subject to the full disciplines of
transparency and public accountability.
The Working Group recommends that a Special Commission be established to work with
agencies, departments, and programmes which have a cultural dimension to ensure that their
activities and priorities are consistent with the objectives of a federal cultural policy. The Special
Commission, composed of artists and cultural workers, members of the general public, public
servants and representatives of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, would be given a
mandate of no longer than three years to accomplish its work.
The ultimate objective of the Special Commission will be to ensure that cultural policies,
institutions, programmes, and measures are based on the key objectives of federal cultural
policy.
The Special Commission must be satisfied that any element of the federal pala policy
framework can demonstrate quantifiable and qualitative evidence of its contribution to the
key objectives of federal cultural policy.
189
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
If any element is found to be inconsistent with the objectives of the policy, the Special
Commission will recommend to the Minister of Canadian Culture and Heritage
appropriate revisions, alternatives or a termination of the measure, programme or
institution.
The Working Group calls upon the Government of Canada to move with dispatch to the third
phase of revisions to the Copyright Act and to commission an in-depth study of more responsive
mechanisms used around the world to develop or upgrade copyright legislation.
The Working Group also calls upon the Government of Canada to establish a legal aid fund
to assist creators and copyright owners to underwrite the costs of legal challenges over the
exploitation of their work by unauthorized users. For most individual creators, the defense
of their economic or moral rights represents an onerous burden that few can afford to
shoulder. The net result of this situation is a de facto loss of economic benefits owing to the
creator and copyright owner.
The Working Group recommends that the status of the artist be the focus of a special meeting of
federal and provincial governments, during which a broad action plan to advance the status of
Canadian artists and creators would be devised. The involvement of key artistic and cultural labour
and advocacy organizations would foster a better appreciation of the priorities most requiring
attention.
The Working Group recommends that the funding of arts service and cultural industry trade
organizations be identified as a priority for federal and provincial ministers responsible for culture.
The Working Group believes that our collective ability to sustain these institutions is critical to the
long-term health of Canadian culture. In the process of revising and refining federal cultural policies,
attention must be given to a policy for national training institutions which will permit them access to
adequate and predictable funding, so that their energies can be properly focused on their primary
vocation of shaping forthcoming generations of artists and cultural workers.
That Human Resources Development Canada, in collaboration with the Department of Canadian
Heritage, secure stable multi-year funding for nationally significant arts training, and for
professional development and skills upgrading for artists and cultural workers.
That in negotiating the transfer of labour market services to the provincial governments,
Human Resources Development Canada ensure that sector-based training and
professional development councils are specifically referenced as the optimal delivery
mechanism for the cultural sector and that specific funding of these bodies be part of the
written delegation of responsibility.
The Working Group recommends that the Special Commission dedicate considerable attention to
the manner in which the important national cultural institutions complement and support each other
in their shared mission to develop, celebrate and promote Canadian cultural expression.
190
A SENSE OF PLace — A SENSE OF BEING
The Working Group recommends that the Special Commission examine various models of closer
collaboration among the CBC/SRC, the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada to ensure that
they make the strongest contribution possible to access by Canadians and the development and
promotion of Canadian cultural expression.
The Working Group recommends that a Canadian City of Culture project be placed on the agenda
of the next federal/provincial meeting of culture ministers for discussion and implementation. The
Working Group also recommends that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities explore the
feasibility of this project among its members. The Working Group recommends that this initiative
start in the year 2000.
The Working Group believes that Canadians should have a right of full access to their heritage. We
therefore recommend that:
e Museums must have the responsibility to make their collections accessible to all.
Creative solutions include more travelling exhibitions, exchanges, educational
programmes, and enhanced distribution through the use of new technologies.
¢ Federal, provincial, and municipal governments must work in partnership to ensure
that Canadian museums and heritage institutions are viable and solidly funded. They
must develop an outreach strategy to involve the full participation of Canadians in the
celebration of our culture.
e Museums and heritage institutions have a major role to play in the promotion,
discovery and social integration of artists, scholars, and connoisseurs through which
they will advance creativity in all Canadians.
¢ The development of a national conservation strategy will ensure that our collective
patrimony is properly cared for and documented. This strategy must reach beyond
the museum and heritage community to involve our citizens, corporations, and
non-profit organizations.
The Working Group recommends that the Minister of Finance in his next federal budget include
amendments to the Income Tax Act to facilitate the so-called “stretch” provisions, which reward
increased donations by the average donor to charities and registered arts service organizations.
The Working Group recommends that tax incentives for investment in all cultural industries be
developed and implemented as soon as possible. These incentives are central to the ability of
Canadian producers to remain productive and competitive both domestically and internationally.
The Working Group recommends that the federal government immediately commission a joint
working group of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of Foreign ease, and
International Trade to develop an implementation plan for an international cultural agency, with a
view to implementation by January 1, 2000.
191
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
The Working Group recommends that the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on International Trade,
Trade Disputes and Investment convene hearings as soon as possible to give shape and substance to a
declaration of Global Parallel Rights, which would form an ongoing reference point for the
elaboration of international trade and investment agreements as a condition of Canadian ratification.
This task should be completed before the Millennium Round of the World Trade Organization
negotiations in the year 2000.
The Working Group urges a strengthening of the “net benefit” test to ensure that the production,
distribution, and promotion of content by Canadians is a permanent commitment by foreign
investors receiving approval to operate in any aspect of culture in Canada. That commitment must be
seen as a mark of good corporate citizenship and a fair recompense for the access that foreign
enterprises enjoy to the Canadian market.
Further, it is our firm belief that the responsibility for the administration of foreign
investment in the cultural sector must be transferred to the Department of Canadian
Culture and Heritage.
192
THE CANADIAN HERITAGE COMMITTEE REPORT
ON A NEW CANADIAN CULTURAL POLICY
DISSENTING REPORT
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
The Progressive Conservative Party would like to acknowledge the huge contributions of so many
Canadians who, either through personal appearances before the Committee or through the
submission of briefs, kindly provided members of the Canadian Heritage Committee with their
thoughts on what should be in a new Canadian cultural policy.
The Progressive Conservative Party is pleased that so many of their views are reflected within this
report. In principle, we support the recommendations contained in the report. We feel that these
recommendations, if accepted by the federal government, will help strengthen our very dynamic
Canadian cultural identity.
Unfortunately, as with many reports, certain important issues were either overlooked or perhaps not
given the proper attention they deserved. It is precisely for these reasons that the Progressive
Conservative Party decided to include a dissenting report to try and address some of those issues.
One of our major disappointments with the report involves, in certain circumstances, a clear lack of
substance being attached to the recommendations. In these instances, the Committee’s report
properly identifies some major deficiencies that exist within some of Canada’s cultural industries,
yet fails to provide concrete solutions beyond simply suggesting that more funding is required. I
think we all recognize that additional funding is required to help many of our cultural institutions;
therefore, we would have preferred seeing more precise ways or mechanisms for providing this
much needed funding to these institutions.
The Progressive Conservative Party believes that a number of very important cultural issues were
left out in this report. For instance, Canada’s architectural heritage received no mention in this report
yet plays an important economic and cultural role within communities across this country.
Throughout the country, there are virtually thousands of Canadian landmarks that are in danger of
losing their historical character to modernization. We believe that the report should have touched
upon this very important part of Canadian history.
When discussing Canadian history, one cannot but notice that there is no mention of amy suggestions
for joint federal/provincial initiatives that would encourage a greater focus on teaching gece |
history within our school systems. It is sad to say that many of our Canadian children know ge little
about their own history. Because history plays such a huge role in helping define who we are, it seems
a shame it did not receive proper mention in the report.
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE
A number of Canadians appearing before the Committee lamented the lack of art education that is
being offered in Canadian schools. Although we recognize this as being a provincial matter, it
nevertheless begs mentioning that perhaps some kind of joint federal/provincial initiative could be
devised to help address this deficiency.
With Canada continuing to benefit immensely from multiculturalism, we feel the report should have
contained a greater emphasis on suggesting ways in which Canada could continue to expand its
support for our ethnic communities.
Although Canada’s National Parks play a very significant role in Canadian society, the report fails to
make mention of their contribution. The federal government has already committed to creating a
number of new national parks; therefore, a strong recommendation that they carry through with this
important undertaking, as quickly as possible, would seem to have been appropriate.
With many of Canada’s museums struggling to preserve their artefacts while also trying to maintain
their building structures, many of which are recognized heritage buildings, we believe the report
should include a stronger appeal for increased funding for the Museum Assistance Program (MAP).
Canadians are growing increasingly interested in genealogy. Census reports are not only important
tools for helping us learn about our ancestry, they provide us with valuable information about
circumstances that ultimately helped influence who we are as a people.
This report should have encouraged the federal government to ensure that all census records be made
available to those interested presuming that an adequate time period has passed.
The report has ignored Canada’s struggle to help protect our Canadian magazine industry. In light of
the federal government’s recent decision to amend Bill C-55 in response to U.S. demands, the
Progressive Conservative Party believes that greater attention should have been devoted to the
federal government’s responsibility towards protecting our Canadian culture during future
international trade negotiations.
We recognize that creating a policy that would satisfy everyone is virtually impossible; therefore, we
look at the recommendations contained within this report not as any final solution but more as a new
beginning in our quest to help Canadians learn more about themselves and their culture.
Submitted by:
Mark Muise, M.P.
P.C. Member
Canadian Heritage Committee
194
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Wednesday, June 2, 1999
(Meeting No. 104)
The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage met in camera at 1:30 p.m. this day, in Room
308, West Block, the Chair, Clifford Lincoln, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Mauril Bélanger, Paul Bonwick, Sarmite Bulte, Maurice
Dumas, John Godfrey, Wendy Lill, Clifford Lincoln, Inky Mark and Mark Muise.
Acting Member present: Georges Baker for Raymond Lavigne.
In attendance: From the Library of Parliament: Joseph Jackson, Researcher. As consultants:
David Black, Kevin Burns and Wanda Noel.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee resumed its consideration of a draft report
on a Canadian Cultural.
It was agreed, — That the Report be entitled: A Sense of Place, A Sense of Being : The
Evolving Role of the Federal Government in Support of Culture in Canada.
It was agreed, — That the Committee request a Government Response to the Report, pursuant
to Standing Order 109.
It was agreed, — That the appendices include, a list of witnesses and briefs submitted
including briefs submitted during the 35th Parliament.
It was agreed, — That the draft Report, as amended, be adopted as the Committee’s Ninth
Report to the House and that the Chair present it to the House.
It was agreed, — That the Chairperson be authorized to make such grammatical and editorial
changes to the Report as may be necessary without changing the substance of the Report.
It was agreed, — That the Committee print 1500 copies in English and 800 in French of its
Report.
It was agreed, — That a News Release be issued and a News Conference organized. At 6:30
p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
Normand Radford
Clerk of the Committee
195
AS tava? Ad PALS 3 f ; cyt
ware tiie te Ceoelien sao
my aerate peer OU
Yr ty 2
&: anwe state: vr
ame <¢ tog ae
’ PERT et 8 NT) ae 2. ~ ao),
Petea shy: & sj tant wen Tihs Todd at go ;
ay ti ea spines
Sheed 4% ‘We! saad be poste,
of a F *
Mees ys acer pon af tse 298 niente SQ ag.
he. ale tubes, wna OF Whack ane cemguiged radius biliines ae
aE" eyaeE antec eae 46 RTI “BG SH" Mg PSHE AT
. sbeue.d ai aoe raeyepee ai 3 batt ont L go
os ee pe Jucwly ciroeted ih gercalagy. reaped tsi Riportan:
ite Mee a oh oy Sead toner samme Riga
nee ut pled ly Popllpagh malaatesatiest et artic neta aie af
hmlinndee uoctumd ew, cc te lias
Mat ard grr nals egy eat 3
sy
gt, «9: NEON BD: ts helaak
or eee? @ 7
larrenct bits hove te bey ae hee
ata
| Se i a ae
ai ty tt Ac ni OOE, bre detaas Bt
‘2 ley agunte pit opaaing. t pediey Shae 4 |
ee cra Pg
ney AAn sein 9 0 SRY emt
alts a vf a fig:
ee ie
tg i a ian re gv y, ix iy ie
£56, dehaaiey | j
ed
“pel citee Me cane Cas
ae!
ie , 1
7 py
ee. Le
’ +
' a < .
y ny " —w
’ Me ¢
: Hin Hae | c +
; i] - alt , = ns
lj | Wikis hy : he y an
| NK My pian’) ii : } ~~ dh - ’ 7
Hat) i ut I 7 ’ ; . «© =
vu iy + = :
Ly
xl Hy | ae)
fae ;
Fy — 4 i ai)
; hee :
/ an oe a y
er ge ar” od