Minister Joly Concludes Productive Two-day Working Trip in Toronto

TORONTO, January 19, 2018

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage concluded a two-day working trip to Toronto where she discussed a broad range of issues and priorities facing the creative sector and multicultural communities.

Notably, Minister Joly participated in two roundtable discussions to examine and propose solutions to prevent sexual harassment in the creative sector. The first meeting, which was organized by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, included approximately 45 senior officials representing theatre, dance and music organizations. The second meeting was led by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and included representatives from their members’ sexual harassment working groups. Minister Joly expressed her support for these shared approaches and reiterated the commitment to reviewing Canadian Heritage’s funding policies to ensure that organizations receiving funding promote safe and harassment-free workplaces.

As Canada and China embark on a Year of Tourism in 2018, Minister Joly also met with business and community leaders from the Chinese-Canadian community at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Scarborough and discussed Canada’s upcoming creative industries trade mission to China. Canada’s creative industries represent a key sector of our economy and this trade mission is an opportunity to establish greater commercial ties with the Chinese market. Opening new markets for our creators and creative industries will contribute to inclusive growth, create jobs and strengthen the middle class and helping those working hard to join it.

While in the Greater Toronto Area, Minister Joly also took the opportunity to connect with local communities. As Minister responsible for Multiculturalism, she participated in a Filipino community roundtable and attended a reception to celebrate Tamil Heritage Month and Thai Pongal.