OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Mélanie Joly has named a dozen representatives from the Canadian arts and culture sectors as her expert advisory group to assist during her extensive review of Canada’s cultural policies.
Minister Joly said Tuesday that the group (which is almost Royal Commission-like, to us…) was selected on the basis of their personal experience, expertise and ability to generate and inspire innovative ideas, and will “provide advice and ongoing feedback” as she seeks input from Canadians on how best to strengthen the creation, discovery and export of Canadian content in a digital world.
The group includes:
- Rob Blackie, a producer and co-CEO of Take the Shot Productions
- Katie Boland, an actor, writer and producer
- Catherine Cano, president and GM at the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC)
- Loc Dao, chief digital officer at the National Film Board
- Lisa de Wilde, CEO of provincial broadcaster TVO
- Michael Donovan, executive chairman of DHX Media
- Charles Falzon, dean of Ryerson University’s faculty of communication and design
- Philippe Lamarre, producer, graphic designer and Urbania Media founder
- Jean La Rose, CEO of Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
- Monique Savoie, founder and chair of Société des Arts Technologique (SAT)
- Justin West, founder and president of Secret City Records and Secret City Publishing
- Kenneth Whyte, executive vice-president of public policy for Rogers Communications
The expert advisory group's mandate will be carried out from June 2016 to January 2017, and the group is expected to meet with the Minister approximately five times. The advisors will not be paid for their time, but may claim approved travel and accommodation expenses of up to $25,000.
"Given the importance and the breadth of these consultations, I am pleased that I can count on a group of creative and innovative experts with a diversity of skills to provide me with key feedback throughout the process”, said Minister Joly, in the announcement. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their participation and the interest and enthusiasm they've shown so far in this exercise. Stay tuned for the next steps-the conversation is just getting started."
Public, stakeholder and online consultations will kick off this summer and encompass information and entertainment content as presented in television, radio, film, digital media and platforms, video games, music, books, newspapers and magazines.
The announcement said that the month-long pre-consultation generated close to 10,000 questionnaires which are currently being analysed and will help in developing the framework that will guide the upcoming consultations.
