Conferences and Events
Final
Report of the Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21
st Century
Executive
Summary and Recommendations (June 1998)
We
know intuitively that we will become great only when we translate
our force and knowledge into spiritual and artistic terms.
Then, and only then, will it matter to mankind whether Canada
has existed or not.
Hugh
MacLennan, essayist and novelist, 1978
It
all began with the decision of the World Trade Organization.
In the decision of the Appellate body, the WTO declared that
the Canadian magazine industry policy could not be sustained
without violating obligations Canada had undertaken in the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. With this development,
many in Canada began to worry about the sustainability of
other key elements in the federal cultural policy framework.
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment heightened these concerns as
it appeared that another policy would soon be facing similar
challenges. Who will make Canadian cultural policy: Canadians
and their elected representatives, or non-elected international
tribunals responsible for the administration of trade agreements?
For
the Board of the Canadian Conference of the Arts the decision
was a simple one - Canadians must clearly establish our unfettered
right to manage our cultural affairs as we best see fit without
challenge or threat of retaliation. It was this decision that
led the Board of Governors to create the Working Group on
Cultural Policy for the 21 st Century. The mandate given to
the Working Group was to examine the international environment
created by a profusion of international trade agreements and
determine how best to assert our cultural sovereignty within
this network. The Working Group reported its Preliminary Findings
on this component of its mandate on January 28, 1998 .
A
second part of the mandate asked the Working Group to scrutinize
the state of the federal cultural policy framework and recommend
measures which would ensure that Canadian cultural development
and expression could continue to flourish into the next century.
The Working Group was asked to provide a holistic appreciation
of the challenges, innovations and modifications that would
be necessary to preserve Canadian cultural dynamism through
a federal cultural policy. This Final Report presents the
results of five months of extensive and intensive discussion,
debate and reflection.
The
Working Group drew on the experience, passion and wisdom of
dozens of key figures working in every part of the Canadian
cultural sector. They shared a common determination to develop
a practical approach to the issue of a federal cultural policy
which would minimize trauma to the existing cultural policy
framework and impose clear disciplines on each and every measure,
institution or programme to ensure that their individual and
collective focus was on cultural objectives.
The
Working Group sees the implementation of a federal cultural
policy as an essential affirmation of the sovereign right
of Canada to manage its domestic cultural affairs in the way
it best sees fit. The affirmation of cultural sovereignty
is one of the key tools necessary to preserve and develop
the nation state of Canada . The measurement of effectiveness
of such a policy must be gauged by our collective ability
to enable Canadians to develop content in all media and to
facilitate the broadest possible access by our citizens to
these expressions of our shared national experience.
The
theme of access by Canadians to their artistic works and cultural
products is a recurring one throughout the Final Report of
the Working Group. The entire objective of maintaining a vibrant
community of artists and producers is to ensure that Canadians
have ready access to the stories and reflections that stem
from our shared experiences, aspirations and the diverse and
sometimes provocative interpretations of them. Throughout
the entire cultural policy framework, the achievement of this
goal of access must be one of the principal preoccupations
of government and the cultural sector alike.
A
federal cultural policy must preserve and enhance our collective
ability to celebrate those aspects of our national life that
distinguish us from others, such as the cultivation of our
two official languages, diversity, and the reality of our
First Peoples. The primacy of cultural objectives must inform
and direct any policies or programmes with industrial ramifications.
The Working Group was adamant that this discipline within
a federal cultural policy be seen clearly by both Canadians
and our international partners.
The
Working Group prescribes a legislative basis for a federal
cultural policy within the enabling legislation of the current
Department of Canadian Heritage. The revised legislation would
confer upon the renamed Department of Canadian Culture and
Heritage, the full responsibility for the management and development
of a federal cultural policy, including foreign ownership
and investment policies, all related content and carrier measures,
and the retention of Official Languages promotion activities.
The implantation of cultural policy objectives within the
Act would create a template through which, over a three year
period, all instruments within the federal cultural framework
would be brought into conformity.
To
oversee this process of harmonization, the Working Group has
recommended the creation of a Special Commission which would
be responsible for ensuring that each institution, measure
and programme is in full conformity with the objectives of
the federal cultural policy. The Special Commission would
have the authority to recommend to the Government whatever
changes are necessary to create a cultural policy framework
that is unified by and focused around the legislated cultural
policy objectives. In reaching its conclusions, the Special
Commission would consult broadly with those responsible for
affected programmes, institutions and measures, the cultural
sector and those interested Canadians from all walks of life.
The
Working Group believes that it is essential that the efforts
of the federal government do not remain static during the
workings of the Special Commission. Rather, building upon
the objectives of a federal cultural policy, the federal government
must proceed with further initiatives to foster and reward
creativity in our society through revisions to the Copyright
Act , and a broader range of measures to improve the
status of the artist, to build new audiences and increase
access by Canadians to our culture, and to fortify national
training institutions and sector-based professional development
and skills upgrading opportunities. It is also important that
strength be built into our national cultural institutions
to shape the next generation of Canadian talent and ensure
that the current generation can remain competitive with the
best artists and producers in the world.
Canadian
museums and heritage institutions preserve and present the
physical legacy of the Canadian experience. The Working Group
believes that this community must do more to enhance the sense
of ownership and access to the important collections they
maintain. Travelling exhibitions, and the use of new technologies
should be exploited more fully to reach this objective.
Turning
its eyes to the world stage, the Working Group also sees further
opportunities for innovation. The Third Pillar of Canadian
foreign policy is the promotion of Canadian culture and values.
The Working Group is not satisfied that this declaration has
translated into tangible improvements in the promotion of
Canadian artists and culture in the international arena.
It
recommends the creation of a new federal agency responsible
for the promotion of Canadian artists and cultural products
around the world. This agency, styled after the British Council,
would create a dedicated single-window through which support
to artists, arts organizations and cultural industries could
be funneled, enabling Canadian participation in trade fairs,
international festivals and exhibitions, and the exchange
of talent and skills development.
The
resolution of the long-standing tensions around Canadian cultural
policies emanating from the network of international trade
agreements to which Canada is party, was another subject addressed
by the Working Group. In the report of its Preliminary Findings,
the Working Group recommended that the efforts to establish
a separate international agreement which would remove culture
from the mainframe trade and investment agreements and rules
be a priority for government and the cultural sector. In the
Final Report, the Working Group presents the concept of Global
Parallel Rights which gives some form to the idea of a separate
international agreement on culture. The Working Group recommends
that this concept be added to the repertoire of the Canadian
negotiating position for all bi-lateral and multi-lateral
agreements and negotiations on trade and investment.
The
Working Group also examined the current policies regarding
foreign ownership and investment in cultural enterprises.
The concept of "net benefit" must be fortified to
ensure that the commitment to invest in Canadian productions
becomes a life-long feature of good corporate citizenship
in the Canadian market. The Working Group also reaffirms the
importance of placing the administration of these policies
within the jurisdiction of the Department of Canadian Culture
and Heritage.
An
important aspect of maintaining a strong base of domestic
talent is the creation of a sound financial footing for both
non-profit and industry components of the cultural sector.
To this end, the Working Group has recommended that the Minister
of Finance develop new incentives to encourage a growth in
donations by modest donors and to attract investment capital
to the sound recording, new media, book and magazine industries
similar to those in place for film and video production.
The
Working Group believes that the Special Commission should
examine with care and imagination the role and mandates of
the national cultural institutions. Agencies such as the CBC/SRC,
the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board,
Telefilm Canada and the National Arts Centre have undergone
profound changes as a result of the spending cuts of recent
years. These changes were often affected without due consideration
for the interrelationships that exist between the agencies
and their clientele. The Working Group sees the opportunity
to rebalance the manner in which these agencies can reinforce
each other, and work to provide increased access by Canadians
to their culture and enhance the development of a strong domestic
artistic and cultural talent pool.
The
sustenance of Canadian cultural sovereignty and the Canadian
imagination as a distinct voice at home and around the world
is worthy of the investment of public financing and political
will. The Working Group calls upon the Government of Canada
to redouble its efforts in this area by adopting its recommendations
for a federal cultural policy. The Working Group is firmly
convinced that if Canadians do not undertake this task, others
will do it for us through continuing challenges by our international
trading partners. Canada can take pride in what we have achieved
in the development of a distinctive Canadian cultural voice;
to risk its loss through inaction or neglect is unthinkable.
Summary
of Recommendations
•
The Working Group believes that the best approach is a simple
one. First, the policy must be based in legislation, in particular,
the legislation that has created the Department of Canadian
Heritage. This legislation should be amended to reflect a
number of elements:
•
change the name to the Department of Canadian Culture and
Heritage;
•
re-establish the linkage between cultural content and carrier
issues by conferring an exclusive mandate for these areas
to the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage;
•
articulate the key objectives of a Canadian cultural policy
framework, namely:
• i.
That the federal government recognize its vital role in the
sustenance, promotion and development of the arts, heritage
and cultural industries and confer the coordinating role for
these efforts upon the Department of Canadian Culture and
Heritage.
• ii.
That the federal cultural policy framework build upon the
two official language communities, and that it maintain throughout
its various components a strong commitment to the vitality
of this fundamental dimension of Canadian artistic and cultural
life.
• iii.
That the full array of institutions, departments, and agencies
involved in federal cultural policy facilitate the broadest
possible access by Canadians to works and productions by Canadian
artists and cultural producers.
•
That the Government of Canada, through the Department of Canadian
Culture and Heritage, apply the tools of legislation, regulation
and direct and indirect financial support measures as well
as the use of the taxation system in pursuit of its cultural
objectives.
•
That the Government of Canada confer upon the Department of
Canadian Culture and Heritage full authority to establish
and administer foreign investment measures in the arts and
cultural industries.
• iv.
That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage promote
and respect the values of regional and ethnocultural diversity,
the role of the First Peoples, and the need to foster among
Canadians a greater appreciation of our collective experience
and aspirations.
• v.
That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage be given
overall responsibility for the creation of an environment
respectful of and conducive to the work and rights of Canadian
creators and artists through revisions to the Copyright
Act , the Status of the Artist Act , and the
Cultural Property Act , and other instruments at
the disposition of the state.
• vi.
That the responsibility for the preservation and promotion
of works important to Canadian heritage in all of its manifestations
be supported through a variety of instruments dedicated to
this mission, including private and public museums and art
galleries.
• vii.
That the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage promote
and facilitate the development of a strong domestic base of
artists, creators, producers and audiences in partnership
with other levels of government, the private sector and the
cultural sector.
• viii.
That the various institutions, agencies, programmes and measures
that flow from a federal cultural policy framework be subject
to the full disciplines of transparency and public accountability.
•
The Working Group recommends that a Special Commission be
established to work with agencies, departments, and programmes
which have a cultural dimension to ensure that their activities
and priorities are consistent with the objectives of a federal
cultural policy. The Special Commission, composed of artists
and cultural workers, members of the general public, public
servants and representatives of the Standing Committee on
Canadian Heritage, would be given a mandate of no longer than
three years to accomplish its work.
The
ultimate objective of the Special Commission will be to ensure
that cultural policies, institutions, programmes, and measures
are based on the key objectives of federal cultural policy.
The
Special Commission must be satisfied that any element of the
federal cultural policy framework can demonstrate quantifiable
and qualitative evidence of its contribution to the key objectives
of federal cultural policy.
If
any element is found to be inconsistent with the objectives
of the policy, the Special Commission will recommend to the
Minister of Canadian Culture and Heritage appropriate revisions,
alternatives or a termination of the measure, programme or
institution.
•
The Working Group calls upon the Government of Canada to move
with dispatch to the third phase of revisions to the Copyright
Act and to commission an in-depth study of more responsive
mechanisms used around the world to develop or upgrade copyright
legislation.
The
Working Group also calls upon the Government of Canada to
establish a legal aid fund to assist creators and copyright
owners to underwrite the costs of legal challenges over the
exploitation of their work by unauthorized users. For most
individual creators, the defense of their economic or moral
rights represents an onerous burden that few can afford to
shoulder. The net result of this situation is a de facto loss
of economic benefits owing to the creator and copyright owner.
•
The Working Group recommends that the status of the artist
be the focus of a special meeting of federal and provincial
governments, during which a broad action plan to advance the
status of Canadian artists and creators would be devised.
The involvement of key artistic and cultural labour and advocacy
organizations would foster a better appreciation of the priorities
most requiring attention.
•
The Working Group recommends that the funding of arts service
and cultural industry trade organizations be identified as
a priority for federal and provincial Ministers responsible
for culture.
•
The Working Group believes that our collective ability to
sustain these institutions is critical to the long-term health
of Canadian culture. In the process of revising and refining
federal cultural policies, attention must be given to a policy
for national training institutions which will permit them
access to adequate and predictable funding, so that their
energies can be properly focused on their primary vocation
of shaping forthcoming generations of artists and cultural
workers.
•
That the Department of Human Resources Development Canada
in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage
secure stable multi-year funding for nationally significant
arts training, and for professional development and skills
upgrading for artists and cultural workers.
That
in negotiating the transfer of labour market services to the
provincial governments, the Department of Human Resources
Development Canada ensure that sector-based training and professional
development councils are specifically referenced as the optimal
delivery mechanism for the cultural sector and that specific
funding of these bodies be part of the written delegation
of responsibility.
•
The Working Group recommends that the Special Commission dedicate
considerable attention to the manner in which the important
national cultural institutions complement and support each
other in their shared mission to develop, celebrate and promote
Canadian cultural expression.
•
The Working Group recommends that the Special Commission examine
various models of closer collaboration among the CBC/SRC,
the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada to ensure that
they make the strongest contribution possible to access by
Canadians and the development and promotion of Canadian cultural
expression.
•
The Working Group recommends that a Canadian City of Culture
project be placed on the agenda of the next federal/provincial
meeting of culture ministers for discussion and implementation.
The Working Group also recommends that the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities explore the feasibility of this project among
its members. The Working Group recommends that this initiative
start in the year 2000.
•
The Working Group believes that Canadians should have a right
of full access to their heritage. We therefore recommend that:
•
Museums must have the responsibility to make their collections
accessible to all. Creative solutions include more travelling
exhibitions, exchanges, educational programmes, and enhanced
distribution through the use of new technologies;
•
Federal, provincial, and municipal governments must work in
partnership to ensure that Canadian museums and heritage institutions
are viable and solidly funded. They must develop an outreach
strategy to involve the full participation of Canadians in
the celebration of our culture;
•
Museums and heritage institutions have a major role to play
in the promotion, discovery and social integration of artists,
scholars, and connoisseurs through which they will advance
creativity in all Canadians;
•
The development of a national conservation strategy will ensure
that our collective patrimony is properly cared for and documented.
This strategy must reach beyond the museum and heritage community
to involve our citizens, corporations, and non-profit organizations.
•
The Working Group recommends that the Minister of Finance
in his next federal budget include amendments to the Income
Tax Act to facilitate the so-called "stretch"
provisions, which reward increased donations by the average
donor to charities and registered arts service organizations.
•
The Working Group recommends that tax incentives for investment
in all cultural industries be developed and implemented as
soon as possible. These incentives are central to the ability
of Canadian producers to remain productive and competitive
both domestically and internationally.
•
The Working Group recommends that the federal government immediately
commission a joint working group of the Department of Canadian
Heritage and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade to develop an implementation plan for an international
cultural agency, with a view to implementation by January
1, 2000 .
•
The Working Group recommends that the Parliamentary Subcommittee
on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment convene
hearings as soon as possible to give shape and substance to
a declaration of Global Parallel Rights, which would form
an ongoing reference point for the elaboration of international
trade and investment agreements as a condition of Canadian
ratification. This task should be completed before the Millennium
Round of the World Trade Organization negotiations in the
year 2000.
•
The Working Group urges a strengthening of the "net benefit"
test to ensure that the production, distribution, and promotion
of content by Canadians is a permanent commitment by foreign
investors receiving approval to operate in any aspect of culture
in Canada. That commitment must be seen as a mark of good
corporate citizenship and a fair recompense for the access
that foreign enterprises enjoy to the Canadian market.
Further,
it is our firm belief that the responsibility for the administration
of foreign investment in the cultural sector must be transferred
to the Department of Canadian Culture and Heritage.
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Working
Group Members (Phase 2)
Mireille
Gagné (Chair), Canadian Music Centre, CCA President
R. H. Thomson (Vice-Chair), Actor, Canadian Actors' Equity
Association
Curtis Barlow, Confederation Centre of the Arts
Francine Bertrand-Venne, SPACQ
Dr. Thomas Condon, ret. Professor, University of New Brunswick
Lynn Cunningham, CMPA, CCA Board Member
Claudette Fortier, SODRAC
Jocelyn Harvey, Arts and Communication Consultant
Myrna Kostash, Writer, CCA Board Member
Jane Logan, Specialty and Premium Television Association
Roy MacSkimming, Association of Canadian Publishers
John McAvity, Canadian Museums Association
Catherine Murray, Simon Fraser University
Garry Neil, ACTRA
Ellie O'Day, Pacific Music Association
Richard Paradis, Communication, Information, Culture Group
Paul Spurgeon, SOCAN
Burke Taylor, Office of Cultural Affairs, City of Vancouver
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