Source : CBC Radio

JUDY MADDREN (Anchor): Canada's new Minister of Canadian Heritage says she is going to do things differently from her predecessor. Hélène Scherrer has been in the job for thirty-five days but not much has been heard about her priorities. Scherrer is a former social worker and events organizer. She is close to Prime Minister Paul Martin and a key player in planning his election campaign. As Sandra Abma reports, one of Scherrer’s first challenges will be the issue of foreign ownership in the media.

SANDRA ABMA (Reporter): Hélène Scherrer says she may not have a background in the arts, but Paul Martin made her the new culture minister because of her attitude

HÉLÈNE SCHERRER (Heritage Minister): It’s most of the way I am going to do things. I think he trusted me with a new way of doing things more than exactly what was my expertise.

ABMA: Arts groups will be watching to see how Scherrer deals with the thorny issue foreign ownership in the media. Under former Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, the heritage department was locked in a battle with the department of industry over the issue. Industry wants to open the doors to foreign investment in telecommunications. Because some companies own both telecommunications and media outlets, broadcasting could be affected as well. Sheila Copps was firmly against loosening ownership limits, but the new heritage minister says she is more flexible and she’s already in discussions with the new industry minister Lucienne Robillard.

HÉLÈNE SCHERRER: We are working at it, the officials are working on that and this may go to a compromise.

ABMA: Scherrer says she is still learning about the huge heritage portfolio. This week she began visiting arts groups in Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton with plans to visit other provinces.

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