Minister Of Canadian Heritage And Minister Responsible For The Status Of Women T

Minister Liza Frulla visits the Canadian Club podium to discuss her role as Minister of Canadian Heritage and outline her Ministry's cultural agenda for the country. She will discuss Canada's cultural sovereignty and the importance of Canada maintaining a strong Canadian identity, while at the same time remaining open to a world being transformed by technology, communication, and globalization. Under Minister Frulla's leadership, Canadian Heritage has had several important achievements including the renewal of the critical funding program, Tomorrow Starts Today. There's also been a federal commitment of 25 million dollars towards a new home for the Toronto International Film Festival, the infusion of 5 million dollars into Telefilm Canada's new media fund and the naming of Toronto as one of five cultural capitals this year. Liza Frulla first ran for public office in 1989 when she was elected to the Quebec provincial assembly. For nine years she served as Minister of Communications and then Minister of Culture in the Quebec government. She was first elected federally in a by-election in May 2002 and was re-elected in 2004. In 2003, she was named Minister of Social Development. She was named Minister of Canadian Heritage after the 2004 federal election, making her the first person to hold the culture portfolio at both a provincial and national level. Ms. Frulla holds an arts degree from Collège Basile-Moreau and graduated in education from the Université de Montréal. For further information: Verity Dimock, The Canadian Club of Toronto, Phone: (416) 364-5591, E-mail: vdimock@canadianclub.org, www.canadianclub.org