Mr. Speaker, the new Government of Canada welcomes the official coming into force of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on March 18, 2007.
Yesterday, in Ottawa, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec's minister of culture chaired a round table on the diversity of cultural expressions.
Working closely with the Government of Quebec and Canada's arts and culture community, the Government of Canada is actively taking steps to implement this convention.
Our government is proud to announce that it intends to stand for a seat on the intergovernmental committee and to propose that the committee hold its first meeting here in Ottawa.
The government also promises to contribute to the international fund for cultural diversity, which will defend and promote the objectives and principles of this treaty.
This reflects our government's leadership in protecting and promoting cultural diversity.