Hon. René Cormier: Honourable colleagues, today I rise at second reading of Bill S-208, An Act respecting the Declaration on the Essential Role of Artists and Creative Expression in Canada.

I want to acknowledge that the land on which I am speaking to you today is part of the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin nation. I strongly agree with the Canada Council for the Arts that the arts contribute to the healing and decolonization process, a process in which we must all engage together.

[English]

I would like to congratulate Senator Bovey for introducing this ambitious bill on November 24. With the Minister of Canadian Heritage preparing to hold a national summit on the recovery of the arts, culture and heritage sectors, now is the time for an important and long-awaited discussion on the place and role of the arts and culture in Canadian society.

I would also like to thank Senator Ataullahjan for shedding light on the precarious working conditions of artists and cultural workers in her speech at second reading, which is a subject matter that also concerns me a lot.

Bill S-208 creates a declaration on the essential role of artists and creative expression and provides a framework for its implementation in the form of an action plan. The action plan is to be developed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage following consultations with other federal ministers and stakeholders, including but not limited to those listed in the bill.

Although I applaud the bill’s overarching objectives, I want to share with you, colleagues, my thoughts and concerns about the following aspects, which could be addressed in committee.

These aspects are the lack of attention in the bill to the collective dimension of Canadian culture and the importance of protecting and promoting the diversity of Canadian cultural expressions; the place of this bill within federal jurisdiction; the link that this bill could make between culture and sustainable development; the challenges of developing the proposed action plan and holding consultation to ensure its implementation; and the merits of this bill at a time when artists are facing great uncertainty.

[Translation]

Let me say at the outset that I think it is vital to recognize that a declaration on the essential role of artists and creative expression across Canada must take into account the cultural ecosystems in which artists practise their art, and the social groups to which they belong. In other words, taking into account the collective dimension of Canadian culture and its plurality is essential to understanding the issues affecting artists in Canada. However, I believe the current version of the bill does not properly take this dimension into account.

Allow me to remind the chamber of UNESCO’s definition of this dimension of culture, and I quote:

 . . . in its widest sense, culture may now be said to be the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs . . . .

Beyond that definition, by ratifying UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, Canada has committed to creating an environment that encourages individuals and social groups “to create, produce, disseminate, distribute and have access to their own cultural expressions.” To this end, Canada is committed, and I really want to emphasize this, to paying due consideration to the various social groups, including persons belonging to minorities and Indigenous peoples.

[English]

As you know, colleagues, the Canadian identity is anything but homogeneous. It is the product of culturally different social groups, majorities and minorities, all coexisting in this country. It stems from our historical context, the evolution of Canadian society, the cultural development of our vast territory and the choices we make.

In that sense, I am pleased that Bill S-208 pays special attention to Indigenous peoples in its preamble and consultation provisions. The preamble specifically states that:

. . . any measures to implement the Declaration in Canada must take into account the diversity of Indigenous peoples and, in particular, the diversity of the identities, cultures, languages, customs and practices of First Nations, the Inuit and the Métis and of their relationships to the land and their Indigenous knowledge, all of which find expression in rich artistic traditions . . . .

Yet, I wonder whether this clause in the preamble and the consultation provisions with Indigenous artists and organizations prior to developing the action plan are enough. We ought to hear the views of our Indigenous colleagues in the Senate, especially as we work to advance Indigenous self-determination, which is recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

[Translation]

With respect to the declaration itself, I see the intention to include the individual cultural diversities and backgrounds of all Canadians, which is very positive on the face of it. All the same, when this bill is implemented, I wonder how it will be able to address each of us and especially how it will embody our collective cultural dimension in all of its plurality and complexity. For example, how will the action plan simultaneously respond to the needs of the Indigenous peoples, the Acadian people, the Quebec people, official language minority communities and ethnocultural minorities? Each of these cultural entities that embody the Canadian identity has its own cultural expression and must be promoted and protected.

What is more, each of these entities within which artists create and meet their audiences comes with its own interconnected and inseparable set of cultural infrastructure, organizations and businesses, which have to be taken into account if we want to meaningfully improve the status of artists and access to their works. In my opinion, this bill should do more to recognize the collective and plural dimension of Canadian culture, as complex as it is, reiterate the importance of protecting and promoting the cultural expressions of the different social groups that make up our country, and set out a clear obligation to work on that.

[English]

Bill S-208 must also be examined through the lens of jurisdiction within the Canadian federation. Cultural matters — including access, participation and learning — generally fall under the legislative authority of the provinces and territories, with some exceptions.

With that in mind, and given that the bill affects rights that fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction — for example, the right to learn any art form or the right to access creation spaces — I wonder how this bill will be received by the provinces and territories.

Although clause 4 of Bill S-208 provides for consultations with provincial representatives, what will be the true nature of this collaboration? How will the federal government improve on what these legislatures have already put in place in terms of policies, while considering the specific cultural development of each province and territory? These questions need further assessment.

[Translation]

Colleagues, I am not suggesting that the federal government has less of a responsibility towards culture than the provinces and territories do. It is clear that broadcasting, copyright, intellectual property, support for our major national cultural institutions and several other sectors fall under its jurisdiction. However, I believe that the federal government’s efforts with respect to culture within these areas could be better targeted in terms of sustainable development, in order to respect the commitment it made in ratifying the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

In its current form, Bill S-208 does not clearly establish this link between culture and sustainable development. If it were to do so, it could provide real value added to our Canadian cultural policy, which would help promote culture more widely within the federal government.

I remind senators that Article 13 of the UNESCO convention states, and I quote:

Parties shall endeavour to integrate culture in their development policies at all levels for the creation of conditions conducive to sustainable development and, within this framework, foster aspects relating to the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.

Esteemed colleagues, as you know, the term “sustainable development” refers to the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Under this approach, any decision about growth should take the economic, environmental and social pillars into account. The UNESCO convention adds that although culture is not a pillar of sustainable development, it is a vector for it, and we must try to better integrate it into our policies to improve sustainability. I also want to point out that this is a mutual relationship, in that culture without a doubt contributes to sustainable development, but sustainable development also allows culture to flourish.

Canada has so far introduced a wide range of laws, regulations, programs, subsidies and other financial incentives for the arts and culture sector. In 2017, the government even introduced a cultural policy was designed to stimulate economic growth in the digital age. However, it is difficult to find any sort of umbrella framework in Canada that covers all of these initiatives and provides a clear cross-cutting view of Canada’s arts and culture sector as a vector for sustainable development that benefits artists and Canadians.

[English]

In that sense, I agree with Senator Bovey’s remarks in her speech at second reading that Canada should better integrate arts and culture into all its policies, programs and investments, and that it is time for us to refocus on various international conventions, including the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

How will Bill S-208 contribute to the realignment of Canadian cultural policy with the UNESCO convention in terms of protecting the diversity of cultural expressions and integrating culture into sustainable development? That is less clear to me right now.

Bill S-208 contains many promising and inclusive clauses, which I applaud, but it does not clearly identify strategic areas of sustainable development to which culture could contribute and benefit. In my view, the bill could be strengthened by explicitly adding these considerations in its text.

[Translation]

I would now like to talk about the challenges associated with developing the proposed action plan and consultation process, for which the Minister of Canadian Heritage has central responsibility. While I appreciate the laudable intentions mentioned in Senator Bovey’s speech at second reading, when she said that the declaration would be the foundation for ongoing policy development in multiple ministries, I have to wonder about the feasibility of such an objective at this point.

I am concerned that the mechanism of Bill S-208, which centralizes responsibility solely in the hands of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, will simply perpetuate the process already in place. Since we know that that department has no authority to impose actions on other departments, it seems to me that we need to think outside the box in this particular instance.

[English]

The arts and culture sectors are interwoven areas and cannot be considered in complete isolation from one another. In this sense, and from a sustainable development perspective, is it not time for a paradigm shift where a shared cultural responsibility could be given to several strategic federal departments in collaboration with major cultural institutions, such as the Canada Council for the Arts?

Instead of a consultation process as set out in the bill, should we not take a more innovative approach of co-creation and proactive partnerships? There is a lot to think about here.

[Translation]

I would like to close, colleagues, by reiterating the basic principle that the vitality of the arts and culture sector relies on the artists and workers who make it tick. To state the obvious, there is no art without artists. The precariousness of their working conditions is very real. Calls for the creation of a better social safety net for artists and cultural workers are growing and speak to the urgent need to take action.

Unfortunately, this reality is not new. In a 1980 recommendation concerning the status of the artist, UNESCO was already acknowledging the troubling situation of artists and prescribing a series of measures to its member states to improve their professional, social and economic status. That recommendation shares many similarities with the rights of the artist listed in the Declaration on the Essential Role of Artists and Creative Expression in Canada created by Bill S-208. I sincerely thank Senator Bovey for reminding us of these rights.

That being said, as certain organizations and individuals I consulted pointed out, the question is whether a new declaratory tool like the one Bill S-208 proposes is what artists actually need at this time to reiterate their right to employment equity and economic security. The question is whether implementing Bill S-208 and its action plan will genuinely provide better social protection to artists. That is another question to explore further in committee.

[English]

All that said, colleagues, despite my concerns and thoughts about some aspects of the bill today, I strongly believe that Bill S-208 should be thoroughly studied in committee, and I am really looking forward to it. We could hear from important witnesses — such as the Minister of Canadian Heritage, provincial representatives, Crown corporations and organizations representing artists — so that we can get their insights and expertise.

Senator Bovey has done a tremendous —

[Translation]

Senator Cormier: This gives me the occasion to thank Senator Bovey, who has done a tremendous amount of work in identifying the measures that need to be taken to make sure the essential role of artists and creative expression is fully recognized and taken into account in our country. I would like to conclude by thanking her again for her dedication, passion and courage in introducing this ambitious bill. I appreciate her sincere intentions, which reflect her deep commitment to the arts, culture and heritage in Canada.

[Translation]

I want to thank her for drawing our attention to the place that arts and culture occupy in Canada.

With this bill, Senator Bovey is initiating a passionate and necessary debate that is worthy of the upper chamber’s interest and assiduous efforts. We should send it to committee promptly.

Thank you, meegwetch.

Senator Cormier: Thank you very much for the question, Senator Richards. Actually, what I am speaking about is not at all ideology and politics. What I’m speaking about here is a consideration of the ecosystems in which the artists are working, no matter where they are on the Canadian territory. I think it’s important in that context that we keep that in mind.

In terms of policies and strategies from the federal government, in terms of taking into account what type of ecosystems the artists are working in — and there are different ecosystems depending on where you live in Canada; it’s not ideology, it’s more the context in which they are working — I think it’s important that we take that into account.

I have been working in the cultural sector for 40 years, and I think that although the federal government can be generous to artists, sometimes our policies don’t take enough into account the different realities in this country.

I applaud the content of the bill that speaks about the rights of the artist to express themselves, do the work they want to do and express themselves as they wish to do, but in this type of bill I think it would be great to take into consideration the context and help the Minister of Canadian Heritage to be aware of that. Although I can trust the minister, I think that in terms of federal policies — especially in culture because, as you know, culture is from provincial and territorial jurisdictions. That is where culture is in Canada. I think that’s what I mean by that. But I want to reassure you, Senator Richards, I would be the first person to rise and say, “No ideology for the artists.” The artists have to be free to create, and they have to receive the right tools. To receive the right tools, we have to make sure that —