CCA Bulletin 02/07

Ottawa, January 24 2007

UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention set to be implemented

Just the facts

The UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions will come into force on March 18, 2007. This is the latest stage in a remarkable campaign and process in which the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) has been an important player. The CCA celebrates this historic achievement and Canada's international leadership, and congratulates all those from the Canadian arts and culture community who have been instrumental in this effort.

When 12 member countries of the European Union and the European Commission deposited their instruments of ratification with UNESCO on December 18 2006, the necessary minimum number of countries had been achieved to ensure the Convention will come into force in 2007. Canada, which had played a leading role in this file, was the first country to ratify the Convention in late November 2005. The threshold was reached only 14 months after the Convention was adopted by UNESCO, remarkably quick for a legally-binding international treaty.

The coming into force of the new Convention is only the next milestone in a long process and the CCA will continue to play an active part. While some commentators feel the obligations on member states under the Convention are inadequate to make it an effective shield against trade and investment agreements, everyone agrees the Convention must be supported as an important political instrument that can make a difference. Campaigns are underway to urge more countries to sign onto the Convention, since its impact will increase in direct proportion to the number of signatory countries. How the Convention is implemented by UNESCO will also go a long way to determining how effective it will be in achieving the objectives, and the Convention's supporters have begun working on these issues.

For more background, and analysis of the Convention and its potential, please see www.incd.net, www.cdc-ccd.org and www.unesco.org.

Tell me more

CCA's role in the process stretches back to October 1997 when it released a significant study on the potential consequences for Canada's cultural policies of the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). The report pointed out that France's proposal for a “cultural exception” would have offered only a partial protection. In Canada, debates around the MAI and contemporary trade negotiations led many to conclude that the “cultural exception” approach was inadequate. From these discussions, the concept emerged that what was needed was a new international instrument that would confirm the sovereign right of states to implement policies to promote their own cultures and write appropriate rules for trade in cultural goods and services.

In June 1998, CCA conve ned the At Home in the World conference where delegates from a number of countries decided that civil society organizations needed to work together to respond to the adverse affects of economic globalization on cultures. One of the outcomes of this meeting was the launch of the organization that became the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD). CCA members and the Secretariat were heavily involved in the early days of the INCD and Canadian delegates were by far the most numerous at the September 2000 founding meeting of INCD, which endorsed the concept of the Convention. In many presentations the CCA has made in the current decade, it has urged Canadian governments and civil society to support the Convention.

The CCA and many of its important members have also been active participants in Canada's Coalition for Cultural Diversity (CCD), especially since it decided in late 1999 to expand its scope beyond its initial membership base in Québec. The CCD has helped to build coalitions in many others countries and they have played an important role in building support for the Convention, both domestically and internationally.

From 1999 until just this past December, the CCA hosted the international headquarters of the INCD. CCA regrets that the Department of Canadian Heritage announced in October 2006 that it would no longer provide funds for INCD in the current fiscal year which started on April 01.

A Few Loose Ends to Tie Up From Late 2006…

On the 13 th of December of last year the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Hon. Bev Oda, confirmed that Canada Post will maintain its $15 million contribution to support Canadian magazines and community newspapers through the Publications Assistance Program until 2009. The Publications Assistance Program, administered by Canadian Heritage in cooperation with Canada Post Corporation, subsidizes mailing costs of over 1200 Canadian magazines and non-daily newspapers.

The full announcement also says that, “During the period of funding stability for Canadian periodical publishers resulting from this action, the Department of Canadian Heritage will examine its current periodical policies and programs to arrive at long-term solutions.”

Finally, the program eligibility for the Government of Canada's new Children's Fitness Tax Credit took effect on January 1st. Dedicated readers of the Canadian Conference of the Arts' Bulletins will recall that the CCA intervened on this front when the Expert Panel was holding its consultations this past autumn.

We remain disappointed, however, that with the exception of some forms of dance activities involving cardiovascular exercise, the parents of the many young Canadians involved in culture activities will not be eligible for this modest tax break, which will amount to a $78.50 tax rebate for each application meeting Revenue Canada's criteria. It is estimated that the Children's Fitness Tax Credit will cost $ 160 M in lost revenue per year to the federal Treasury, almost the equivalent of the budget of the Canada Council.