Home is where the Art Is
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.
FEB 10 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 budget Submission on Feb 10 or before:
Use this link to upload your submission
(make sure you hit the make a formal submission button, not the questionnaire)
You can find a template here.
3 EASY STEPS:
1. Look up your MP here.
2. Write a letter (you can use this template) and email it to your MP and copy the Office of Canadian Heritage (below) and ask that office to include your submission as part of the budget deliberations.
Copy the following:
Ministry of Canadian Heritage
The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor: hon.ginette.petitpastaylor@pch.gc.ca,
Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou: isabelle.mondou@pch.gc.ca
Associate Deputy Minister Mala Khanna : mala.khanna@pch.gc.ca
3. Follow that up with a call to your MP's Office to ask for a meeting about their commitment to Canadian Arts and Culture and the recommendations.
Let us know how it goes here.
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.
FEB 10 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 budget Submission on Feb 10 or before:
Use this link to upload your submission
(make sure you hit the make a formal submission button, not the questionnaire)
You can find a template here.
3 EASY STEPS:
1. Look up your MP here.
2. Write a letter (you can use this template) and email it to your MP and copy the Office of Canadian Heritage (below) and ask that office to include your submission as part of the budget deliberations.
Copy the following:
Ministry of Canadian Heritage
The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor: hon.ginette.petitpastaylor@pch.gc.ca,
Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou: isabelle.mondou@pch.gc.ca
Associate Deputy Minister Mala Khanna : mala.khanna@pch.gc.ca
3. Follow that up with a call to your MP's Office to ask for a meeting about their commitment to Canadian Arts and Culture and the recommendations.
Let us know how it goes here.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We have made the following simplified recommendations:
Recommendation 1:
That the government allows for full loan forgiveness for theatres and not-for-profit organizations who received support from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).
Recommendation 2:
That the government implement a ticket-matching program which covers the summer 2023 through 2024 seasons for theatre and other arts organisations to protect against altered buying habits and reticence from audiences during the reopening transition for the cultural sector.
Ideally this would form part of a national strategy to promote returning to the arts through a national year of Canadian Culture (in line with and supporting Bill C-11).
See a draft proposal here
Recommendation 3:
That the government improve equity and inclusion in program funding by simplifying and accelerating application and assessment processes for new applicants to funding programs at the Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage.
Recommendation 4:
That the government, as part of the upcoming Green Buildings Strategy, increase investment to Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and ensure eligibility of, and prioritize arts and culture organizations in new Infrastructure programs and initiatives. This will prioritize climate change, protect the environment, and upgrade ventilation and filtration for safety in the performing arts.
Recommendation 5:
To expand and reimagine existing programs such as Canada Summer Jobs and Young Canada Works and others to increase the ability of arts organizations to encourage careers in the arts through more adaptive programs. This would enable more organizations to attract more talent and to reap the benefits of a long training period and a commitment to the organizations and their communities.
Recommendation 1:
That the government allows for full loan forgiveness for theatres and not-for-profit organizations who received support from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).
Recommendation 2:
That the government implement a ticket-matching program which covers the summer 2023 through 2024 seasons for theatre and other arts organisations to protect against altered buying habits and reticence from audiences during the reopening transition for the cultural sector.
Ideally this would form part of a national strategy to promote returning to the arts through a national year of Canadian Culture (in line with and supporting Bill C-11).
See a draft proposal here
Recommendation 3:
That the government improve equity and inclusion in program funding by simplifying and accelerating application and assessment processes for new applicants to funding programs at the Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage.
Recommendation 4:
That the government, as part of the upcoming Green Buildings Strategy, increase investment to Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and ensure eligibility of, and prioritize arts and culture organizations in new Infrastructure programs and initiatives. This will prioritize climate change, protect the environment, and upgrade ventilation and filtration for safety in the performing arts.
Recommendation 5:
To expand and reimagine existing programs such as Canada Summer Jobs and Young Canada Works and others to increase the ability of arts organizations to encourage careers in the arts through more adaptive programs. This would enable more organizations to attract more talent and to reap the benefits of a long training period and a commitment to the organizations and their communities.
