CCA BULLETIN / BULLETIN DE LA CCA
BILL C-12 RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT FOR THIRD AND FINAL READING
Ottawa , April 19, 2004 - By the time you read this, artistic freedom in Canada may have taken a serious legislative hit.
Bill C-12 , which if passed as currently dr af ted, would severely curtail Canadians' charter rights to free expression, is returning for third and final reading in the House of Commons' beginning Monday, April 19th. However, there is currently a motion on the floor, which the CCA supports, to send the Bill back to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to redr af t the contentious clause. The CCA once again urges its individual and organizational members to contact their Members of Parliament and voice their opposition to the Bill's abolition of the artistic merit defence. Any and all messages to MPs must emphasize that the "public good" defence is an insufficient subsitution for artistic merit. MPs Ottawa email addresses and phone members can be found at the following web address: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/house/members/CurrentMemberList.asp?Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=1&Sect=hoccur&Order=PersonOfficialLastName
A backgrounder on the Bill, updated on the 5th of March, can be found in the "What's New?" section of www.ccarts.ca . Additionally, the CCA was pleased to hear prominent Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (the director of Crash, Spider, The Fly, Naked Lunch and other films) speak out against Bill C-12 in a Monday, April 19th interview on CBC Radio One's program The Current. Audio and written transcripts of Mr. Cronenberg's comments will soon be available at the following web address: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/
NEW APPOINTMENTS
The Prime Minister's office recently announced several changes in the senior ranks of the Public Service, including
• Susan Peterson
Ms Peterson has been Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, in the Department of Canadian Heritage since October 2002. She will now serve as Associate Deputy Minister in DCH , working closely with Deputy Minister Judith Larocque, and Minister Hélène Chalifour Scherrer.
• Suzanne Hurtubise
Ms Hurtubise served as Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, then Special Advisor to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, from 1995-1999. She has just been appointed Deputy Minister of Industry, effective early May.
Simon Brault
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the appointment of Simon Brault as its new Vice-Chair. A native of Montreal , Mr Brault was Administrative Director of the National Theatre School of Canada from 1992-1997, and has served as its Director General since 1997. The position of Vice-Chair is a five year term.
For more information:
Kevin Desjardins
Communications and Public Relations Manager
(613) 238 3561 ext.11
Fax (613) 238 4849
18/04
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