Montreal: The Coalition for Cultural Diversity has established a permanent secretariat and is rapidly building its membership, says its new executive vp Robert Pilon.

Pilon says 15 Quebec-based associations are members of the coalition and a dozen professional associations outside Quebec have come on board.

The coalition plans to take an active role at the new round of World Trade Organization negotiations scheduled for Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 in Seattle.

Members of the coalition’s executive met Nov. 11 with federal International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew, who is leading the Canadian delegation. Pilon will represent the coalition in Seattle as an observer.

The group’s mission statement says countries must be free to adopt policies which support cultural diversity and the viability of enterprises to produce and distribute cultural products. It says international trade agreements must fully respect national cultural policies and such policies must not be subject to reprisals.

Both Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and Quebec Culture and Communications Minister Agnes Maltais are supporting the initiative and announced ‘substantial funding,’ says Pilon.

Member associations in the production sector include CAFDE, APFTQ, ARRQ representing Quebec directors, SARDEC and UDA. New coalition members outside of Quebec include ACTRA, CFTPA, DGC, SOCAN, representing composers, authors and music publishers, WGC and CAB.