Ottawa Launches Overhaul Of Cultural Policy

The Department of Canadian Heritage has launched a review of the federal government's cultural policy toolkit that could bring significant changes to the governance framework that underpins the broadcasting, media and cultural industries.

Announced this past weekend by Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, the review is a response to the digital shift that is transforming the creative sector. The stated goal of the review is to ensure that Canadian content is positioned to succeed in an increasingly global marketplace which, as stakeholders well know, has been buffeted by the rapid evolution of new technologies that have changed the ways content is created and consumed.

Minister Joly made it clear in an interview with the Globe and Mail that each of the main governance levers – laws, policies, institutions and programs – will be evaluated. She told the Globe that she believes "the current model is broken, and we need to have a conversation to bring it up to date"