CCA BULL ETIN / BULLETIN DE LA CCA

LIZA FRULLA NAMED AS NEW MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE

Ottawa , July 20th, 2004 - Prime Minister Paul Martin named his new Cabinet today, and has placed the Department of Canadian Heritage in the experienced hands of Liza Frulla, MP for the riding of Jeanne-Le Ber (Québec).   CCA welcomes this appointment and looks forward to working closely with Ms Frulla and her Department over the coming years.

Ms Frulla was Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (formerly HRDC) in the previous short-lived Cabinet.   From 1989-1998, she was a member of the Québec National Assembly and held the positions of minister of communications, minister of cultural affairs, minister of culture and communications, and minister responsible for La Francophonie.   She was well-respected by her fellow ministers in the provincial government as having the ability to negotiate across political and cultural lines - a quality which will serve her well in a minority government.   Ms Frulla was instrumental in the creation of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (Québec Arts Council) and the development of a cultural policy framework.   She also managed to hold on to the culture department's budgets during cost-cutting periods, and is seen as a very able minister.   In 1998, she left the National Assembly to host her own television show "Liza" on Radio-Canada, until 2002, when she entered the federal political arena.

CCA urges Minister Frulla to make her mark early with the cultural community by ensuring that Cabinet approval of funding to the sector starting 1 April 2005 is her first and most urgent priority.   It is extremely important that the pressing need for stable, adequate, multi-year government support, in the form of a renewal and, preferably, increase of the Tomorrow Starts Today (or equivalent) funding to the sector, be clearly understood. We also hope she will champion artists' rights, ensuring that all Canadian artists can access the benefits and advantages to those currently enjoyed by artists in Québec.

The Prime Minister also announced the appointment of Sarmite Bulte, MP for Parkdale-High Park ( Ontario ), to serve as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.   "Given the minority situation, Parliamentary Secretaries will more than ever play a critical role as a vital two-way link between Ministers and Parliamentarians from all political parties, in helping to advance the government's legislative priorities in a constructive and responsible manner," said the Prime Minister, in a press release.

ROUND-UP OF CCA ACTIVITIES OVER THE SUMMER

Summer used to be a quiet time, when CCA staff could recharge their batteries.   That is certainly not the case this year!   The CCA offices are humming with activity as new National Director, Jean Malavoy, takes the reins.   Some of the activities staff are working on include:

• Pre-Budget submission : CCA has been informed by the Clerk of the Standing Committee on Finance that a new schedule for consultations will be prepared following today's Cabinet announcement (see bulletin 34/04).   Preparation work for CCA's submission will continue throughout the summer.

• Taxation matters : following a lengthy and drawn-out dialogue with Canada Revenue Agency, the small group of NASO representatives working with CCA on the issue of determination of employment status for artists, expects to receive a final draft of the interpretative bulletin from CRA by the end of the summer.   Ironically, the CRA bulletin will be issued in a climate of renewed consternation from the sector due to inappropriate and inconsistent CRA rulings, most notably recent cases at Magnus Theatre , Ontario , and Théâtre Quatre Corps and Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur in Québec, where self-employed actors have been deemed employees.  

• National policy conference : CCA's annual policy conference takes place in Regina , Saskatchewan , on 19 and 20 November 2004 .   The topic this year is Status of the Artist legislation, both at the provincial and the federal levels.   Entitled From Act to Action: Moving Forward on Status of the Artist , the conference will explore how amendments to existing legislation could improve the working lives of artists in Canada , and will provide pointers on developing legislation for those provinces where no legislation exists.

• Freedom of expression : CCA anticipates the controversial Bill C-12 will be re-introduced in the House sometime after it resumes sitting on 4 October.   During the recent federal election campaign, Paul Martin, in an attempt to dispel Conservative party accusations that he and the Liberals "supported child pornographers", promised to bring back the legislation.   In its last iteration, the draft Bill proposed deleting the artistic merit defence in favour of a defence of "public good " - an affront to all Canadians' rights to free expression, not just artists' rights.   CCA plans to meet with returning Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, opposition Justice critics, and members of the Standing Committee on Justice, to impress on them the importance of the artistic merit defence in rights guaranteed in the Charter.   Other advocacy actions are currently being planned to ensure this issue remains in the public arena.

• Foreign ownership : CCA will continue to monitor developments around the issue of lifting the current restrictions on foreign investment in Canada 's broadcasting, media and telecommunications industries.   The Liberal government long ago promised a resolution to the impasse between conflicting 2003 recommendations from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Standing Committee on Industry; the former wanted to maintain the current restrictions, while the latter wanted to lift them entirely to promote "competition".   CCA will continue to work with its partners in the 'Coalition for Communications and Cultural Sovereignty' to ensure that the interests of Canada 's artists and cultural workers are being considered in this debate, as the threat to our cultural identity is real.

• Copyright :   CCA anticipates another legislative battle this fall, as Parliament will likely move to respond to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage's May 2004 Interim Report on Copyright Reform.   The report, which was released in the days leading up to the election call, makes several key recommendations including that Canada ratify the 1996 WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) treaty on copyright.   On 14 July, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) filed its appeal of the 31 March court decision denying their request that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) reveal the identities of alleged uploaders of digital music. CCA is keeping a watching brief on this issue.

Also this summer, CCA's new and improved website hits a screen near you!   After several months of intensive work, CCA will unveil its new website at the end of July. The new format should make it easier for you to find the breaking cultural stories, to search for past reports, and generally to see what CCA is all about.   We look forward to your comments.

In an effort to continue upgrading our communications tools, CCA will be inserting a short survey in the next issue of our newsletter, Blizzart (going out at the end of the month).   We encourage all members to complete the questionnaires and return them to CCA as soon as possible so that we can take your comments and suggestions into account when revamping our systems.

For more information:

Kevin Desjardins

Communications and Public Relations Manager

(613) 238 3561 ext.11

Fax (613) 238 4849

info@ccarts.ca

www.ccarts.ca

36/04

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