US embassy cable - 04QUEBEC215

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, Trade 
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