B. Departmental Overview

Mandate, Roles and Responsibilities

The Department of Canadian Heritage is one of the 19 organizations in the Canadian Heritage Portfolio. The Portfolio consolidates national policies and programs that maintain Canada's cultural sovereignty and promote Canadian identity.

The Department of Canadian Heritage Act sets out the important role that the Minister plays in Canadian society with regard to Canadian identity and values, cultural development, heritage, and areas of natural or historic significance.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage with the Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women) and the Secretary of State (Parks), supported by the Department, is responsible for policies and programs relating to arts and heritage, cultural development, Canadian identity, multiculturalism, official languages and sport as well as policies governing national parks and national historic sites. In addition, the Department, through the Canadian Secretariat for the Games of La Francophonie, provides support to the Minister appointed as Federal Spokesperson for the Games of La Francophonie 2001.

The Department works with Canadians to strengthen their shared sense of identity while respecting their diversity. It seeks to eliminate barriers and encourage the participation of all citizens, individually and collectively, in the social, political and cultural life of the country. It pursues initiatives that balance individual and collective rights and responsibilities in a way that promotes community self-reliance and individual fulfilment It fosters a co-ordinated approach among federal institutions to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities. The Department also works with other federal departments and agencies to ensure that the Government carries out its activities in a manner that is sensitive and responsive to Canada's diversity.

Policy Framework

The strategies of the Department of Canadian Heritage reinforce the Government's overall program of sustaining and strengthening a successful Canada for the 21^st century. The aim is to foster a strengthened sense of what it means to be a part of the Canadian community, to enhance knowledge and appreciation of Canada and Canadians, to ensure that Canadians can participate equally and actively in society, and to give recognition to individual and collective accomplishments.

The following strategic directions support the Department’s mission and the Government of Canada’s commitment to building a stronger Canada for the 21^st century:

• enhancing pride in Canada;
• contributing to Canada's economic growth and prosperity;
• protecting Canada's heritage;
• ensuring access to Canadian voices and Canadian spaces; and
• encouraging participation in and contribution to Canadian society.

The Department is also committed to seeking innovative solutions to address the needs of a changing society. The Department’s strategies support the Government’s agenda of preparing for the future by investing in knowledge, education and innovation.

Departmental Structure

The Planning, Reporting and Accountability Structure of Canadian Heritage comprises three business lines: Cultural Development and Heritage, Canadian Identity and Corporate Management. These business lines are broken down into product/service lines as indicated in the following table.

Five assistant deputy ministers are responsible for managing the Business Lines. The diagram on page 43 describes the links that exist between the Planning, Reporting and Accountability Structure and the Department’s organizational structure.

Operating Environment

Economic Growth - Canada is continuing to shift rapidly toward a knowledge-based economy, in which the arts, heritage, cultural industries, broadcasting, sport and recreation play an important part in fostering our connectedness as a country and people. According to estimates derived from earlier Statistics Canada reports, in 1996-97, the direct economic impact of the cultural sector amounted to approximately $24 billion and sustained approximately 710,000 full- and part-time jobs. The Canadian Heritage portfolio institutions, and their related activities and events, accounted for a significant portion of the $41.8 billion that was spent by tourists in Canada in 1996. With growth projected at 45% between 1991 and 2005, arts, heritage, cultural industries, sport and recreation form the second-fastest-growing sector of employment. Meeting and maintaining that growth will require increased digital literacy, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, and new forms of public participation.

Technological Change -Technology has always provided an important contribution to the creation, production and delivery of Canadian cultural content. Arts and culture organizations suffer from undercapitalization, and now even more so, in light of the cost of adapting, producing and distributing digitized Canadian cultural products in competition with foreign products from abroad, through such media as the Internet, specialty television, multiplex cinemas and multimedia. The emergence of a new technologies industry also imposes financial requirements on the traditional arts, heritage, broadcasting and cultural industries’ sectors, where the financial risk of such investments may be significant. In the face of these varied challenges, public and private partnerships have been formed to involve others in program delivery, decision making and funding. New partnerships must also be sought to ensure that technological changes help to promote the interaction, dialogue and participation of different groups to increase understanding among Canadians.

Globalization and Trade Liberalization - Globalization and trade liberalization, coupled with the increasing power and scope of communications technologies, offers Canadians opportunities for international commerce, export development, and for the projection of Canadian values to the rest of the world through a myriad of new outlets for the exchange of ideas and cultures among countries. However, they also put pressure on Canada to harmonize its own economic, social, environmental and cultural policies with those of its major trading partners. These factors affect Canada’s cultural distinctiveness and the projection of "Canadian voices".

Canadian Identity - The promotion of an inclusive Canadian identity in an increasingly diverse, global and information-oriented society will present challenges for the Department. Many communities, including Aboriginal peoples off-reserve, visible minorities and official-language minorities, continue to face barriers to participation in the social, political, economic and cultural life of the country.

Citizen Engagement - Increasingly, Canadians want the Government to consider the public’s interest in planning for future generations. They desire greater involvement in decision making, more co-operation between levels of government, and more accountability. Many Canadians are increasingly turning to voluntary and charitable organizations to foster participation in Canadian society. There is an increasing concern for the application of sustainable development principles in all facets of the government’s policy, programming and operational activities. The federal government will play a key role in forging consensus and articulating a vision for all Canadians, in tackling the global issues and linking global trends to local interests, and in building and maintaining the social and economic architecture necessary for the information society. There is an increasing need for policy research and for contribution to research relating to social cohesion, the knowledge-based economy/society, human development, growth and global challenges. In that respect, a better understanding of the key challenges ahead will help to tailor policy approaches much more precisely and effectively.

New Millennium - As Canada approaches the historic threshold of a new millennium, Canadians will have the unique opportunity to reflect on their past achievements as a country while contemplating their aspirations for the future.

On the other hand, the arrival of the Year 2000 with its potential technological issues presents the dual challenge of ensuring compliance of departmental computer systems while preparing contingency plans to deal with interdependencies with other federal departments, provincial governments and private sector organizations. Both internal and external sources are being examined to identify and analyse risks from a business perspective, develop scenarios and appropriate solutions including resumption plans in the case of potential service disruption.

Department’s Financial Spending Plan

* Reflects best forecast of total planned spending to the end of the fiscal year.