The Trudeau Government did an expected cabinet shuffle in preparation for Justin Trudeau's second term as prime minister.
Pablo Rodriguez moves from heritage minister to the government house leader role. The move is considered an upgrade for Rodriguez. Steven Guilbeault, a high-profile Quebec environmental activist, is new to cabinet and will be the new heritage minister.
Guilbeault represents the Laurier–Sainte-Marie riding in central Montréal and was elected for the first time in October. He is a founding member of the Quebec environmental organization Équiterre. Guilbeault is famous for scaling the CN Tower to bring attention to climate change. He would seem well-suited for a climate change portfolio.
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Guilbeault is familiar with Radio-Canada and CBC as a commentator. He would do well to go over the Liberal Party platform to "strengthen the regional mandate of CBC/RadioCanada, so that local stations can broadcast more local news; and require CBC/RadioCanada to open up its digital platform, so that journalism start-ups and community newspapers can access affordable technology to develop and distribute local content."
The new heritage minister might want to consider the platforms of the NDP and Green Party: on this subject, considering the minority government status. As the NDP platform notes: "Public broadcasting has a remarkable legacy of connecting all points of our country – and it needs to have an even stronger future now more than ever to help make sure that Canadians have access to accurate, relevant information no matter where they live."
Guilbeault would be the one that would make a reality out of the Liberals campaign promise of a $200 culture pass for Canadians when they turn 12 years old. The party said the pass would apply to "theatres, museums, galleries, workshops, and other cultural venues and local Canadian content."
Guilbeault is the third heritage minister under Justin Trudeau preceded by Mélanie Joly and Rodriguez.
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The Broadcast and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel will have its final report sometime in January to update the Broadcasting Act. Guilbeault will finish what Rodriguez started.
The "Netflix tax" might be the singular priority for Guilbeault in his new role. Given that Guilbeault is new to the beat, here are some of the priorities we would love to see from Guilbeault:
-- The Netflix tax bounty, if there is a Netflix tax, will go toward TV projects. The Liberals did vow to "continue to support Canadian film by increasing annual funding for Telefilm Canada by nearly 50 per cent a year" and "introduce a new Cultural Diplomacy strategy, with at least one international mission each year to promote Canadian culture and creators around the world." There should be a way to channel more money into the film industry. Streaming services show movies and television.
-- Channel the assistance for Canadian journalism to go to projects that can improve the flow of news and information. Look into how U.S. hedge funds can own "most" of the largest newspaper company in Canada (Postmedia).
-- Develop a federal film ratings system. We've seen the mess in Ontario and noted provinces banning films in the past. Ontario is currently using the British Columbia ratings system guidelines. Start with the BC guidelines and incorporate elements that other provinces are doing well.
Just Ask is a way for Canadian content creators to talk to politicians
We're not sure how successful the Just Ask campaign was in Canada Election 2019. The idea was for those in the business to ask MP candidates about their concerns on Canadian TV, film, and Web content. As we noted, backbenchers don't usually have much of an impact on policy. Guilbeault should sit down with the Just Ask folks as well as other major Canadian content organisations to get a prospective on their concerns and what the Trudeau Government can do to improve the Canadian culture landscape.
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Guilbeault is invited to read our content. We have written a lot of articles on Canadian content, where it is and where it can go. He is bilingual, though French appears to be his first language.
While environment would be a better portfolio, Guilbeault was likely given heritage to ease him into cabinet and not upset Western interests who seem to be always angry. A minority government might not last all 4 years so the Guilbeault era at heritage may not last long. Still, Guilbeault should use the time in heritage to develop solid, long-term solutions on Canadian culture.
photo credit: @s_guilbeault; inkbook Canada (Facebook edition)
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