OTTAWA, May 3, 2010 - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced that the Canada Council for the Arts will administer the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity. The Council is respected in Canada and internationally for its success in administering impartially juried awards and prizes in the arts and culture sector, which it has done for half a century.
Minister Moore also announced the creation of an advisory panel of experts that will generate a series of recommendations and options regarding the parameters of the Canada Prizes. The members of the Advisory Panel are Joseph L. Rotman, Simon Brault, Tony Gagliano, Liza Maheu, and Jennifer Clarke.
"As promised, the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to create the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity," said Minister Moore. "These Prizes will recognize outstanding Canadian artistic achievements and will help brand Canada as a centre of excellence. We are confident that the Advisory Panel, composed of prominent Canadians from the cultural sector, will contribute to the successful future of this initiative."
"The Canada Council is grateful to the Minister for giving it the responsibility of administering the prizes and the associated endowment," said Joseph L. Rotman, Canada Council Chair. "As members of the Advisory Panel, we also look forward to bringing our perspective and expertise in this field to the design of the prizes."
The Advisory Panel will benefit from discussions with key figures in the arts and culture sector as it considers the best model for the Canada Prizes. It will also take into account written submissions from Canadians interested in sharing their views about this initiative through an online consultation process. To take part in this online consultation, Canadians are invited to visit www.canadianheritage.gc.ca.
The Advisory Panel is expected to provide the Government of Canada with a final report in summer 2010. For more information on the Advisory Panel members, consult the attached biographical notes.
In Canada's Economic Action Plan 2009, the Government of Canada announced its intention to create the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity through a $25-million endowment. This commitment was reiterated in the 2010 Budget.
For more information (media only), please contact:
Matthew Deacon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Official Languages
819-997-7788
matthew.deacon@pch.gc.ca
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.ca
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
JOSEPH L. ROTMAN
Joseph L. Rotman is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto, and Columbia University. Mr. Rotman is Chairman of Roy-L Capital Corporation, a private family investment company. He has served on numerous corporate boards, including the Bank of Montreal, Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada Northwest Energy Ltd., Masonite International, and TrizecHahn Corp. He founded Tarragon Oil and Gas, Geocrude Energy, PanCana Resources, PanCana Minerals, and Embassy Resources, as well as a number of other companies, and served as their Chair. He also founded Clairvest Group Inc., a merchant bank, and continues to serve as a Member of the Board.
In 2009, Mr. Rotman was appointed Chairman of Grand Challenges Canada, a new, independent non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada to deliver the Development Innovation Fund announced in Budget 2008. In July 2008, Mr. Rotman was appointed to a five-year term as Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts. He previously served as Chair of the Board (1993-1996) and a Board Member (1991-2000) of the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as a Member of the Board of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (1996-1998).
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
SIMON BRAULT
Simon Brault has been involved with the National Theatre School since 1981. He was named CEO in October 2008 after previously holding the positions of Director General and Administrative Director. Convinced that the cultural milieu needed to increase its connections with other players in society, Mr. Brault was closely associated with the Forum d'action des milieux culturels de la Métropole from 1994 to 1999. He initiated Journées de la culture, a massive undertaking first held in 1997 to popularize the arts and culture across Quebec. He is also a founding member of Culture Montréal and has been its elected Chair since its beginning in 2002. Since 2007, Simon Brault has been at the head of the steering committee that organized the Rendez-Vous 07 - Montréal, Cultural Metropolis event.
Mr. Brault is a long-time supporter of cultural communities and considers himself an ardent advocate for the arts. He has been Vice-Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts since 2004. Simon Brault is presently a member of the International Advisory Board of the Musagetes Foundation. In 2008, he was honoured with a Fellowship by the Order of Canadian General Accountants, and in 2009, he received the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership offered by the Canadian Conference of the Arts. In 2005, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. He published Le Facteur C - L'avenir passe par la culture, Éditions Voix Parallèles, in 2009.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
LIZA MAHEU
Liza Maheu holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Ms. Maheu has a long record of being involved in the visual arts and cultural scene in Manitoba. She is currently the Executive Director of La Maison des artistes visuels du Manitoba, a position she has held since 2005. She was previously the Marketing Director of Le Centre culturel franco-manitobain.
Since 2009, she has been a trustee on the Board of Trustees for the National Gallery of Canada. Ms. Maheu's community activities have included being Director of Les amis des arts visuels du Manitoba and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Association des groupes en arts visuels francophones, based in Ottawa. She was also previously a committee member of the Festival du Voyageur, Tourisme Riel, and the Old Saint-Boniface Residents Association.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
JENNIFER CLARKE
Jennifer Clarke graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1972, and from the University of California in 1979 with a Master of Journalism. She is currently enrolled in the Directors' Education Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business. Since 2003, she has been President of JPC Strategies Ltd. and has been a Project Manager with the National Maritime Centre for the Pacific and the Arctic since 2006. Previously, she was Senior Counsel with Fleishman Hillard Canada and an instructor with the University of British Columbia. Between 1993 and 2002, Ms. Clarke was a three-term Vancouver City Councillor, where she chaired and participated in a number of committees related to planning, the environment, and transportation. She was also a candidate for mayor of Vancouver in 2002. Ms. Clarke has worked as a journalist and producer with CBC, PBS, and television news in California.
She has been an active member of several boards of directors and advisory boards, including the National Government Relations Committee of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2010), several committees of the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (2003-2009), the Canadian Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (2006-2010) at the University of British Columbia, and the Vancouver Art Gallery Executive Board (1986-1989).
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
TONY GAGLIANO
Tony Gagliano graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Business Management. He is currently Executive Chariman and Chief Executive Officer of St. Joseph Communications, a fully integrated communications/media corporation whose publications include Toronto Life, Fashion Magazine, and Canadian Family, among others. Mr. Gagliano is a well-known leader in the arts and culture community in the Toronto region. He was one of the founders and is currently chair of Luminato, Toronto's Annual Festival of Arts and Creativity.
Mr. Gagliano is actively involved in a number of organizations. He is a member of the World Presidents' Association as well as a board member of Metrolinx and the Toronto 2015 Pan American / Parapan American Games. In addition, he is a cabinet member of Ryerson University in Toronto, president of the Art Gallery of Ontario, a council member of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and an honorary board member of Scouts Canada.
