Question Period Notes
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In accordance with the Access to Information Act, the government proactively publishes the package of question period notes that were prepared by a government institution for the minister and that were in use on the last sitting day in June and December.
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On April 17, 2020, the Prime Minister announced a $500 million investment in the creation of the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support organizations responsible for culture, heritage and sport. The fund is an additional and temporary aid measure. This is $500 million in emergency support offered to meet the financial needs of cultural, heritage and sports organizations that are suffering significant losses as a result of COVID-19. The funding aims to ensure the continuity of the activities of organizations whose viability is in danger due to COVID-19. The fund will provide financial support that will tie in with other aid measures in place. It will be administered by Canadian Heritage with the support of its partners.
In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the Government announced on March 25, 2020, a simplified process for assessing financial assistance files, with the aim of accelerating the payment of amounts allocated to recipients of the Book Fund Canada (FLC) and the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF).
The 2020-2021 Grants and Contributions envelope for the Canada Book Fund is $42.2M. This includes a 500,000$ supplement from the Creative Export Strategy to support Canada’s Guest of Honour presence at the Frankfurt 2020 Book fair, and $5M to enhance the production and distribution of accessible digital books.
As part of the Creative Export Strategy, the Department of Canadian Heritage launched a new export funding program in June 2018, named Creative Export Canada. The landmark investment of $35 million over five years (2018-2019 to 2022-2023) provides funding to Canadian organizations for high-potential export projects that amplify the creative industries’ global reach.
Various Indigenous organizations have expressed concerns about the adequacy of legal protections afforded to Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions. The protection of Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions was raised as part of the recent Parliamentary Review of the Copyright Act and is an element of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, which the Government of Canada has committed to implementing.
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Shared Services Canada is working to ensure increased remote access capacity and security for federal public servants working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada Digital Services, OCIO and SSC are taking action to support the critical services of other departments in addition to general preparedness activities.