For immediate release, Toronto (Tkaronto), ON – The new Liberal Cabinet was sworn in today in Ottawa. The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) is happy to welcome Pascale St-Onge as the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
“We look forward to developing our relationship with Minister St-Onge to ensure First Nations, Inuit and Métis stories continue to be told in this country from Indigenous perspectives,” said Kerry Swanson, CEO of the ISO. “We are looking forward to collaborating with Minister St-Onge and the Department of Canadian Heritage to build a stable structure for the ISO and continue the work of building an Indigenous screen sector in Canada.” also indicated Swanson.
In the last five years, the ISO has been a pioneering organization in the screen, arts and culture sectors, delivering over $24.6m directly to over 320 First Nations, Inuit and Métis recipients across Canada. Over 88% of ISO’s total budget has been delivered directly to applicants and projects over the last two years, with all funding delivered in both official languages. The organization’s work in advocacy, funding policy, program design and delivery, eligibility, narrative sovereignty and protocols have been replicated and advanced across the industry, where ISO is widely acknowledged as a leading organization.
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About ISO
The ISO is the first organization of its kind in Canada and abroad – an independent Indigenous-led and run funding organization that supports screen-based content owned and controlled by Indigenous storytellers on all platforms. ISO’s mandate is in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ratified by Canada, which positions storytelling and self-representation in media as a fundamental right. With 67% of funding in 2022 going to projects with Indigenous languages, the ISO further supports the government’s Indigenous Languages Act and language rights affirmed by this government and by UNDRIP.
For more information, please contact:
Jean-Francois D. O’Bomsawin
Director of Marketing & Communications
jfobomsawin@iso-bea.ca
(438) 826-6291