‘No compromise’ on NAFTA cultural exemptions: ministers

Canada’s heritage and culture ministers are of one mind when it comes to the ongoing renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the need to ensure cultural exemptions remain in the new agreement, Quebec culture minister Luc Fortin said Wednesday. “This is an extremely important issue for the cultural media in Quebec as well as for our government, and we believe no compromise is possible when it comes to the cultural exception,” Fortin said at a press conference in Orford, Que., following the 2017 Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage. “We want the cultural exception to be maintained,” he said, according to simultaneous translation. “I can tell you that today, with the federal government and alongside all of our colleagues from the provinces and the territories, we’ve reached a very strong consensus and we are in solidarity on the issue,” Fortin said. Fortin praised statements by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland last week that cultural protection is a priority in the renegotiations. The first round of negotiations wrapped up Sunday in Washington. It will be followed by another round in Mexico in September, with a third in Canada to follow. “I can say now that 10 provinces and three territories stand firm behind the federal government on that issue,” Fortin said. Those exceptions were targeted by U.S. stakeholders in submissions to their own government earlier this summer. In the Canadian consultation, groups like the Council of Canadians and Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) said cultural protections should be NAFTA priorities. Fortin also touched on the upcoming review of the Copyright Act, which is expected to begin after Nov. 7. “We spoke about copyright in the digital era. In fact, this is going to be changing our consumer habits. But also it’s a matter about fair payment given to our creators and to our artists,” he said. “And I’m speaking on behalf of all of our colleagues. This situation is a great concern to us. As a government, we want to see our artists be paid their fair share.” He added that the provinces have agreed to strike a working group in order to contribute to that review process. Fortin didn’t offer further details about what changes to the Copyright Act this would involve, and spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions about his comments Wednesday. Late last year, a coalition of artists, including authors, directors and musicians asked Joly to consider the compensation artists receive as part of both that Copyright Act review and the ongoing review of Canadian content in a digital age. The Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) has also raised artist compensation from music streaming services as an issue. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

‘No compromise’ on NAFTA cultural exemptions: ministers

News | August 23, 2017

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‘No compromise’ on NAFTA cultural exemptions: ministers

News | August 23, 2017

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