The Federal Government is a major contributor to cultural life in Canada.
However as things began to reopen in 2022, all supports for the extraordinary time of COVID, including employment supports, were eliminated and many organizations and cultural workers are still facing major struggles to keep going.
For some of us, there is an urgent need to forgive the CEBA loan for the sector, since it has been a lifeline for many int he non profit and arts and culture sectors and without supports but facing significant barriers to full recovery, we cannot afford to repay the loans or to accrue interest.
is the deadline to make a budget submission (follow the steps below), but you can still reach out to your MP and send them a recommendation that would go a long way to our ongoing recovery.
Make a Request for CEBA Foregiveness for Non Profits and the Arts before October 10:
2. Write a letter (you can use these templates: WORD , PDF) and email it to your MP and copy the Office of Canadian Heritage - see below (if an arts organization) and Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
3. Follow that up with a call to your MP's Office to ask for a meeting about their support of the forgiveness of the CEBA loan for arts organizations and the non profit sector. Let us know how it goes here.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We have made the following simplified recommendation for the fall 2023 fiscal update:
Recommendation 1: That the government allows for full loan forgiveness for arts organisations and broader not-for-profit organizations who received support from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).