PARIS – On Friday, a bunch of international government types signed off on something called the Preliminary Draft Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
The statement from Heritage Minister Liza Frulla’s on Friday called the draft convention – which would make sure the rights of national governments to take measures to protect its culture (such as our Canadian content rules in our broadcast policies) supersede any other international agreements – “a victory for Canada and cultural diversity.”
However, one wonders about the strength of such a claim of victory given the world’s largest cultural exporter, the United States, did not sign the agreement.
The document will be presented for adoption at the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) general conference this October.
“I am delighted to report that the text agreed to today supports Canada’s position that the Convention recognize the dual nature of cultural goods and services as having both an economic and social value,” said Minister Frulla, “that it reaffirms the right of States to take measures in support of cultural expression; that it must be supportive of and on equal footing with other international agreements – and not subordinated by these other agreements; and that it serves as a point of reference for all discussions relative to cultural diversity.”
The latest round of negotiations ran from May 25 to June 3.
“It is critical to Canada that the Convention recognize the legitimate right of countries to create policies and measures to support cultural diversity. We need to preserve our ability to tell our own stories and share our own experiences with each other as Canadians. Canada’s cultural industries and cultural creators are key to this. Also, the cultural sector is an economic engine, generating more than 600,000 jobs in Canada,” she continued.
“In 2004, Canada exported $2.4 billion and imported $4.6 billion in cultural goods. It is clear that Canadians want nothing less than access to the best that the world’s cultural creators have to offer. At the same time, we are proud of the fact that international audiences are interested in Canadian cultural expression,” she adds, despite the fact that less than 5% of feature films shown here are made-in-Canada Canadian stories.
In Canada, our cultural sector faces major challenges… We employ a number of different measures – including direct funding, tax incentives, and Canadian content rules – to foster a diversity of expression in film, sound recording, book publishing, and other fields. It is important to continue with these measures to ensure that our cultural sector remains viable,” said Frulla.
“Beyond our borders, the Convention will help less-developed countries that may not yet have well-established cultural industries. The Convention will help prevent them from being excluded from the global marketplace by allowing them to take the necessary measures to foster their own industries and their own forms of expression, whenever they are ready.
“In order for the Convention to be effective and respected, it needs to be endorsed by as many countries as possible at the UNESCO General Conference. That is why it is important for Canada to continue its leadership role on this issue,” she said.
– Greg O’Brien
