Source : National Post

Heritage Minister says telecom is a sector worth keeping Canadian

OTTAWA - Canadian ownership remains important in the communications sector, the new heritage minister said yesterday.

Helene Chalifour Scherrer, a close ally of Paul Martin, the new Prime Minister, took over the portfolio from Sheila Copps amid expectations there would be a shift from Ms. Copps' nationalist stance.

But Ms. Chalifour Scherrer gave no indication of a change in an interview, when asked if the communications sector should remain in Canadian hands.

"The more we're going to have our own institutions the more we will be Canadians, the more every Canadian will be proud. We have to keep a lot of things Canadian," she said.

The minister kept away from specifics, saying she is in the process of Meeting with arts groups and companies across the country and has not made her mind up yet on the issues.

Telecommunications competitors to the former monopoly carriers such as Bell Canada have been pressing for an end to the 47% cap on foreign ownership, saying they need more foreign money to compete. But cable companies say they want the same treatment, since they compete for Internet and cellphone business with the telcos. And some media companies say they should be treated the same way too, since some of their competitors are part of telecom or cable empires.

The whole can of worms bedevilled the previous government, which elected last year to get bureaucrats to study it until this spring. The government is expected to delay a decision until after an expected spring election.

Ms. Chalifour Scherrer said she will work with Lucienne Robillard, the Industry Minister, to try to find a solution.

"I hope that I will be able to come up with, along with my partners and colleagues, something that satisfies everyone."

The new minister, first elected in 2000, said she wants the department to reallocate funds to target important programs, since it does not expect to get a big budgetary boost.

"There might be some hard decisions to take," she said. "We should look at those programs and see if they are still really meeting the needs of Canadians, are they the programs we want," she added. "We want to make sure we  get the most out of every dollar that is spent at every level."

At the same time she is interested in giving arts organizations commitments to sustainable funding. That could involve a multi-year commitment rather than one-year or project grants.

She would not say whether that is her goal for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., which has been after a multi-year funding commitment. She has yet to meet with CBC executives, she said.

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