Federal Election 2011: What to ask your local candidates (Part 2)
CCA Bulletin 14/11
April 6, 2011
The Canadian Conference of the Arts’ main mandate — one that has been financially supported by the federal government for over 40 years — is to contribute to an informed public debate on cultural issues. In keeping with this mandate and in order to assist Canadians interested in learning about how arts and culture are being discussed during the 2011 electoral campaign, the CCA has identified six broad areas of importance for artists, creators, cultural institutions and industries. The CCA has developed a set of questions pertaining to each issue. These questions can be presented to candidates when they come knocking at your door or during larger debates.
The second part of our 2011 Federal Election Doorstep Kit includes questions that touch on three important issues affecting the arts and culture sector in Canada. The topics raised include: ; and . Each set of suggested questions is preceded by a short background summary on the issue. We encourage you to disseminate the responses you receive, either in writing or in a public forum.
1)
the issue of modernizing copyright legislation;
2) telecommunications, new media and broadcasting
3)
Canada’s heritage institutions
These questions have also been sent to the leaders of each political party. As is made clear in the CCA’s Federal Election Rules of Engagement, the CCA will present an analysis of the positions of each federal party as they affect the interests of Canadians with regards to arts, culture and heritage. The CCA will not endorse any candidate or political party. The decision to cast a ballot is the right and duty of every Canadian citizen, who can form their judgments on an individual basis.
Issue: Modernizing the Copyright Act
Background
In June 2010, the Conservative government introduced Bill C-32: the Copyright Modernization Act. After passing its second reading in the House of Commons in November 2010, the bill was sent to study by an ad hoc legislative committee.
The CCA acknowledges the urgent need to modernize Canada’s intellectual property law so that the country is in line with its international obligations under the World Intellectual Property Organization, and so that Canadian creators are able to protect their work in the digital environment. Such legislation is the cornerstone of the creative economy in a digital universe. Yet, while C-32 suited the needs of several players, its numerous and often vague exceptions were seen by most artists and creators as an expropriation of their rights without compensation. Conversely, those who stood to benefit from those same exceptions were frustrated by the fact that the exceptions were only applicable if their works were not protected by digital locks.
In February 2011, 97 arts and arts service organizations from across the country signed a joint statement exposing the apparent problems in Bill C-32. The joint statement brings together an unprecedented coalition of organizations from the arts and culture industries representing writers, performers, actors, illustrators, musicians, composers, publishers, poets, playwrights, producers and songwriters, all urging Parliamentarians to make changes to Bill C-32. This coalition is a crucial part of a $46 billion industry that employs more than 630,000 Canadians and that, as often stated by Heritage Minister James Moore, contributes twice as much to the GDP as the forestry industry.
Suggested questions:
- Precisely when will your party introduce revisions to the Copyright Act in the next Parliament?
- What types of amendments do you intend to put forward?
- Does your party support collective management of copyright as an efficient way to ensure public access to works and fair compensation to creators and other rights owners? Please explain why.
- Which elements of Bill C-32 would your party keep, and which elements of the bill would your party remove or change in a new bill to modernize the Copyright Act?
Issue: Broadcasting, New Media and Telecommunications
Background
The CCA has long been interested in broadcasting for three main reasons: the industry provides a large number of cultural jobs and support to other cultural fields of activity; within the Broadcasting Act, one can find the most articulate expression of cultural policy ever adopted by Parliament; and finally, audiovisual products constitute the form of cultural products most widely consumed by Canadians.
The CCA has always supported legislative and regulatory measures to ensure the ownership and effective control of Canadian cultural industries and telecommunications by Canadians. The first reason why is because Canadian owners have been deemed more likely to tell Canadian stories. The second reason ties in to the assumption that it is easier to regulate Canadian companies as opposed to foreign ones. This long-standing Canadian cultural policy was weakened in 2009 when the government overturned the CRTC’s ruling in the Globalive case. In February 2011, the Federal Court ruled that the government breached the law, sending the case over to the Federal Court of Appeal.
For several years, the CCA has urged the CRTC to ensure that owners of new distribution platforms (internet and wireless) provide the same financial support to the production of Canadian programming as do owners of over-the-air, cable and satellite distribution services. Given the increased concentration of ownership and vertical integration of telecommunications and broadcasting over the past few years, this demand seems even more logical.
Suggested questions:
- Does your party intend to maintain the long-standing policy concerning ownership and effective control of Canadian cultural industries? Does that include telecommunications and if not, why?
- Will your party support a policy to make internet and wireless service providers contribute financially to the development of Canadian content for all distribution platforms, like other distribution undertakings?
- Given your party’s support for the heritage committee’s recommendation that the annual per capita subsidy to the CBC be raised to $40 within the framework of a long-term agreement, when do you plan to implement this recommendation and over what time frame?
Issue: Canadian Heritage Institutions
Background
We are currently underway with our third federal election in five years. Yet, no progress has been made with regards to a new federal museum policy, which was the subject of an all-party agreement in 2005. However, the heritage community has garnered some attention. While the government has injected important sums of money in to the maintenance of a number of national properties (Canadian Museum of Nature, National Arts Centre, Canadian Museum of Civilization, etc.), there were some significant cuts to the museum community (the Museums Assistance Program lost $4.6 million and the Exhibition Transportation Service was terminated). On the other hand, some top up payments to national museums were doled out last year as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The government endorsed the creation of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg and gave Pier 21 in Halifax national museum status. These are the first two national museums outside the national capital region. The Portrait Gallery of Canada was put on permanent hold and downgraded to a program component of Library and Archives Canada, while the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography lost its home and has been relocated to a small space within the National Gallery of Canada.
Suggested question:
- Given your party’s support of the 2005 national museum policy consensus, which policies and programs are you now proposing for museums and other heritage institutions?