Communication Canada

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Communication Canada was an agency of the Department of Public Works and Government Services in the Government of Canada. Its responsibility was primarily for keeping federal government departments and their agencies connected with Canadian citizens. Responsibility for developing the federal government's web presence and primary web site rested with Communication Canada.

The Government of Canada, officially Her Majesty's Government, is the federal administration of Canada. In Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. In both senses, the current construct was established at Confederation through the Constitution Act, 1867—as a federal constitutional monarchy, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block", of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The Crown is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Canadian government. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian Constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, and unwritten conventions developed over centuries.

The agency was created in the mid-1990s following the 1995 Quebec referendum, ostensibly to promote federal government communications with all of Canada; however, many Canadians viewed it as a government propaganda agency. Communication Canada became linked to the Sponsorship Scandal and was disbanded in a federal government reorganization at the end of the fiscal year, effective March 31, 2004.

1995 Quebec referendum

The 1995 Quebec independence referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian French-speaking province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim national sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of offering a political and economic agreement to Canada.

Propaganda Form of communication intended to sway the audience through presenting only one side of the argument

Propaganda is information that is not objective and is used primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is presented. Propaganda is often associated with material prepared by governments, but activist groups, companies, religious organizations and the media can also produce propaganda.

Communication Canada was accountable to its Executive Director, who reported to the Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Government Communications and there was a Minister Responsible for Communication Canada. [1] On April 1, 2004, the agency was disbanded and its responsibilities divided among the Department of Public Works and Government Services [2] and the Privy Council Office. [3]

Communications Canada was created in 1969 as the Department of Communications and was headed by the Minister of Communications. It was disbanded in 1995 with its responsibilities for telecommunications going to Industry Canada and culture going to Canadian Heritage.

The Minister of Communications of Canada is a now-defunct cabinet post which existed from 1969 to 1996, when it was abolished. Its telecommunications policy functions were transferred to the Minister of Industry and its cultural role was assumed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

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