Ontario arts and cultural advisory council sends ‘inadvertent’ message

Some members of Ontario’s new media production community are surprised that a new provincial arts and culture advisory council has been struck without representation by the interactive media industry. On July 27, minister of culture Madelaine Meilleur announced the council made up of 13 members from across various cultural industries that will advise her and the Ontario government about cultural policy. A spokesperson for the ministry tells CNM that there will be a further two members appointed in the near future. While the group is distinguished, some producers are taken aback that no one from either the digital or independent television sectors have been included. Raja Khanna, head of multimedia production house SNAP Media, writes to Canadian NEW MEDIA: "My initial reaction was total surprise as I would have thought by now our policy makers would have noticed how their kids spend their time, and through what media they are being ‘cultured’. A cultural mandate, in my view, cannot be just about preserving or even expanding what we have, but must inspire new creations and reflect the pace of cultural evolution today. If we do one and not the other we are at risk of either losing our past to obscurity or our future to foreign values… "The lack of digital media representation on this council is, I believe, a grave oversight that must be rectified in order for the council’s recommendations to accurately reflect Canadian values now and going forward." Dan Fill, VP of new media at Decode Entertainment Inc., also shares his shock. "We were really surprised to see that there is no – despite the minister’s announcement and her speech that talked about the importance of new media and television – there’s not a single television producer on the panel, and not a single person working in the new media space at all. That’s a pretty serious disappointment, I would say. And I think an inadvertent message has been sent that maybe they could take a look at trying to rectify pretty quickly… "I’d like to suggest that it was an unintended oversight. And I would suggest that it would be in the best interests of the province and of the new media community to have a new media producer representative on board. But even more importantly, a television representative," he adds. The new media industry in Ontario has been struggling to overcome several challenges in the past year, including a perpetual shortage of funding from government sources, and the need to overhaul the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (CNM, Feb. 20/04). Meilleur found herself working frantically this winter to reassure cultural groups that their tax credits would be preserved as the new Dalton McGuinty government made noises about chopping a swath of assistance measures. The new advisory committee will likely make convincing cultural groups of the government’s commitment to the arts a priority. Culture ministry spokesperson Guy Lepage tells CNM that new media producers shouldn’t read too much into the absence of one of their own on the council. "There was a large pool of very talented people to choose from, and the people involved in the selection had some very, very difficult choices to make, and we chose what we think is a good cross-section of experts who represent the vast majority of fields in the province. We’ve got 13 members appointed. There are another two who will be appointed shortly, for a total of 15. And we can’t have everyone on the council, but I believe we have done a good job in finding a good cross-representation of all fields. I know people will say that one group’s not on, not fully represented. We’ve got people from a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise to bring everyone to the table… "I think they should look at the fact that there’s an advisory council as a very positive sign. This has never been done in the province’s history. Culture has always been seen by past governments as at the bottom of their priorities. If you’ve got enough money to pay for it, that’s fine. If not, it’s the first to go. With this government, it’s been our priority all along. It was a priority from before and when we ran for office last fall. And now that we are in government, it is a priority. That’s why we’ve set up this advisory council…This advisory council is a permanent council, as opposed to just a committee that is struck by the minister. A minister can strike a committee and then a year or two later if they don’t like it, they say, ok, disband it. But this went through the full approval process up to Cabinet and then up to the Lieutenant Governor’s office for approval." Fill, despite his disappointment at not seeing a digital media, says he’s not entirely discouraged. One of the guests at the announcement of the council was new deputy minister Terry Smith. Fill says she is a champion for the sector. "Terry Smith…has been extremely active in and has gone out of her way to be a part of important new media initiatives. I think that she’s become a really great face and contact and has built up a lot of excitement for the new media producers in Ontario."

Ontario arts and cultural advisory council sends ‘inadvertent’ message

News | 08/06/2004 4:00 am EDT

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