CCA Bulletin 45/08 - Prime Minister Harper’s New Cabinet: New Faces and Roles

October 30th, 2008

Just the Facts

This morning, the Governor General of Canada, the Right Hon. Michaëlle Jean, presided over the swearing in of Canada’s new Cabinet. The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, the Hon. James Moore. The CCA looks forward to working with the Minister and Department of Canadian Heritage to encourage a prominent station for the arts and cultural sector within Canada and abroad.

To learn more about the Hon. James Moore’s political career, go to his official Parliamentary biography.

Mr. Moore brings an interesting assortment of experiences to the position as a former broadcaster, economist, and Secretary of State for the 2010 Olympics, the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Official Languages. He is one of the youngest Ministers of Canadian Heritage ever and has been handed a complex portfolio from the 39th Parliament.

Arts and culture, and recent cuts to a number of programs, have played an unusually prominent role in the recent federal election. Mr. Moore’s predecessor, the Hon. Josée Verner, indicated during the election campaign that some of the programs that were among those cut are being re-engineered. This will no doubt be a file that the cultural sector will be following very closely. Another file which should get the urgent attention of the Minister is the Bill amending the Copyright Act: Bill C-61, which received first reading last June, died on the Order Paper further to the launching of the election.

Minister Moore’s economic background may help to promote both the creative economy and the programs necessary to support cultural production and promotion in Canada and around the world. Programs such as PromArt and Traderoutes, funding training for film and video, and other such investments need to be reformulated to sustain the impressive economic contributions that the cultural sector makes to the Canadian economy.

In other appointments, the Hon. Lawrence Cannon becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs. Minister Cannon is the Member of Parliament for Pontiac riding in Québec. It is the hope of the CCA that he will renew the commitment of his department to the promotion of Canadian culture internationally and restore the capacity of Canadian embassies and missions abroad to support the efforts of our artists, creators, and arts professionals.

Tell Me More

Formerly at Canadian Heritage, Minister Josée Verner becomes Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Queen’s Privy Council and Minister for the Francophonie.

There is also a new Minister of Human Resource and Social Development (HRSD). The Hon. Diane Finley  held the position in 2006 and was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in 2007. The CCA will be monitoring HRSD department for further devolution of human resource responsibilities to the provinces.

Canada’s 40th Parliament boasts a Cabinet with a significant representation of women, with a total of 11 serving as either Ministers or Ministers of State. For the complete list of the new Cabinet members and their biographies, please go to http://pm.gc.ca/eng/cabinet.asp

Parliament will resume on November 18, 2008 and the Speech from the Throne will follow the next day. This will give a clear indication of the priorities of the Harper government and the role that the new Ministers will play in fulfilling the new agenda.