Open Letter: Chronicle of a Disappearance Foretold

Our culture is under threat.

This is not an exaggeration. It is a clear-eyed reality. A cultural battle is unfolding before us—not with bombs or fanfare, but with consequences that may be just as lasting.

As Big Tech companies, deeply intertwined with American economic power, tighten their grip on our markets, they continue to drain our cultural ecosystem. They profit from Canadian audiences, control access to creative works, determine what gets seen, and give very little back in return.
And who pays the price? We do.

Rather than confronting this imbalance—and perhaps to avoid upsetting these powerful players—the Canadian government has announced $600 million in taxpayer-funded support for the cultural sector. While this investment is certainly welcome and necessary, it also serves as compensation for the government's inability to enforce meaningful rules. When difficult choices arise, culture is once again treated as expendable.

That is precisely the heart of the issue: culture is not a bargaining chip. Every nation has the right to enact laws that protect its language, its identity, and its cultural expression.

We are told that, eventually, the CRTC will establish the necessary regulations and require digital platforms to contribute their fair share. We want to believe that. But the signals remain mixed, and uncertainty continues to grow. What guarantees do we really have?

As if that were not enough, another wave is advancing at full speed: artificial intelligence. Fast. Disruptive. Relentless.

The government wants to accelerate its adoption, develop homegrown tools, and position Canada as a global leader. Fine. But at what cost?
In this vision, culture is largely absent. Artists, performers, writers, and creators—among those most directly affected by the current abuses of AI—are barely acknowledged. Transparency is discussed, yet creative works continue to be used without consent, and labour continues to be exploited without compensation.

Where are the safeguards?

Where are the rules to ensure accountability?

We hear talk of committees, working groups, and ongoing discussions, but few concrete commitments. As though culture can wait. As though it can absorb one more blow. It cannot. Not anymore.

Let us stop saying that the major platforms are simply too powerful.

Let us stop pretending that AI cannot be governed.

Let us reject fatalism.

Other countries have implemented rules. Other governments have stood their ground. Why not us?

What is at stake extends far beyond our sector. It is our collective ability to exist, to tell our own stories, and to keep the French language vibrant in a world increasingly driven toward uniformity.

A nation that abandons its culture does not adapt—it disappears.

We call on the federal government to show courage.

To defend culture through action, not just rhetoric.

To enforce its laws without compromise.

To place culture at the centre of every strategy related to artificial intelligence.

To genuinely listen to the cultural community and give it a meaningful role in decision-making.

This is not about resisting progress. It is about refusing to disappear.

Otherwise, the ending has already been written.

And this time, it will no longer be a metaphor. It will be the story of a disappearance we saw coming.

Tania Kontoyanni
President, Union des artistes (UDA)

This letter is co-signed by:

Annick Charette, President, Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture
Bernard Larrivière, President, AQTIS 514 IATSE
Chantal Cadieux, Author and President, SARTEC
Guy Bernard, Executive Director, Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec
Michèle Laliberté, President, Directors Guild of Canada – Quebec (DGC Quebec)
Mylène Cyr, Executive Director, Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec
Warren Sonoda, National President, Directors Guild of Canada (DGC)