The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced today the creation of two ministerial consulting committees to help supporting a green shift in the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors. One committee will be dedicated to the arts, culture and heritage sectors while the other will be dedicated to the sport sector.

Mandate

The purpose of these committees is to inform policy development activities within the Department of Canadian Heritage to support the two sectors as they develop, integrate, or enhance their environmentally oriented practices. Recognizing the important role the arts and sport sectors have had in communicating issues related to climate change and the environment, and that greening these sectors can act as a vector of change in engaging the whole of society in efforts to address climate change challenges, that this process requires sustained efforts by all key stakeholders, and that multiple initiatives have already been adopted, the Department of Canadian Heritage wishes to strengthen its position to ensure that it can assume the most efficient role.

Composition

• Each committee is composed of approximately 12 members selected by the Minister.
• The overall composition of each committee reflects the principal subsectors applicable to each sector, as well as the diversity of the Canadian population as a whole.
• The members of the arts, culture and heritage sectors committee are:
  • Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, Canada Media Fund;
  • Marcia Douglas, Senior Director, Business Affairs, Canadian Media Producers Association;
  • Jérôme Dupras, Professor of Ecological Economics at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Ecological Economics at the Institute of Temperate Forests Science (ISFORT);
  • Ian Garrett, Associate Professor of Ecological Design for Performance, York University in Toronto. Co-founder and director of the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA), and Producer at ToasterLab;
  • Clara George, Chair of Green Committee, Directors Guild of Canada;
  • David Hardy, Vice President, Sustainability & Stakeholder Affairs, William F. White International Inc.;
  • Zena Harris, President and Founder, Green Spark Group;
  • David Maggs, Artistic Director, Gros Morne Summer Music, Sustainability Expert, Author, Metcalf Foundation Innovation Fellow; Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Sustainability;
  • Benoit Mathieu, Advisor – Strategy & Circular Economy, Écoscéno;
  • Caroline Voyer, Executive Director, Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables;
  • Keith Woods, President-Elect of International Alliance of Theatrical Stages Employees (IATSE) and chair of the IA national green committee.
• The members of the sport sector committee are:
  • James Lavallée, canoe and kayak athlete, multiple medalist and a member of the Canadian Junior National Kayak Team;
  • Geneviève Marchand, Operations Manager, Tennis Canada;
  • Rob Millington, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Brock University;
  • Michele O’Keefe, chair,  SPORT4ONTARIO Board of Directors;
  • Madeleine Orr, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at SUNY Cortland; Researcher at UBC Okanagan. Founder & Co-Director of The Sport Ecology Group; public speaker and advocate for climate action;
  • Sarah-Ève Pelletier, Director, Sport Business & Sustainability, Canadian Olympic Committee;
  • Crystal Rabley, Sustainability Chair, Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games and Business Performance analyst, Walker Industries’ Environmental division;
  • Oluseyi (Seyi) Smith, Member of Eco Athletes advocacy group and the IOC Sustainability & Legacy Commission;
  • Dan Wilcock, President & CEO, Canada Games Council (CGC);
  • Brian Wilson, Professor and Director of the Centre for Sport and Sustainability (CSS) at the University of British Columbia.
• The mandate of each committee member is for one year, and may be renewed at the discretion of the Minister.
• All deliberations, work and documents associated with the work of the committees are considered confidential.
• All media inquiries are referred to the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Expectations

Each committee is expected to:

• Provide information on the current initiatives aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of the sector’s activities, taking into account the relevant subgroups within the sector.
• Assist in identifying the most significant challenges or barriers currently faced by the sector in adopting environmentally oriented practices.
• Identify what actions could support the ongoing work to raise awareness and educate the public on issues related to the environment and climate change.
• Provide insights on the most appropriate role that the Department of Canadian Heritage may assume to support the sector’s efforts in adopting environmentally oriented practices.

Meetings

• Both committees met for the first time in August, 2021;
• In light of current COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, the meetings will be held virtually until further notice;
• The duration of each meeting will be approximately two hours;
• The meetings will be conducted in both official languages;
• All relevant supporting information will be provided to the members in both official languages.