Film, video and photography Two laws apply to film at the federal level in Canada: the National Film Act (1985), which applies to the National Film Board, and the Telefilm Canada Act (1985, amended 2005), which applies to Telefilm Canada. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Parliament recommended that the mandate of Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board and other federal cultural agencies be better aligned toward common objectives while clearly delineating their respective roles and responsibilities. The government is reviewing the Acts of the NFB and Telefilm Canada and will make legislative changes in the coming years as... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchLibrary and Archives of Canada Act (2004): the Act joins together in a new agency the formerly separate National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada.
The government's role in heritage is governed by the Department of Canadian Heritage Act (1995), the Museums Act (1990) which declares the heritage of Canada and all its peoples is an important part of world heritage and must be preserved for present and future generations, the Library and Archives of Canada Act (2004), the Cultural Property Export and Import Act (1977), and the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Act (1999). The Act to Amend the Museums Act received Royal Assent in 2008 and formally established Canada's latest national museum, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to be located in Winnipeg. The... read more →
Culture is not specifically referred to in Canada's Constitution; it is neither in the British North America Act (1867) nor the Constitution Act (1982). In the early years, the provinces were originally to have jurisdiction over cultural issues, which were thought to be of a local nature. However, the federal government began to intervene more extensively in culture through the exercise of its spending power in the mid-20th century. Elements of the federal role in culture and communications have been upheld on the basis of national interest ("peace, order and good government") and the spill-over properties of dissemination involved in... read more →
Sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act commit the federal government to enhancing the vitality of English-speaking and French-speaking minority communities, as well as to fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. This commitment ensures not only that official-language minority communities have access to services in their language, but also that all federal institutions actively contribute to the development and vitality of these communities. Thus, all federal cultural programmes and policies are structured according to two separate official linguistic communities and markets. Second (official)-language learning support programmes are among the most... read more →
While there are no specific data protection laws applicable targeting the cultural sector, federal legislation generally applicable in Canada includes the Privacy Act (1985) which extends the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and that provide individuals with a right of access to that information. According to Privacy International, Canada, Greece and Romania have the best privacy records of 47 countries surveyed although Canada's Privacy Commissioner recently noted that 2008 will be another challenging year of privacy in Canada in light of heightened national... read more →
The origins of Copyright Law in Canada draw from a mixture of Anglo-American and continental-European legal traditions. The Anglo-American legal system reflects an approach centered on the author's contribution to the pool of human art, knowledge and ideas through his or her work. Copyright is rooted in the tradition which took the form of monopoly protection of authors and publishers and it has remained essentially economic in nature. In contrast, the continental European approach, which traces back to the mid-18th century, was born in the human rights tradition and places more emphasis on the link between the author and his... read more →
Tax deductions by individuals for donating to not-for-profit charities and cultural organisations are an important incentive for philanthropy. While the number of donors to cultural organisations decreased by 21% from 571 000 in 1997 to 451 000 in 2000, the value of cultural donations increased 22% from CAD 39.4 million in 1997 to CAD 47.9 million in 2000, or twice as fast as the rate of increase in the value of donations to any type of non-profit organisation. In 2004, about 732 000 Canadians aged 15 and over, or 3.3% made financial donations to arts and culture organisations, or 3.3% of all donations,... read more →