Two weeks before Prime Minister Paul Martin’s July 20 unveiling of his new cabinet, Liza Frulla wasn’t even sure she would win her seat because of a close race with Thierry St-Cyr of the Bloc Quebecois. However, a July 6 recount in her Montreal riding of Jeanne-Le Ber proclaimed her the winner by 72 votes.

Now Frulla is Canada’s new heritage minister, the third MP to hold the post since December. But her appointment is good news according to film and television industry organizations, which welcome a minister who is not only an experienced broadcaster, but has also served as a provincial minister of culture.

‘[Frulla] is a former [Quebec] minister of culture, so she knows the area and the environment very well. Moreover, she’s a former broadcaster both on-air and in management,’ says Glen O’Farrell, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. ‘We believe we will be given the opportunity to speak to a minister who knows the realities that face broadcasters first-hand.’

Previously the federal minister of social development, Frulla takes over from former heritage minister Helene Chalifour Scherrer, who lost her riding in the June 28 election. Frulla was widely expected to take the heritage post before Martin appointed Scherrer in December to replace Sheila Copps. Frulla now joins Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale and Minister of Industry David Emerson as key ministers for the film and television industry. In addition, a new position has been created, which should also have an impact on the production sector. John Godfrey has been appointed minister of state (infrastructure and communities) and is responsible for helping to stimulate business in Canada’s major urban centers.

On top of previous political experience, Frulla has worked in broadcasting and hosted her own TV show for Radio-Canada called Liza. She has also worked in corporate communications for such companies as Labatt Breweries, CKAC and the Vickers & Benson ad agency. Frulla holds a degree in Fine Arts from College Basile-Moreau, as well as a degree in education from the University de Montreal.

‘[Frulla] is certainly experienced politically and has a very good grasp of cultural issues both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, and we think very highly of her,’ says Pamela Brand, national executive director for the Directors Guild of Canada.

Perhaps most relevant to her current position is Frulla’s four-year term as Quebec’s minister of culture from 1990 to 1994. In this position, according to Ian Morrison of lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, Frulla demonstrated her aptitude for tactful negotiation by gaining the respect of both the cultural community and the Parti Quebecois official opposition, a skill that could be very beneficial, as the minority Liberal government looks to the federal Bloc Quebecois and the NDP for support.

‘You don’t get that many people who have been a minister for five years somewhere and everybody still speaks well of them,’ says Morrison. He adds that under Frulla, he expects the cultural portfolio to get increased attention, partially because she demonstrated a passion for it while on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage through the development of the Lincoln Report, but also because issues such as foreign ownership and the role of the CRTC gained visibility during the June election campaign. For example, he continues, ‘I think the Lincoln Report will get a fair amount of attention now because for the most part it was multi-partisan.’

The Lincoln Report, which includes Frulla’s signature among others, is an 872-page study on the state of Canadian broadcasting issued in June 2003. Among its 97 recommendations, the report calls for increased and stable multi-year funding for CBC and maintaining current restrictions on foreign ownership.

‘We certainly hope the Lincoln Report will be [dusted off], says Stephen Waddell, national executive director of ACTRA. ‘It’s such a significant document and so much work went into it, so we’re certainly going to be drawing the government’s attention back to that document.’

Waddell supports Frulla’s appointment and says that while she was helping to develop the Lincoln Report, he and other ACTRA members had a chance to meet with her in Ottawa.

‘She’s clearly aware of the issues that are affecting cultural industries in Canada and we’re extremely confident that she’s going to be an advocate for culture and for the arts,’ he says.