In December 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tasked the Department of Canadian Heritage with a mandate of strengthening our “cultural and creative industries”, given that “Canada’s stories, shaped by our immense diversity, deserve to be celebrated and shared with the world.”
In April 2016, the Canadian Heritage announced that it would embark on a far-reaching public consultation with regard to the programs, legislation and regulations that govern Canada’s cultural industries. The objective was to determine how to best “strengthen the creation, discovery and export of Canadian content in a digital world.”
In November 2016, CIMA presented a submission to Canadian Heritage outlining measures that can be taken to update Canada’s cultural policies and make them more compatible with the needs of a digital world.
In particular, CIMA recommended establishing a more level playing field in the cultural economy, enabling independent music creators to be more fairly compensated for the increased consumption of their content on online streaming sites and other digital media platforms.
As part of the Canadian Content in a Digital World consultation, CIMA’s recommendations to Minister Joly and the Department of Canadian Heritage included:
- Increasing investment in the Canada Music Fund;
- Establishing a $10 million dedicated annual music export fund;
- Closing loopholes in Canada’s Copyright Act;
- Ensuring that the Copyright Board of Canada makes decisions in a timelier and fair market-driven manner; and
- Continuing to fully support the spirit and principles behind existing CanCon regulations, to name but a few.
To access CIMA’s full submission to the Canadian Heritage Digital World policy consultation, click here.