This document is a comprehensive examination of the concept of the creative economy and more particularly of how the current labour policy framework should adapt to the realities creative professionals.

The report reflects a broad range of approaches to the creative economy in a number of countries which have undertaken to develop strategies to promote the creative economy and to encourage creative professionals. The report examines the Canadian approach to the status of the artist question and offers some new thinking about how best to deal with the unique characteristics of workers in the creative economy. .

The report was commissioned as a contribution to the International Forum on the Creative Economy held in Gatineau on March 17-18, 2008. It was prepared for the CCA by Mirjam Gollmitzer, Research Associate, PhD Candidate, and Dr. Catherine Murray PhD, of the Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.