CCA BULLETIN / BULLETIN DE LA CCA
“ CANADA NOT FOR SALE ” SAY CCA AND COA LITION PARTNERS
Ottawa , February 9, 2004 - The Canadian Conference of the Arts ( CCA ) is continuing its advocacy efforts on the issue of foreign investment in Canada 's media and telecommunications companies. On January 15 th , the CCA attended a day-long forum on Parliament Hill convened by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP). Also attending the meeting were representatives of l'Union des Artistes, ACTRA, the Council of Canadians, the Telecommunications Workers Union, Societé des Auteurs de Radio, Télévision et Cinéma, the Directors' Guild of Canada, the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, and l 'Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec; NDP Leader Jack Layton, and MPs Christian Gagnon (BQ) and Wendy Lill (NDP) were also present.
At the meeting, the newly organized “Coalition for Communication and Cultural Sovereignty” agreed to mount a coordinated campaign to keep our media and telecommunications sectors in Canadian hands. CCA National Director Megan Davis Williams was vocal on the necessity for maintaining the current limits on foreign ownership in broadcasting .
That same day, the CEP released the results of a December 2003 national opinion poll, showing that two thirds of Canadians support the existing foreign ownership control regulations. More significantly, the poll indicates that 57% of Canadians are prepared to exercise this opinion with their vote in the next federal election.
CCA circulated its October 2003 discussion paper, “Ownership by Canadians: To enrich the social, political and cultural fabric of Canada ; this is available to members online in the “Knowledge Network” forum on www.culturescope.ca . (Registration details for this website were previously announced in CCA Bulletin 06/04 and we invite all CCA individual and organizational members to “sign-in and sound off” on this pressing matter; your feedback will impact the CCA 's broader advocacy efforts on this issue.)
CCA is closely monitoring public statements by members of Paul Martin's federal cabinet on the deregulation of ownership restrictions for Canadian broadcasting companies. In the February 4 th edition of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business, Industry Minister Lucienne Robillard stated that her department and the Department of Canadian Heritage are working on “resolving their differences” with regard to the issue. This statement comes two weeks af ter Hélène Chalifour Scherrer, the new Minister of Canadian Heritage, told the National Post: “The more we're going to have our own institutions the more we will be Canadians, the more every Canadian will be proud. We have to keep a lot of things Canadian.”
Relatedly, Minister Robillard commented in the January 12 th issue of Hill Times, “It is our responsibility as a government to reconcile the two points of view, and we have asked a team of senior officials from the two departments to undertake the necessary analysis and to prepare options for consideration by the government this spring. The work is now well underway. This is not an issue of squabbling departments. It involves the development of approaches that address all of our government's policy objectives.”
Scherrer also told delegates at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) conference held in Ottawa late last week that, “Canadians need to know the importance of creating our own stories”. The CCA and its coalition partners hope for a positive resolution to this impasse, which would be best addressed by striking a Joint Parliamentary Committee with Heritage and Industry representatives speaking to each other on the public record. All coalition partners share the common resolve that the current limits on foreign investment must be maintained, without exception. CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE !
NEW FACE AT CCA
The CCA is exchanging one M. Charron for another (no relation) - don't get confused!
Mireille Charron , who has been the Financial Administrator at the CCA for over 3 years (and prior to that, served as Executive Assistant to the National Director, secretary to the Board, and coordinator of the CCA 's Awards for 5 years) left the organization at the end of January 2004. Mireille's calm competence, excellent organizational skills, and her attention to detail ensured a steady hand on the financial tiller of the CCA , while her courteous manner and ready smile charmed all. Her dedication to the organization will be greatly missed, but we wish her luck in her new endeavours.
Her replacement at the CCA is Manon Charron , who comes to us from The Council of Canadians where she worked in administration for nearly 7 years. Her more recent responsibilities with that organization included financial management, human resources, and office administration. We are confident Manon will prove an asset to the organization and we are delighted to welcome her to the CCA team.
For more information:
Kevin Desjardins
Communications and Public Relations Manager
(613) 238 3561 ext.11
Fax (613) 238 4849
09/04
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