Creative Canada: Minister Joly outlines the Government's vision for cultural and creative industries in Montréal

Creative Canada is the federal government's road map for supporting our creators and artists, ensuring their content reaches a wide and diverse audience at home and abroad, and protecting and promoting our cultural identity

MONTREAL, Dec. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Last September, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, launched Creative Canada: the Government of Canada's vision for the future of our creative industries in a digital world.

Today, Minister Joly delivered a speech at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, where she presented the main themes of Creative Canada, the first-ever federal strategy developed to help our creative industries thrive and succeed in the digital age. The renewed policy approach rests on three pillars: investing in our creators and creative industry professionals, promoting the discovery and distribution of our content at home and globally, and working to strengthen public broadcasting and support local news.

Minister Joly took the opportunity to highlight the following initiatives:

• Supporting our creators and artists through increased funding to the Canada Media Fund, starting in 2018. A third of grants awarded through the fund support French-language content, including Unité 9 and L'Échappée. This is in addition to the $2.3 billion investment the Government has made in arts and culture since 2016.
• A review of the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act to ensure that these laws meet the needs of today's digital world. This also includes strengthening the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada, our public broadcaster. Further, the Minister will underscore the importance of Canadian creators in a competitive creative marketplace in the context of the upcoming Parliamentary review of the Copyright Act.
• Investment of $125 million over five years to support Canada's first export strategy for creative industries. As part of this strategy, Minister Joly will be leading Canada's first creative industries trade mission to China in 2018, with the objective of increasing market entry for our creators and creative industry professionals and building strong diplomatic, cultural and economic relations with China.

Minister Joly also took the opportunity to reiterate the importance of cultural industries in the context of free trade negotiations. The protection of the cultural exemption is a priority for our government as a part of the NAFTA negotiations.

This speech follows a recent announcement in which Minister Joly underscored the importance of cultural diversity by granting a one-time investment of $100,000 in the Coalition for Cultural Diversity. This investment seeks to broaden the understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the digital age. The funding will also allow the Coalition to continue hosting the secretariat of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) and to keep the Federation's base in Montréal.

The arts and culture sector is a $54.6-billion industry in Canada. In Quebec, culture generates sales of $11.9 billion and represents more than 150,000 quality jobs, which are vital to the province's economy. Culture is one of the main pillars supporting Montréal's tourism industry and a key component of the city's identity as an international-calibre cultural destination. Through Creative Canada, the Government of Canada will ensure that our creative industries continue to thrive and are key players in our future economy.

Quotes

"Culture is at the heart of Montréal's distinctiveness, personality and history. The creative sector supports countless high-quality jobs that help grow our middle class and support families throughout Quebec and across the country. Through Creative Canada, we will enact policies that help our creators and creative industry professionals address the challenges of today's digital reality, while protecting and promoting our cultural identity."

—The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Quick Facts

Canada's creative sector grows our country's economy and provides important jobs that help support the middle class.

The arts and culture sector provides direct jobs for more than 630,000 Canadians, as well as countless spin-off jobs created as a result of cultural production and tourism.

Creative Canada supports high-quality content in French and English for audiences in Canada and around the world.

In 2014, culture contributed $11.9 billion to Quebec's economy, generating 3.5 percent of the province's gross domestic product. The 150,749 jobs linked to culture account for 3.7 percent of all jobs in Quebec.

The Government of Canada has invested $2.3 billion in arts and culture, currently the largest investment of any G7 country.

The creative industries trade mission to China in 2018 will support cultural organizations and businesses looking to build new partnerships and business relationships.

Associated Links

Speech—Launch of Creative Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2017/09/creative_canada_-avisionforcanadascreativeindustries.html

Creative Canada Policy Framework https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/creative-canada/framework.html

Consultation Report https://www.canadiancontentconsultations.ca/home

Minister Joly Announces Her Intention to Lead Canada's First Creative Industries Trade Mission to China in April 2018 https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/canada-china-trade-mission-2018.html

Minister Joly Announces Government of Canada Support for the Coalition for Cultural Diversity https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2017/11/minister_joly_announcesgovernmentofcanadasupportforthecoalitionf.html

Creative Canada – Changes to Policies, Programs and Legislation https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2017/09/creative_canada_changestopoliciesprogramsandlegislation.html

SOURCE Canadian Heritage