Childhood experience and education are increasingly recognised as important determinants of later arts and cultural practices. However, Canada has tended to separate culture (concurrently federal and provincial) and education (restricted to the provinces at the primary and secondary levels). This separation may have had the unwanted impact of placing certain limits on government spending in culture and retarding the emergence of a consensus on standardised curricula for the arts, history, literature and culture in Canada. Other issues include the digital divide between rural and urban student access to home computers and educational software and between male and female users put... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchTelevision viewing: By far the largest audiences for cultural content are television viewers. In Canada, there are two (2) ways to measure viewing data: BBM Fall Surveys using diaries and the recently merged Nielsen Media Research / BBM national metered data, which is the most recent and accurate. Television viewing results provided in this document are based on BBM national metered data. Per capita average weekly television viewing decreased slightly from 25.1 hours in 2005 to 24.3 hours in 2006 indicating relatively little displacement of television viewing by computer-related activities such as games and the internet. In 2006, women aged... read more →
Many federal cultural institutions are moving away from their sole focus on narrowly defined client groups to a form of broader social inclusion as Canadians, from a dependency on government to higher self-sufficiency, from activity-based relationships to results-based interaction and from direct project support to a sustainable supportive environment. Comparable change is evident in moving from sector policies to a policy framework or vision. The Department of Canadian Heritage has developed and continues to review a multi-year strategic framework and vision (see also chapter 2.1) as part of its inputs to the annual Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental... read more →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Status of Women Canada (SWC) is a federal agency, established thirty years ago, that promotes gender equality in Canada and the full participation of women in the economic, social, cultural and political life of the country. SWC reports to the Minister of State (Status of Women). Its mandate includes a gender-based analysis of legislation, policies and programmes throughout the federal government including the Heritage Portfolio. SWC operates a Policy Research Fund that supports gender-based research and acts as a knowledge broker on gender equality, a centre of expertise and a catalyst for network building. The following priority areas have been... read more →
The early history of cultural policy in Canada used to focus primarily on broadcasting, the "high arts" and heritage in which the federal government has been and remains actively involved for many years. With the rapid growth of the cultural industries, particularly evident over the last forty years, federal intervention in the cultural sector was broadened considerably. Individual components of the cultural sector including the media received support given their perceived importance in producing and distributing Canadian cultural content. While the precise nature of federal cultural support programmes and regulatory regimes varies considerably, the trend in cultural policy in Canada... read more →
Cultural industries are defined by Statistics Canada for the purpose of the construction and refinement of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in 2002. The latter comprises establishments primarily engaged in creating and disseminating (except by wholesale and retail methods) information and cultural products, such as written works, musical works or recorded performances, recorded dramatic performances, software and information databases, or providing the means to disseminate them. Establishments that provide access to equipment and expertise to process information are also included. The government of Canada has developed a broad range of institutions, policies and programmes that provide support to... read more →
Cross-border intercultural dialogue and co-operation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): In 2006, Canada participated in the OSCE Tolerance Implementation Meeting on Promoting Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Ethnic Understanding, held June 12-13, 2006 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The meeting focused on the role of governments and civil society in creating a context for inter-cultural, inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding, with a view to ensuring inclusiveness and respect for diversity. During the meeting, Canada shared good practices on multiculturalism and social cohesion policies. Canadian International Model United Nations (CANIMUN): Both PCH and DFAIT support the Conference, a four-day bilingual event held in... read more →