QUEBEC GOVERNMENT ON UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 QUEBEC 000215

SIPDIS

PARIS UNESCO FOR JANET COWLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2014
TAGS: ETRD SCUL FR CA UNESCO
SUBJECT: QUEBEC GOVERNMENT ON UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION

CLASSIFIED BY: Abigail Friedman, CG, QUEBEC CITY, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)





1. (C) Summary: Government of Quebec (GOQ) officials requested
a meeting with CG Friedman to review the bidding on the draft
UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention in advance of the Dec.
14-17 drafting group meeting in Paris, where Quebec will
participate as an observer. GOQ officials said Quebec is not
anti-free trade but does want a convention that "protects"
cultural diversity from rulings in other fora such as the WTO,
which might one day force Quebec to change its present system of
cultural subsidies and regulations. Separately we note that
Quebec's desire for a seat at the table at UNESCO is part of a
broader trend of increased Quebec assertiveness on the
international stage. End summary.


2. (U) Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications officials
Andre Dorval and Gerard Grandmont, and International Relations
Ministry officials Luc Bergeron and France Genest told CG that
Quebec wants to see a cultural diversity convention in place not
because of any present encroachment of Quebec's cultural
subsidies and regulations, but because of their concern for the
future. Quebec fears that at some point a case could be
successfully brought before the WTO or elsewhere, forcing Quebec
to change its policies.


3. (U) Our interlocutors stressed that the GOQ is not anti-free
trade. Bergeron noted that Quebec has been a leader in Canada
on free trade, having pushed hard in favor of a Free Trade
Agreement with the U.S. and NAFTA. Nor does Quebec wish to
exclude other cultures, he said. As an example, he said Quebec
has never objected to American English language television
programs, because there is a healthy local francophone
television industry in Quebec. Quebec simply wants to insure
that its products have a place sufficient to maintain Quebec's
cultural identity, said Bergeron.

Quebec Allies on Cultural Diversity
--------------


4. (C) Dorval told us that while France is a tactical ally for
Quebec at UNESCO, the two governments face very different
cultural diversity challenges. Quebec has real problems with
access to French markets for its cultural goods and wants
greater market liberalization in France. At the same time,
French cultural products (especially books) could swamp the
Quebec market, were it not for Quebec subsidies and regulations
that support Quebec cultural industries like publishing.


5. (C) Without elaborating on China's position, our
interlocutors told us that Quebec sees completely eye-to-eye
with the Chinese on the matter of cultural diversity.
International Relations Minister Monique Gagnon-Tremblay was in
China for a meeting related to cultural diversity this fall, and
according to the MRI she came back very upbeat about the Chinese
position.

Lobbying the U.S. Private Sector
--------------


6. (SBU) Dorval said the GOQ is exploring the idea of lobbying
the U.S. private sector entertainment industry. The GOQ
believes the U.S. private sector has not been as opposed to a
UNESCO convention as one might expect, perhaps because U.S.
business understands that a convention could support
intellectual property rights and help staunch copyright
infringement. (Note: The Quebec logic seems to be that if
countries are encouraged to protect and develop their own local
cultural industries, then those countries would fight harder to
stop intellectual property theft as these government will want
their publics to buy local cultural products. End note.)

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Quebec's assertiveness on cultural diversity reflects
both the importance of the issue to Quebec and the widely shared
belief here that if an area is within the purview of Canadian
provinces - e.g., cultural and educational issues - then Quebec
should have full power to engage on the issue, including on the
international stage. Quebec's desire for a seat at the UNESCO
talks also is part of provincial Premier Charest's broader
strategy of raising Quebec's international profile while
remaining firmly within Canada. Without taking a position on
the question of Quebec' role in international fora, the CG noted
that Quebec's eagerness to be in the vanguard on cultural
diversity coupled with its unfettered support for tactical
allies could cost the GOQ in its reputation as a promoter of
free-trade.


FRIEDMAN