FROM THE DESK OF Alain Pineau: What’s happening with the CCA?
CCA Bulletin 29/11
October 24, 2011
I am back from pre-consultation sessions in Toronto and Montréal, with my head full of the several expressions of support and the constructive suggestions offered, and I realize that I have not communicated with you in a long time. I can assure you that it is not because we have been idle at the CCA during the past month, far from it! I will come back to the consultation process at the end of this bulletin, but first, here is a quick wrap-up of highlights of what’s been happening in Parliament and at the CCA.
Bill C-11 on Copyright reform is moving forward quickly
It was to nobody’s surprise that on September 29th, the government tabled Bill C-11, a bill to modernize the Copyright Act, which is the exact copy of its predecessor Bill C-32. C-11 was debated in second reading on October 18th and 21st and will be sent to a Legislative Committee as soon as this debate is over. Ministers Moore and Paradis, both in charge of the file, want to see the bill adopted as soon as possible so that the new Act can be officially promulgated before the end of the year or as soon as possible in the New Year. The government seems to be open to some purely technical amendments, but will not move on the basic principles behind the bill. Given the new political context created by the May election, those cultural organizations which, while welcoming some aspects of Bill C-32, had expressed a strong opposition to many of its articles have been forced to change their approach and through such technical amendments, will try to minimize what they still consider to be the negative impacts contained in C-11. As soon as we know more about the committee process, we will provide you with a short analysis of the make-up of the Legislative Committee, the positions of the parties and a description of what is to come.
Free-trade negotiations with the European Union
The ninth round of negotiations between Canada and the EU for the conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) took place last week in Ottawa. These conversations continue to be surrounded by secrecy and to raise the opposition of a number of civil society organizations both here and in Europe. We are following the file closely and will report on the briefing session by Steve Verheul, the Canadian chief negotiator, scheduled for the end of the week. We may find out if cultural issues have been broached finally during this latest session; they have so far been kept on the back burner while more pressing issues were being discussed.
150th anniversary of Canada – Minister Moore at the Heritage Committee
Heritage Minister James Moore appeared before the Heritage Committee on October 20th to discuss plans for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations. At this point there are not yet any concrete plans, however the Minister discussed the vision of the celebration as an event to promote pride and belonging amongst all Canadians and as an occasion to promote education and sharing of culture across the country. He said that they would be soliciting input from Canadians and working with regions and organizations across the country in order to include what is important to those communities. The importance of support and involvement from the private sector was discussed as well as re-assessing and updating the physical infrastructure from the centennial in order to leave long-term legacy. The Minister also stressed that this would be a culmination of many grand celebrations over the next few years, including the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth and the commemoration of the War of 1812. He added that he would like to work with Montreal for celebrations of its 375th anniversary in 2017.
Day on the Hill organized by the Canadian Coalition for the Arts
Many of the CCA’s Board members are part of the contingent of some 85 culture professionals who tomorrow will have meetings with over 120 MPs, Senators and high ranking civil servants on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the third such event organized by the Canadian Arts Coalition. A triple message to be delivered: the government should maintain the funding of the Canada Council for the Arts at $181 million in the next Budget 2012–13; it would be wise to invest $10 million in the same fiscal year to better integrate arts and culture in foreign policy initiatives; and, finally, the government should continue to favour access by Canadians to their culture through maintaining all main support programs by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Thinking Culture Forums
The fist forum of season two of the Thinking Culture series presented by the CCA and the University of Ottawa took place on October 11 with discussions on culture, sustainable communities and Agenda 21. Participant feedback was very positive about the nature of the topic and the exchanges following the presentations. The topic of the November 17th forum is: Where is the Canadian publishing industry going? The guest speaker is Douglas Gibson, former publisher and editor at McClelland & Stewart. His latest book, Stories About Storytellers: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau and Others will be available for sale and the author will gladly sign copies.
ACSUS Conference
I would like to remind you that the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) is offering CCA members the student rate of $150 when registering for its upcoming conference in Ottawa from November 16th to 20th. This is a bargain when you consider the wealth of workshops you can attend. Take a glimpse at the program by visiting the ACSUS website.
And in conclusion …
The month of November will be just as busy as the one that is winding down. As several of you know, the CCA has been working since the beginning of the summer on a new business plan with the goal of complete financial autonomy. This exercise follows the federal government’s decision to put an end to more than 35 years of financial support for the CCA. Our Board of Directors is convinced of the necessity of an organization like the CCA playing the unique role at the heart of the Canadian arts, culture and heritage sector. We have decided to rise to the challenge and consequently, our Board has submitted a request to Heritage Canada for transition financing over a period of two years in order to allow the CCA to reinvent itself.
Last Wednesday, October 19th, we held consultations in Montreal with 20 organizations in the context of an enlarged committee on the political priorities of the CCA. A similar meeting with approximately 30 organizations took place the preceding week in Toronto. Over the course of these two reunions, we gathered very helpful comments that will fuel the national consultation process being organized by the CCA. Additionally, these suggestions will be discussed at Board meetings taking place this week in Ottawa and will serve as the basis for group discussions being organized for the end of November in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa. After the holidays, the consultation will be opened to the whole country when I meet with as many organizations and individuals as possible in a dozen cities across the continent, from Victoria to St. Johns.
And through all of this, soon we will launch our new website, a project that has been ongoing for several months, thanks to the support of the Trillium Foundation, among others.
As you can see, there is quite enough to keep us busy! And I promise that we will keep you regularly informed of progress on all fronts. Finally, I would like to reiterate what a pleasure it is to discuss with you, over the phone or in person, the issues that are important to us all. Don’t hesitate to contact me!