Canadian Heritage unveils near-finalized new media initiatives to Toronto audience

Toronto new media players were finally given a bird’s-eye view of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP) on January 25 as department head René Bouchard visited the Liberty Village New Media Centre with the first of a series of road shows to tout the program. Formerly known as the Canadian Digital Cultural Content Initiative, the complex venture was explained to about 60 new media, educational, broadcast and other individuals at the well-received briefing. The event marks the first time the entire program has been spelled out, something possible only because several outstanding contracts with the Treasury Board were finalized in late December. With those last-minute details out of the way, the department is finally in a position to explain how it will spend over $100 million in new media funding announced in the 2001 Speech from the Throne. Before embarking on a fund-by-fund explanation of how the program is structured, Bouchard told the assembled audience that the CCOP is intended to help Canadians find important Canadian material online. The department has conducted studies, he says, which indicate large numbers of citizens are frustrated in their attempts to find a critical mass of content with Canadian perspectives, relevant to First Nations, francophones and youth, or that features the works of Canadian authors and artists. In keeping with past comments, he noted that the government can’t put all of this material online using only taxpayer-funded resources. "We feel that it’s a shared responsibility and it’s our role to act as a facilitator," he told listeners. There were several raised eyebrows, however, over one important program on which Canadian Heritage is continuing to withhold details. Bouchard won’t discuss specifics of a new New Media Learning Fund slated to be launched sometime this year. The program is to be run in conjunction with an unspecified, private third party, which will administer contributions up to $200,000 to build "a critical mass of digital cultural content related to the Canadian K-12 educational curriculum." The only details Bouchard will provide are that the company in question approached the department with a pilot project proposal, and that the program will "connect the supply and demand side" in education, and foster partnerships between the educational and private sectors. No one in attendance at the meeting was able to clarify which company has won Can-adian Heritage’s support for the Learning Fund, but some speculation from sources holds that it can only be a national company with deep pockets, and Microsoft Corp. was mentioned by more than one participant as a likely candidate. Asked by Canadian NEW MEDIA how contentious the department’s choice is likely to be, Bouchard says: "It’s a pilot. There’s nothing that prevents us from going ahead with similar kinds of programs (with others). We’ll see how it goes. We’re responding to a proposal. I think, when we make it public, that people will understand that it’s a sound measure. If other players want to come on board and make these kinds of proposals, we’ll certainly listen." Responding to skeptical questions from the floor, Bouchard noted that, "We’re not dealing with somebody who hasn’t got a clue what this sector is," and added that Canadian Heritage is also speaking with the provinces about new media learning initiatives. Hard questions were also thrown at Bouchard about how much flexibility will be built into the various programs. Snap Media Inc.’s Roma Khanna pointed out that the new initiatives were long in development, and hopes that some kind of review mechanism has been built into the program. "The concern I have is that to change them will be as long as it took to implement them," she commented. Bouchard responded that a new, as-yet unannounced committee overseeing the program will have some flexibility to change the initiatives in response to industry concerns. That advisory board will be drawn from across a spectrum of cultural industry stakeholders and be composed of 10 members plus a chairperson. It will have three sub-committees focused on content, the creation of the Canadian Gateway to Canadian Culture Online, and a third examining other issues such as standards and offensive content. That advisory body, he says, will be announced "very shortly." But he warned that the department is operating under strict contracts signed between it and the Treasury Board, which set out the parameters under which the program will operate. Some changes to the initiatives, he notes, will require Treasury Board approval. For the most part, though, the question and answer period was dominated by specific questions relating to the workings of the various programs. Attendees were generally congratulatory and Bouchard tells CNM he’s pleased with the feedback he’s received. "They seemed to be quite happy and supportive of the measures that we have in place. I think that time will tell whether or not there are some adjustments that are required. That’s exactly why we’re putting together an advisory committee – to make sure that we’re as relevant as we can be…We don’t build these programs for ourselves. We build those programs for the industry and the people who will be providing content online. I think that we’ve always been connected (with industry concerns), but I’m not sure if the message didn’t need to be simplified. That’s why we say Canadian Culture Online; that says it all. These are the tools that we’re using." Several programs unveiled by Bouchard are expected to be launched this spring, including: The Gateway to Canadian Cultural Content: an online repository for material digitized and produced by Canadian Heritage agencies including the National Film Board, National Library, federal museums and others; The Canadian Works of Reference: intended to "develop and maintain authoritative online Canadian reference materials that would be made available free to all Canadians." The fund will make contributions up to a maximum of $1 million or 75% of total eligible project costs, whichever is less, per year. Bouchard noted in his comments that the projects would likely be geared toward youth and educational communities; The Francommunautés virtuelles: Originally a $1-million Industry Canada program to develop French-language online applications and content, the program’s funding ends this year. Canadian Heritage will take over the program, likely with a $2-million/year infusion; The New Media Research Networks: intended to bridge communities such as the educational and artistic with the private sector with contributions of up to $1 million per year and open to non-governmental research institutes, post-secondary research institutes, SMEs and not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations. Bouchard also highlighted several programs that have already launched under the program including the retooled Canada New Media Fund (CNM, Dec. 13/01); the Canadian Memory Fund, which contributes $3 million per year to digitize content in federal institutions; the Partnerships Fund to encourage other digitization projects; the Virtual Museum of Canada (CNM, Dec. 14/00); and the Applied Research in Interactive Media Fund (CNM, Jan. 23/02). He also says there should be a news release issued shortly to announce recipients of the Electronic Copyright Fund, which is intended to improve copyright management in the digital environment. While not yet disclosed, it’s likely the three unnamed groups to win funding will include each of the major collective societies responsible for film, music and television. There will be a second round of funding in that program with a deadline for application of March 1.

Canadian Heritage unveils near-finalized new media initiatives to Toronto audience

News | 02/07/2002 5:00 am EST

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