Canadian books to readers everywhere: An examination of book policy development at the Department of Canadian Heritage

This report presents an examination of book policy development at the Department of Canadian Heritage. It describes the federal government's current policy toolkit in the context of the principal factors that shape it - in particular, the policy rationale behind the government's support of the book industry in Canada and the various interests inside and outside government that influence book policies. This description culminates in the case study of a recent policy decision surrounding the eligibility of foreign-authored titles to the Aid to Publishers component of the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. In general, the paper is designed to shed some light on the workings of the government for the publishing community and for those interested in understanding the dynamics of support for book publishing in Canada.