The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC) is a

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. The Committee is currently chaired by

Scott Simms Scott Simms (born August 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame from 2004 until 2021. Early life Scott Simms was born on Augus ...

, with Vice-Chairs

Alain Rayes Alain Rayes (born December 11, 1971) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Richmond—Arthabaska in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election, and reelected in the 2019 and 2021 electi ...

and Martin Champoux. The Committee studies the policies and programs of the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...

and its portfolio, which are concerned with the fields of culture, heritage, and human rights in Canada.

Mandate and activities

The Committee mandate includes: * Review and study the policies and programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage and its agencies. * Promote culture, the arts, heritage, audiovisual, sport, official languages, citizenship and participation as well as Aboriginal, youth and sport initiatives. The Committee held four meetings during the 1st Session of the 43rd Parliament. On 13 March 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, all scheduled committee meetings were cancelled. During the 42nd Parliament, the Committee undertook various studies, covering a range of subjects, including: * the "impact of digital technology on the media in Canada;" * the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

; *

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

; * women and girls in sport; * "

systemic racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healt ...

and

religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated u ...

in Canada;" * the museum sector in Canada; * cultural hubs and districts in Canada; *

gender parity Gender parity is a statistical measure used to describe ratios between men and women, or boys and girls, in a given population. Gender parity may refer to the proportionate representation of men and women in a given group, also referred to as sex ...

on the "boards and senior leadership levels of Canadian artistic and cultural organizations;" * Bill C-91, ''An Act respecting Indigenous languages''; *

remuneration Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in additio ...

models for "artists and creative industries and Canada’s copyright regime;" and * the online secondary ticket sales industry.

History

Between 1979 and 1993, cultural issues were the responsibility of the Standing Committee on Communications and Culture. In 1993, cultural matters, including

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

, were moved to the new

, while responsibility for

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

was moved to

Industry Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...

. As result, in 1994, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was established. Since then, the Committee’s mandate has gone through a couple changes. In 2003, responsibility for

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

moved from Canadian Heritage to the

Department of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. In fiscal year 2015–2016, the Multiculturalism Program transferred from

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

to Canadian Heritage.

Membership

References

External links

* {{Department of Canadian Heritage

Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the Ministry (government department), department of the Cabinet of Canada, Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to init ...

House_of_Commons_Standing_Committee_on_Canadian_Heritage