CCA BULLETIN / BULLETIN DE LA CCA

CCA 'S B UDG ET ANALYSIS NOW AVAILABLE

Ottawa , May 20th 2004 - The CCA 's in-depth analysis of the February 2004 federal Budget is now available on our website in English and in French.

Entitled "Dear Prudence", with reference to both the Beatles and the Budget's focus on fiscal probity, the analysis contains much to smile about, at least in the short term, and answers many of the questions about funding that those in the sector ask on a daily basis.   This annual analysis makes the connection between Budget allocations and policy directions, and does not shy away from asking the hard questions where discrepancies arise.

"Dear Prudence" is particularly timely given that an election call is expected any day.   It provides detail about the current workings of the Department of Canadian Heritage for use in advocacy efforts at the national, local, and disciplinary levels, and acts as a companion piece to the advocacy toolkit already developed by the CCA (and available at www.ccarts.ca ).

The analysis provides

• the "big picture" of federal funding levels to arts and heritage: Where is the money going?   How will expenditure review af fect us?   How are individual programmes working?
• recent funding and organizational changes: What is the future direction of the Department?  
• a detailed examination of crucial funding issues, trends, challenges and opportunities on a sub-sectoral basis, with reference to specific programmes:
• current developments in the sector beyond federal funding, including charitable status, workplace skills strategy, and the social economy.

In a related news story...

CCA has learned that DCH 's attempt to secure the Tomorrow Starts Today funding on an ongoing basis has been delayed at least until the fall of the year. Although the funds are in place for this fiscal year (2004-05), the Department wanted to ensure that funds were firmly in place for the foreseeable future before the election process got underway. It seems that this process was cut short when the House recessed and the next opportunity to get approval for the package will not come until the new parliament convenes in the fall of the year. This will put DCH 's request for funds in the queue with competitive requests from all other departments.

The potential loss of this funding package worth about $560 million over three years could have serious repercussions for the cultural sector as a whole. (See the budget analysis for details.) Several arts groups have recently sustained budget cuts resulting from the loss of funding through the sponsorship program, despite the Department's best efforts to assist as many as possible. To lose more programs in the next fiscal year would have an extremely debilitating effect on the sector which has been clear about the necessity for adequate, predictable and ongoing support. The Department is attempting to secure the same sort of funding for itself so that its sustainablity programs for the sector can continue: the irony of the situation is only too clear.

You can access the Budget analysis at http://www.ccarts.ca/eng/01new/dearprudence.pdf    

For more information:

Kevin Desjardins

Communications and Public Relations Manager

(613) 238 3561 ext.11

Fax (613) 238 4849

info@ccarts.ca

www.ccarts.ca

23/04

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