CCA Bulletin 05/07

Ottawa, Friday, February 16, 2007

A bit of this, a bit of that…

CCA 2007 Awards Reminder: Call for Nominations

Cuts to Public Diplomacy Program: a clarification

A last minute Online Pre-Budget 2007!

Election readiness: CCA writes to the 5 Major Federal Political Parties

As awards season heats up in Canada, with the Junos and the Jutras fast approaching, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) would like to remind members to give serious consideration to presenting nominees for CCA's own National Arts Awards: the Diplôme d'honneur, and the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership.

Nomination forms are available in the Awards section of the CCA website (http://www.ccarts.ca/en/awards/) or by contacting Alessia Bongiovanni at the CCA (alessia.bongiovanni@ccarts.ca, 613-238-3561 ext. 20).

Nominations must be received by the CCA no later than April 30, 2007.

DFAIT Public Diplomacy Cuts Clarification & CCA Letter to Peter MacKay

It has come to the attention of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) that an online petition is circulating calling for the restoration of the monies cut from at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) public diplomacy program supporting arts and culture, which was announced as part of the Government's reallocation exercise of September 25 2006.

Many CCA members have communicated their profound concerns with the reduction of the public diplomacy program at DFAIT, and have done so more fervently since an op-ed by Margaret Atwood was published in the Globe and Mail on February 3.

The CCA agrees wholeheartedly with the spirit of the initiative as there is always room in Canada for more vocal advocates for our arts and culture!  However, it is important to know that the petition's claim that "the $11.9 million cut over two years represents a 100% withdrawal of the Public Diplomacy budget (at DFAIT)" is not entirely accurate.  Yes, $11.9 million will be removed over the next 2 fiscal years; however, this was discretionary funding above the base budget, which has always been and still is recognized as insufficient. 

In a letter dated October 5 2006, the CCA requested an urgent meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss this issue of the reallocation cuts, but also the broader pressing issue of how arts and culture must be a key component of Canada's emerging international policy.

In a more recent February 8 2007 letter we have renewed our offer of assistance in addressing this situation in a constructive and timely manner and strongly encouraged the Government to make a prompt, clear pronouncement regarding its support for the arts and culture as part of its international relations policy.  The CCA will continue to watch this situation closely and will keep members and supporters informed of any further developments, as regrettably a meeting with the Hon. Peter MacKay has yet to materialize.

Another Online Pre-Budget Consultation on the Federal Budget 2007!

On February 7 2007 the Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Flaherty, announced online consultations for Federal Budget 2007.

This is somewhat peculiar given that the deadline for submissions, which must be no longer than 50 words each per topic and are organized under five limited headings (spending, personal tax, corporate tax, debt and “other”), are due by midnight EST on February 28.  This is mere weeks before the still-rumoured budget announcement on March 20 and, additionally, the CCA has learned through discussions with Parliament sources that the budget may in fact be written and at translation already, meaning this online campaign will have little-to-no-impact on its contents, except maybe for last minute political adjustments as from all evidence last year was the one-time $50M increase to the Canada Council’s budget, spread over two years.

Nevertheless CCA encourages members and supporters who wish to participate in the online consultation to do so.  A lot of the points from our September 5 2006 pre-budget brief “A Creative New Way of Thinking” became strong recommendations endorsed in the Standing Committee on Finance’s pre-budget report, “Canada: Competing to Win”.

The CCA also tweaked the framework for its policy and advocacy priorities in order to participate in the Government’s mid-December 2006 “Advantage Canada” online consultations when we prepared our intervention, entitled “How the Canadian Arts and Culture Sector is Essential to a Strong Future Economy”.  Both of CCA briefs should be of assistance to advocates for Canadian arts and culture interested in participating in this expedited process, as they are chock full of ideas worth acting on by any federal Government with a strong commitment to supporting culture.

Election Readiness: CCA writes to the 5 Major Federal Political Parties

On February 9, 2007 the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) wrote to all five major federal political parties. We declared our intent to play a cultural leadership role in any possible upcoming federal election by assisting the parties and their MP candidates in engaging in an important public policy dialogue about issues vital to all Canadians and to artists, arts organizations, and the Canadian cultural industries more specifically.

Consistent with the CCA’s Federal Election “Rules of Engagement” strategy approved by the Board of Governors at a meeting in Montréal on October 20 2006, the CCA has offered all five federal political parties the opportunity to draw upon our consultation expertise in the drafting of cultural policies and platforms for the purposes of any future federal election campaign.

As a national non-partisan and not-for-profit organization with a renewed mission statement, the CCA is well-positioned to provide an impartial overview of the current realities, challenges, and opportunities facing the arts and culture sector across Canada.