Looks like everything Cancon is on the table
OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Mélanie Joly has instigated public consultations into the feds’ support of Canada’s cultural and creative industries that could result in sweeping changes to Canadian content rules and regulations.
The Department of Canadian Heritage said Saturday that it, along with the help of an expert advisory group, will lead public, stakeholder and online consultations beginning this summer to strengthen Canadian content creation, discovery and export in a digital world. The consultations will encompass information and entertainment content as presented in television, radio, film, digital media and platforms, video games, music, books, newspapers and magazines.
A pre-consultation process is underway now, which includes a public online questionnaire available through May 20th. The pre-consultation results will assist Canadian Heritage in developing a “scoping document” designed to help to guide the consultations.
Noting the importance of Canada’s cultural and creative industries to the economy and as drivers of innovation, Minister Joly said that “the time is ripe” to review the federal government’s role in supporting Canada’s creative sector, support which has typically included funding mechanisms, legislation, policies and national institutions like CBC and the National Film Board.
“The intersection of culture and technology holds tremendous potential for our country’s growth and prosperity”, she said. “As we adjust to the realities of rapid technological advances and changing consumer behaviour, I am launching consultations to better understand the challenges and opportunities brought on by this transformation.”
According to a report in the Globe and Mail (subscription required), Minister Joly said that “everything is on the table” and that she is willing to change laws such as the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act, modify the mandates of the CRTC and the CBC, and create new laws or agencies, as needed.
“I think the current model is broken, and we need to have a conversation to bring it up to date and make sure we harness its full potential”, she said in the report. “For a long time, politicians have been afraid to deal with these difficult issues, but I don’t understand why it wasn’t done.… The issue is how can the government be relevant today, instead of being left behind.”
