All-Parties Town Hall Addresses Audiovisual Industry

On September 8, the Directors Guild of Canada hosted a virtual town hall where candidates from the five major national parties addressed the future of the audiovisual industry — television, music, radio, streaming and more.

In attendance at the event, moderated by Trina McQueen of York University and Patrick White of UQAM Media School, were Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, Liberal), Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon-Greenwood, Conservative), Martin Champoux (Drummond, Bloc Québécois), Heather McPherson (Edmonton-Strathcona, NDP), and Sandy Crawley, the Green Party’s shadow cabinet critic for arts, culture and heritage.

Among other subjects, candidates took turns speaking at length about issues around the Broadcasting Act and Bill C-10, diversity within the cultural sector, and the need for the cultural sector to collaborate with climate scientists in order to narrativize climate change and make it accessible to the broader population.

You can watch the debate above. For more info on the parties and their positions, visit artsvotebc.ca.

[Cut image: Melyna Valle via Unsplash.]