Goyette as chair at Mags Canada shows how things can change

Not so long ago, few people in the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association and the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association (predecessors of Magazines Canada) made references to Reader's Digest Canada or Time Canada in anything but disparaging tones.

They were considered American carpetbaggers who had somehow finagled their way past regulations on foreign publishers operating in the Canadian market. When various pieces of legislation had been passed, they had lobbied fiercely to be exempted as having been established before the legislation kicked in.

How much things have changed is shown with the election this week past of Robert Goyette as Chair of Magazines Canada for the first year of a two-year term. Mr. Goyette is Vice-President and Editor in Chief of Sélection, Reader's Digest Magazines of Canada Limited. He is also Chairman of the Reader's Digest Foundation of Canada. He is past President and current Vice-President of Magazines du Québec.

The thaw in relations occurred both because political circumstances have changed but also because Reader's Digest made significant efforts over the past 30 years to change its reputation within the Canadian industry, culminating a couple of years ago when the magazine was allowed to become a Magazines Canada member.

Time Canada remains outside the tent and makes very little effort to meet the Canadian industry even halfway. The company ended its Canadian edition as soon as Bill C-58 was passed in 1975, discontinuing the tax benefits of U.S. owned magazines operating in Canada.

Reader's Digest took another tack and that was to thoroughly "Canadianize" itself. With Goyette's ascendancy, the rehabilitation would seem to be complete.