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.
The question period notes may be partially or fully redacted in accordance with the legislation; for example, if the notes contain information related to national security or personal information. (Learn more about exemptions and exclusions.)
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In June 2019, The Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie announced a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa (ACFO) in order to support the bilingual character of Canada’s capital.
On June 5, 2018, the departments of Canadian Heritage and Innovation, Science and Economic Development announced the launch of the review of the Broadcasting Act, the Telecommunications Act, and the Radiocommunication Act. The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel has completed its consultations and is expected to publish its final report by the end of January 2020.
Some stakeholders have expressed concerns that CBC/Radio-Canada competes with the private sector for advertising revenues, and recommend that the Government should impose stricter guidelines on CBC/Radio‑Canada with regard to its mandate and focus. On November 14, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced workforce reductions of approximately 30 positions, most of them in the Corporation’s newsroom in Toronto. On November 20, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that it is reversing its decision to consolidate local radio newscasts in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in light of backlash from staff, listeners and politicians, including the Yukon Premier and Finance Minister.
In response to recent reporting on the Maison de Radio-Canada project by TVA and Le Journal de Montréal, CBC has confirmed that it will release all the costs related to the new Maison de Radio-Canada when the project is completed, that the new building will be delivered on time on December 31, 2019 and that no additional funding has been requested from the government for the MRC project.
In Budget 2019, the Government made a $19.4 million investment over four years, as of 2019-20, to fund the second phase of the Department of Canada Heritage’s Digital Citizen Initiative.
Changes to the Canada Media Fund announced in the Creative Canada framework and Budget 2018.
The Parliamentary review of the Copyright Act was launched in March 2018 under the leadership of the Standing Committee of Industry, Science and Technology. To support the review, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage conducted a study on remuneration models for artists and creative industries.
On November 30, 2018, Canada, the United States and Mexico signed the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The CUSMA includes an extensive section on copyright that covers a number of items, notably: term of protection, notice-and-notice, national treatment and rights management information.
In negotiating the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), Canada agreed to require simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl. Allowing simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl will mean that Canadians will no longer get to see U.S. ads on television, as they have for the past two Super Bowls. Canadian viewers will see Canadian ads, allowing the current Canadian rights holder to better monetize the rights for the Super Bowl in Canada.
Canada also agreed to give U.S. programming services specializing in home shopping, including Canadianized versions of these U.S. programming services, access to the Canadian market.
The Memorial to the Victims of Communism—Canada, a Land of Refuge has recently begun construction and fabrication. Work on site is expected to be completed by Summer 2020, at which time the monument will be unveiled.