Canada should participate in the formation of a multilateral agreement on cultural products like tv shows and movies Alliance Atlantis chairman and ceo Michael MacMillan told delegates at Insight’s 1999 Broadcasting and Program Distribution Summit in Toronto late last month.

MacMillan also said the crtc should license more Canadian specialty channels to give them a ‘head start’ against the coming digital onslaught of u.s. channels.

In urging the commission to license more specialties, MacMillan used the example of the successful kids’ channel ytv. Because the station is well branded, having been on the air for over 10 years, any u.s. kids’ specialty would have a tough time competing against the well-established Canadian company, said MacMillan.

‘Digital is coming and we won’t be able to keep them [foreign channels] out,’ he said.

Bill Crosbie, Department of Foreign Affairs and international trade director, also spoke at the conference about proposals to strike an international agreement on cultural products. He said Canada’s Ministries of Trade and Heritage are leading the way on the international stage with their ability to communicate and share projects and goals.

Crosbie made reference to the recently tabled sagit report, which also recommends the negotiation of a new international agreement on cultural industries.

Of particular relevance to the Canadian entertainment industry, sagit recommends that cultural goods and services be acknowledged as ‘significantly different’ from other trade products.

The Cultural Industries Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade report, released late last month, also suggests that domestic measures and policies intended to ensure access to indigenous cultural products – such as Cancon requirements, financial incentives, tax measures and rules on foreign investments – should be recognized as significantly different from other policies affecting trade.

Titled Canadian Culture in a Global World: New Strategies for Culture and Trade, the report was compiled by sagit members including chair Ken Stein, senior vp, corporate and regulatory affairs at Shaw Communications.

‘Now is the time to examine the future of our industries,’ says Stein. ‘The challenge is to develop, with other nations, open and transparent policies that acknowledge that cultural products are different from other goods and services, and allow us to maintain our national identity and cultural diversity in a rapidly changing world.’

The recommendations come as trade partners prepare for the millennium renegotiation of the World Trade Organization agreement, scheduled for Seattle later this year. Many speculate that the u.s. will push to have cultural products included in the renegotiation.

sagit is part of the federal government’s advisory system on international trade. sagit’s aim is to communicate the goals of Canada’s cultural industries with officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Canadian Heritage.

The report is available online at www.infoexport.gc.ca/trade-culture