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Following the Speech from the Throne on January 26th, marking the opening of the second session of Canada’s 40th Parliament, the Federal Stimulus Budget was released today by Finance Minister Flaherty. Unlike previous budget releases, this announcement came in the wake of unprecedented media leaks, leading to nationwide conjecture on the stimulus funding expected for the arts and culture sector.

On first read, the Stimulus Budget appears to hold cultural and arts spending at a steady level. The section designated to culture and sport notes that:

“Culture reflects who we are as a nation, how we see ourselves within our country, and how we appear to the world. Day-to-day, Canadians experience the essence of this rich and diverse country though the imagery and words of its artists, through works which demonstrate the best of talent. While resilient in many ways, the cultural sector is plainly also vulnerable to economic shocks. The Government wants to help ensure as much stability as possible for the sector at a time when the sector is facing difficult challenges.

Budget 2009 provides over $335 million in support for culture and arts – recognizing the importance of our artistic institutions and the role they play in Canadians’ lives. “

The first is on Cultural Infrastructure, also known as the Cultural Spaces Canada Program. This program will see an increase of $60 million over two years, in support of infrastructure-related costs for local community cultural and heritage institutions such as local theatres, small museums, and libraries. This program is provided through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The National Arts Training Contribution Program has been renewed with an increase of $7 million for this coming year and a budget of $13 million for the next fiscal year. The $13 million includes $6 million which was due to sunset in 2010-2011, for a net increase of $7 million to the ongoing budget.
Funding for community newspapers and magazines has been provided $30 million over two years. This program replaces the Postal Subsidy previously provided by Canada Post. Specific interest is given to diverse Canadian content, business innovation for print and online magazines, aid to publishers, and access to print medium.
A new initiative seen in the 2009 Budget is for Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity. Significant cash awards will be given to new artists. As well, a media-based curriculum will be established for schools nationwide. This program is allocated $25 million to establish an endowment. The Canada Council for the Arts, which is the primary body to disseminate prizes and endowments in the various artistic disciplines, currently awards 40 distinct prizes and endowments. It is still unclear where these Prizes will be housed.
Funds for the following two programs appear to be held at stable levels. The Canada New Media Fund, administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage remains at a consistent level of funding with $28.6 million over the next two years, followed by an annual budget of $14.3 following that. This program encourages the production of interactive digital and online content.
Finally, the Canadian Television Fund is maintained at its 1996 funding level. This program, which also relies on contributions from broadcast distribution undertakings, is directed towards the production of Canadian programs for Canadian television. It will be funded with $200 million for the next two years.

All in all, these represent pretty good news for the Canadian arts and culture sector. The major disappointment lies in the fact that the government seems to have turned a deaf ear to the pressing representations made by the sector concerning the development of foreign markets for our cultural products: it is indeed disappointing to note that no stimulus has been allocated for investment in the promotion of Canadian arts and culture abroad. Trade Routes and PromArt were programs which specialized in this area and were cut under the 39th Parliament. They will end on March 31, 2009.

There are several other areas in the 2009 Stimulus Budget which are of interest to the arts, culture and heritage sector in Canada.

Under the heading of Tourism, $100 million has been designated over two years for marquee festivals and events. Separately, $40 million has been allotted to the Canadian Tourism Commission which will support promotional activities such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Parks Canada will garner $150 million on a cash basis for improvements and enhancements to visitor facilities, for upgrades to national historic sites, as well as national historic places owned by not-for-profit groups.

Budget 2009 provides $500 million over two years for recreational infrastructure in Canada. This will support construction of new community recreational facilities and upgrades to existing facilities.

In order to develop a highly skilled workforce, Budget 2009 has increased funding of granting councils, such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) – which will receive $17.5 million. These funds will increment the number of doctoral and masters scholarships. The Budget states that scholarships granted by SSHRC will be focused on business-related degrees.

Upon their release, the CCA will analyze the Main Estimates, which will give us a more comprehensive look at the implications of the 2009-2010 Budget on programs and services within the federal government that benefit the arts and culture sector. This analysis will be followed by conference calls with stakeholders.

And as usual, in the near future, the CCA will produce its annual, more comprehensive, analysis of the federal budget and the host of economic data that the Department of Finance has included as background information to the Budget. To review the entire

CCA Bulletin 3/09

The 2009-2010 Federal Stimulus Budget and Culture:

More Status Quo than Economic Stimulus