PM Trudeau Releases Ministerial Mandate Letters
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Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued updated mandate letters for each of the 37 cabinet ministers, detailing duties and responsibilities. Among these letters, Trudeau addressed recently appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault.
The letter reads, in part:
As Minister of Canadian Heritage, you will lead work to celebrate Canada’s heritage as well as promote Canada’s cultural and creative industries in both Official Languages. This vital position helps bring Canadians together and strengthens the fabric of our country and communities. You are also responsible for the promotion and support of amateur sport, supporting our athletes as they represent Canada and encouraging young people to be active and engaged in sports.
I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities. In particular, you will:
Work with all cultural and creative sectors on the successful delivery of initiatives and new funding announced in previous Budgets.
Create new regulations for social media platforms, starting with a requirement that all platforms remove illegal content, including hate speech, within 24 hours or face significant penalties. This should include other online harms such as radicalization, incitement to violence, exploitation of children, or creation or distribution of terrorist propaganda.
Co-lead work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry to modernize the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act, examining how best to support Canadian content in English and French and ensure quality affordable internet, mobile and media access. Work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry to introduce legislation by the end of 2020 that will take appropriate measures to ensure that all content providers, including internet giants, offer meaningful levels of Canadian content in their catalogues, contribute to the creation of Canadian content in both Official Languages, promote this content and make it easily accessible on their platforms. The legislation should also consider additional cultural and linguistic communities.
Continue to fully implement the Indigenous Languages Act in order to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada, with long-term predictable and sufficient funding to support the implementation of the Act.
Co-develop, with Indigenous Peoples, a framework for repatriating Indigenous cultural property and ancestral remains.
Provide funding and support for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Métis Nation entering Confederation.
Strengthen the regional mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada to broadcast more local news and require CBC/Radio-Canada to open up its digital platform.
Increase annual funding for Telefilm Canada.
Make the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre a national museum.
Review our national museums policy to ensure that people can access Canadian history across the country, with better access to digital collections. Introduce the Culture Pass, a $200 credit that every Canadian child will receive when they turn 12 years old to be used to access theatres, museums, galleries, workshops and other cultural venues and local Canadian content.
Work with the national museums to increase Canadians’ awareness of climate change.
Work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to advance Canada’s Digital Charter and enhanced powers for the Privacy Commissioner, in order to establish a new set of online rights, including: data portability; the ability to withdraw, remove and erase basic personal data from a platform; the knowledge of how personal data is being used, including with a national advertising registry and the ability to withdraw consent for the sharing or sale of data; the ability to review and challenge the amount of personal data that a company or government has collected; proactive data security requirements; the ability to be informed when personal data is breached with appropriate compensation; and the ability to be free from online discrimination including bias and harassment.
Work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in reviewing the Copyright Act.
Support the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry to create new regulations for large digital companies to better protect people’s personal data and to encourage greater competition in the digital marketplace. A newly created Data Commissioner will oversee those regulations.
Work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to introduce a new Cultural Diplomacy strategy with at least one international mission each year to promote Canadian culture and creators around the world.
Work with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, who is the Minister responsible for Parks Canada, to provide clearer direction on how national heritage places should be designated and preserved and to introduce new comprehensive heritage legislation on federally owned heritage places.
Support local journalism and develop business models that facilitate private giving and philanthropic support for professional journalism and local news.
Work with the Minister of Health to implement the pan-Canadian Concussion Strategy and raise awareness for parents, coaches and athletes on concussion treatment.
Lead preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and future international sporting events.
Create greater links between our elite athletes and young Canadians to promote health and achievement among youth.
Continue to work with partners, including provinces and territories, to foster an environment that is safe, welcoming and inclusive in the sport and cultural industries.
Foster a national culture of safe sport, including physical safety, sporting environments free of harassment, promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and research into injury prevention.
Develop additional programming to increase Canadians’ participation in sport, with a particular focus on Indigenous Peoples. This should increase awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of participation in sport.
The full text of the letter has been made public. To read it, click here.
