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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In his 2019 mandate letter, the Minister of Canadian Heritage was directed to “…work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to introduce a new Cultural Diplomacy strategy with at least one international mission each year to promote Canadian culture and creators around the world.” Canadian Heritage is currently collaborating with Global Affairs Canada to identify key guiding principles for this work and agree on shared roles and responsibilities to design and implement the eventual strategy.
Through the mandate letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Government has committed to creating new regulations for social media platforms, starting with a requirement that all platforms remove illegal content, including hate speech, within 24 hours or face significant penalties. This should include other online harms such as radicalization, incitement to violence, exploitation of children, or creation or distribution of terrorist propaganda.
The Government acknowledges that there are no Indigenous Languages that are considered to be safe in Canada, and three-quarters of Indigenous languages in Canada are endangered. The Government has committed to ensuring that the Indigenous Languages Act is fully implemented in order to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages in Canada and committed to move forward with adequate, sustainable, and long term funding to support the full Implementation of the Act.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage has been tasked, by way of his mandate letter, to co-develop a framework to enable the repatriation of Indigenous cultural property and ancestral remains.
The Government of Canada continues to assume a leadership role to ensure that sport and cultural industries are free from harassment, abuse and discrimination.
2018 Canadian Income Survey and Market Basket Measure Comprehensive Review
On 18 February 2020, a Canadian National (CN) Rail train carrying various dangerous goods was involved in a derailment near Emo, ON.
The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada is in the exploratory process with Canadian parties interested in bidding to host the 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games. On February 19, 2020, Hamilton City Council voted to endorse Hamilton100’s bid for the 2030 Games, which will allow the Hamilton-based group to submit their further developed hosting concept on March 9, 2020.
The reinstated Court Challenges Program has been operational since January 14, 2019. On February 5, 2020, media reported that the Court Challenges Program has awarded $250,000 to the English Montreal School Board: $125,000 to fund its challenge of Quebec’s secularism law (Bill 21) and an additional $125,000 to fund its challenge regarding the transfer of two of its schools to the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île. On February 6, the English Montreal School Board announced that it would not use federal funding for a court challenge. On February 13, the English Montreal School Board asked the Government of Quebec to allow it to use the federal funding, to which it responded by the negative.