Highlights:
Vol. 2, No. 2, March 2004
Minister Scherrer Pledges Canada
Will Remain Leader on Cultural Diversity File
Canada’s
Minister of Canadian Heritage has sent a strong signal of her determination
to have Canada continue to play a key role in moving the campaign for
an international convention on cultural diversity to a successful conclusion.
Speaking in Ottawa at the Canadian Conference of the Arts’s 2004
Chalmers Conference on February 27, Minister Scherrer singled out
the campaign for a convention on cultural diversity as a key file for
her at the international level.
"Expressing diversity is a national goal that coincides with an international
issue", the Minister noted.
"In practical terms, this means that we want our artists to be able
to reach audiences in their home market. We want the people of Canada
to have access to their creations. Culture is a vital link that brings
Canadians together and gives us a unique voice in the world community.
"We must act now if we want children here and in other countries
to be able to find their lives reflected when they open a book, turn on
the television or computer, or watch a movie."
With respect to the UNESCO process to develop the international convention
on cultural diversity, the Minister noted the government had clearly stated
its support for this initiative in the Speech
from the Throne, and that "Canada will continue to play a leadership
role in the drafting of an International Convention on Cultural Diversity".
In this regard, the Minister emphasized that "I certainly intend
to work for its acceptance, with the help of Quebec's Minister of Culture
and Communications, Line Beauchamp, as well as my counterparts from other
provinces and territories".
Minister Scherrer concluded her remarks regarding the cultural diversity
campaign by underscoring that "cultural affirmation is not a synonym
for protectionism. Of all the world’s countries, Canada is the most
open to other cultures. Proof of this is in the films shown on our movie
and television screens, the music played on our radio stations, the magazines
on our newsstands, and the books on display in our bookshops.
"This openness enriches Canadian society. But it should not make
our own creations invisible in our own markets."
International Trade Minister Emphasizes WTO
as Focus of Canada’s Trade Strategy;
Clearly States that Culture is Off The Table
Canada’s International
Trade Minister gave one of his first major statements on international
trade as part of the Conference
on WTO Services held in Toronto at the end of February and used the
occasion to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to international trade negotiations
while setting clear limits on what it is prepared to include in the talks.
Speaking on February 27, Jim Peterson highlighted Canada’s bilateral
agreements with Chile, Israel and Costa Rica as well as negotiations now
underway with Singapore and the central America Four (El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua) nations. But he reaffirmed that the World Trade
Organization "is and must remain the cornerstone of Canada’s
trade policy".
Despite the impasse among WTO member nations at Cancun last September—which
he downplayed not "as a failure, but more as a speed bump"—the
Minister said the WTO "is the only forum from which Canada can achieve
its key trade policy objectives, namely strengthening disciplines on trade
remedies, and getting rid of world agricultural subsidies, particularly
in the United States and EU. Only a multilateral approach through the
WTO can achieve these goals".
At the same time, the Minister was careful to set limits on Canada’s
approach to bilateral, regional and WTO negotiations. "I must stress
that certain areas are not open to negotiation. I refer, of course, to
areas of critical importance to Canada, reflecting our own unique values,
such as our health care, public education, social services and culture.
They are not on the table, they never have been and never will be."
In terms of pushing the WTO talks forward post-Cancun, the Minister referenced
recent meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and European
Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, as well as ongoing work in Geneva,
as part of a continuing effort by Canada to maintain some forward momentum
in the WTO Doha Round talks. "By spring, we should be ready to assess
progress and decide on a meeting of ministers as soon as possible."
Globalization Not Synonymous With
Homogeneity,
Says Premier Charest; Reaffirms Quebec’s Commitment
to Move Cultural Diversity File Forward
on International Stage
Active engagement on the international
level has been a hallmark of Quebec governments since the 1960s, and
this has been as important to maintaining Quebec’s identity as
it has been to developing its economy, Premier Jean
Charest told an audience of public administrators in Quebec last
month.
Speaking February 25 at the Ecole national d’administration publique
(ENAP), the Premier told his audience that for forty years "principles
of identity and commerce have been the engines driving Quebec’s
engagement at the international level." (our translation)
"Our orientation toward Europe, notably, flows in part from our
unique situation. As Francophones representing two per cent of the population
of North America, we have always felt the need to maintain international
relations, notably with France."
From the Quiet Revolution on, Charest said, successive governments had
taken care to pursue international initiatives of concern to Quebec
while respecting Canadian foreign policy.
More recently, he noted, new concerns—about the environment, about
global security—have emerged from the continuing process of globalization.
"It is clear that several considerations—cultural, political
and economic—are raised by globalization.
"Far from renouncing our particular identities, we are witnessing
two movements that may seem contradictory. On the one hand, the globalization
of economies and the need for coherence among large groupings of nations,
and on the other hand, the growing assertion, coming from the four corners
of the globe, of cultural and linguistic distinctiveness.
"For us, it is clear that globalization is not synonymous with
homogeneity. For example, on the question of cultural diversity, we
have stated our intentions clearly. The Minister of International Relations
and the Minister of Culture have accomplished excellent work on this
file. For us, culture is not a rampart against anyone, but well and
truly a springboard out to the entire world."
Later in the speech, he reiterated that "Quebec will assume its
international responsibilities with respect to cultural diversity."
"Much is at stake on this issue. Quebec is working at the side
of France and the Canadian government in favour of a treaty, within
the ambit of UNESCO, that would assure the right of states to maintain
and promote their culture. On this question, Quebec, which has been
able to maintain its language and its culture in a difficult demographic
environment, is a key player. We will position ourselves to defend all
peoples who do not have the advantage of sheer numbers."
Quebec Deputy Premier Pursues Discussions
On Cultural Diversity in Meetings in Senegal, Burkina Faso
Cultural Diversity was featured on the agenda for meetings that Deputy
Premier Monique Gagnon Tremblay had with political leaders in Senegal
and Burkina
Faso the week of March 1-5.
Gagnon-Tremblay, who is also Quebec’s Minister of International Relations
and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie, started her trip by meeting
with the Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade. She then travelled to
Burkina Faso for meetings with that country’s President, Blaise Compaoré,
Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga Yonli, and Youssouf Ouédraogo,
the minister responsible for Foreign affairs and Regional cooperation
and head of the organizing committee for the Xth Summit of La Francophonie,
to be held in Burkina Faso next November.
In addition, Minister Gagnon-Tremblay met with Mahamoudou Ouédraogo,
Burkina Faso’s Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism, as well as
representatives of the country’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity.
La Francophonie has been one of the key multilateral organizations to
step forward as early supporters for a convention on cultural diversity—notably
in declarations issued following the Moncton
Summit of 1999 and the Beirut
Summit of 2002.
Update is published by
Canada's Coalition for Cultural Diversity.
154 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 240
Montreal, QUE H2T 2N7
T. (514) 277-2666
F. (514) 277-9994
www.cdc-ccd.org
e-mail:
Editor: Jim McKee
Contributors: Robert Pilon,
Mélanie Marron, Sylvie
Riendeau