The Cultural Industries Development Fund is established to "target entrepreneurs working in book and magazine publishing, sound recording, film and video production and multimedia." The Business Development Bank of Canada administers the fund.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation closes eleven of its regional stations as a result of cuts to its budget. The provision of regional services is part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's mandate under the Broadcasting Act (1968).

The federal government passes the Telesat Canada Reorganization and Divestiture Act, which divests ownership of Telesat Canada to the private sector.

The Canadian Independent Film and Video Corporation is established with funding from Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board (NFB) to fund private film production in Canada.

The Broadcasting Act, 1991 is passed in response to the recommendations of the 1986 Caplan-Sauvageau Report.
Replacing the Broadcasting Act of 1968, the new act:

• emphasizes the importance of bilingualism, multiculturalism and the special place of Aboriginal people in Canadian society
  
  
• promotes employment equity for women, aboriginal people and visible minorities
  
  
• emphasizes the importance of programming which is Canadian in both content and character
  
  
• redefines the CBC's role as creating a "Canadian consciousness"

The Report of the Federal Standing Committee on Communications and Culture, releases its report, entitled The Ties that Bind. The report recommends:

• a five per cent increase in government funding for the arts
  
  
• increased support for the Canada Council for the Arts
  
  
• amendments to the Copyright Act to ensure compensation for Canadian artists
  
  
• stable funding for the CBC

The Status of the Artist Act is passed by the federal government in response to the Report of the Task Force on the Artist, also known as the Siren-Gelinas Report of 1986. The act recognizes "the importance of the contribution of artists to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of Canada."

The Department of Communications is disbanded by the federal government in response to the 1992 Report of the Federal Standing Committee on Communications and Culture. The newly formed Department of Canadian Heritage takes on the cultural aspects of communications, including cultural development and national heritage, while the technical and industrial components of communications are taken over by Industry Canada.

The Canadian government passes Bill C-88 to amend the Copyright Act. As part of the changes, all transmitters, including broadcasters and cable companies, are liable for royalties to producers.

The Telecommunications Act is revised in response to the 1992 Department of Communications report, The Ties that Bind. The act now states that telecommunications performs "an essential role in the maintenance of Canada's identity and sovereignty."

The Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) is renewed by the federal government. In addition, the government makes export marketing assistance available for book publishers and the postal subsidy program for Canadian books is replaced by subsidies from the Publication Distribution Assistance Program (PDAP).

The Department of Canadian Heritage creates the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) to take over responsibility for periodical subsidies from the Publication Distribution Assistance Program (PDAP). The principal objective of the new program is to provide Canadian readers with "affordable access to printed Canadian cultural products."

Mexico joins the bilateral trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. Canada's 'cultural exemptions' from the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement are carried over into the North American Free Trade Agreement, but are applicable only to trade conducted between Canada and the U.S.

Canada ratifies the Uruguay Round of negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and becomes a member of the new World Trade Organization (WTO) which the agreement creates. As part of the new agreement:

• Canada's cultural services are exempted from the agreement
  
  
• Canada's film and television co-production treaties are exempted from the agreement (a co-production treaty creates an economic union between states which benefit certain industries)
  
  
• Canada is required to change its copyright laws in order to comply with the principles of the Berne Copyright Convention
  
  
• an international dispute resolution mechanism for copyright issues is created at the WTO

The federal government implements the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit to assist in the development of the industry. The credit provides a refundable tax credit of up to 12 per cent on Canadian productions and replaces the Capital Cost Allowance.

The Task Force on the Canadian Magazine Industry released its report, entitled A Question of Balance. The task force was appointed by the Canadian government to look into the issue of "split-run" magazines in 1993 after the popular U.S. Sports Illustrated runs a "Canadian edition." The report:

• recommends the implementation of a tax on "split-run" periodicals
  
  
• recommends preserving the Postal Subsidy for Canadian periodicals

The Excise Tax Act is amended in response to the recommendations of the 1994 Task Force on the Canadian Magazine Industry. The act states, "There shall be imposed, levied and collected in respect of each "split-run" edition of a periodical a tax equal to 80 per cent of the value of all the advertisements in the edition."

Anthony Manera, president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, resigns over budget cuts imposed upon the organization, refusing to manage further reductions imposed on the organization by the federal government.

The highly publicized debate that follows draws national attention to the state of CBC funding and its broadcasting mandate.

The federal government reduces funding for several cultural programs, including:

• the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), whose budget is to be reduced to $820 million by the year 1999, down from $1.2 billion in 1990
  
  
• the Department of Canadian Heritage, whose budget is to be reduced by $675 million, including cuts to Telefilm Canada, the NFB and other cultural programs

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issues a report on the development of content and competition policies for new communications technologies. The report, entitled Competition and Culture on Canada's Information Highway, addresses the relationship between new technologies, cultural content, and Canadian legislation.

As a result of the introduction of digital technology, more television channels can now be carried on the broadcasting system. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commision (CRTC), in licensing 23 new Canadian specialty and pay TV channels, states that: "Canadian content levels have been a key factor in determining which of several competing applications within a given genre to license."

The Mandate Review Committee, commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage and headed by Pierre Juneau (former Chair of the CRTC), reviews the mandates for the CBC, Telefilm Canada and the NFB. The committee's report, entitled Making our Voices Heard, (also known as the Juneau Report):

• acknowledges that a great deal of Canadian cultural production would be impossible without government assistance
  
  
• acknowledges that the influence of U.S. cultural production in Canada is continuing to grow
  
  
• recommends that the CBC be funded through a permanent tax

The federal government launches the $200 million Canada Television and Cable Production Fund to assist with the financing of the production of Canadian television programs. The fund is financed through a combination of new federal funding, as well as money from Telefilm and Canadian cable operators, as part of their conditions of license.

The Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Music Industry releases its final report, which notes: "the key policy issues that require attention are under-funding, inadequate copyright protection, CRTC regulation, and the need to protect and strengthen Canadian distribution systems."

Under the terms of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the United States, through the World Trade Organization (WTO), challenges Canada's use of the Excise Tax Act to block "split-run" magazines from entering Canada. The WTO rules that Canada's use of its excise law is in violation of GATT rules and cannot be used. Canada appeals the decision.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules against Canada's appeal on "split-run" magazines and states that Canada's use of its excise law is inconsistent with GATT rules. The panel also overturns the earlier ruling that Canada's use of postal subsidies for periodicals was justified and gives Canada six months to comply with the ruling.

The Final Report of the Information Highway Advisory Council is released. The report, entitled Preparing Canada for a Digital World, recommends:

• that a production tax credit similar to the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit be established for multimedia production
  
  
• that a fund be established to support Canadian multimedia industries
  
  
• that Canadian advertising revenues support new media content in the same way as they support established media industries

The federal government reduces the budgets of the Publications Distribution Assistance Program and the Book Publishing Industry Development Program by 61 per cent.

As part of the 1998 Commercial Radio Policy, the CRTC increases the Canadian content requirements for AM and FM radio broadcasting to 35 per cent.

Canada accedes to international agreements by amending its Copyright Act. Bill C-32 redefines sections of the act in order to comply with the 1961 Rome Convention and the 1971 version of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. In order to comply with the terms of the international conventions, the new act:

• offers equal copyright treatment to authors from other member countries
  
  
• gives Canadian performers a "remuneration right" when their work is broadcast or performed in public

Polygram Film Entertainment and the European Union, through the World Trade Organization (WTO), challenge Canada's 1988 Foreign Investment Guidelines for film distribution. The guidelines require that companies handle only those films to which they hold world-wide distribution rights or in which they have invested more than 50 per cent of the production cost.

The Department of Canadian Heritage forms the Feature Film Advisory Committee to review Canadian feature film policy. The Committee's report, The Road to Success, examines the challenges faced by the film industry in Canada and seeks to "assist the Government in establishing priorities for action" in film policy.

The Department of Canadian Heritage announces a $30 million fund, established for the "production, distribution and marketing of Canadian cultural multimedia products in English and French." Telefilm Canada is responsible for the administration of the fund, which was recommended in the 1997 Final Report of the Information Highway Advisory Council.

The Department of Canadian Heritage develops the Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act. The proposed measures give the Minister of Heritage power to investigate companies suspected of planning to launch split-run magazines. It creates an offence for a foreign periodical publisher to supply advertising services directed at the Canadian market to Canadian advertisers. The United States threatens to challenge this legislation.

After months of debate within Canada and negotiations with the U.S., the Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act, is passed in the House of Commons. The bill aims to keep "split-runs" (Canadian editions of U.S. magazines) out of Canada. In May, the stipulations of the legislation are eased to avoid a trade war.

Originally, the Canadian publishing industry demanded that no more than 10 per cent of Canadian advertising be permitted in American-owned magazines; the U.S. persistently quoted 25 per cent. The changes allow for 12 per cent of Canadian advertising in American-owned split-runs in the first year, 15 per cent in the second, and 18 per cent thereafter.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) releases its Report on New Media, which states that the CRTC will not attempt to regulate the Internet. The CRTC leaves "Canadian Internet Presence" and "Canadian Product" to market forces.

The Cultural Industries Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade releases its report, entitled New Strategies for Culture and Trade: Canadian Culture in a Global World. The report describes the cultural policies now in place in Canada, cultural policies used by other countries, and the growing pressure from technology and international trade agreements. It then sets out options for Canada's cultural trade policy, including:

• the cultural exemption strategy used in the past, which takes culture "off the table" in international trade negotiations
  
  
• a new strategy that would involve negotiating a new international instrument that would specifically address cultural diversity, and acknowledge the legitimate role of domestic cultural policies in ensuring cultural diversity

After a lengthy review of its policies on Canadian television the CRTC releases a revised policy framework: Building On Success - A Policy Framework For Canadian Television. The policies focus on improving the financial success of Canadian programming in areas other than news and sports, and increasing the exhibition of Canadian programs during peak viewing times.