CCA Bulletin 29/06

Ottawa, Friday July 21, 2006

The CCA Releases its Analysis of the 2006 Federal Budget

Just the Facts

The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is pleased to announce that our annual in-depth analysis of the Federal Budget is now available for ordering. This current bulletin presents the political context of the budget analysis. Highlights of the Federal Budget Analysis will be given in following bulletins and through our upcoming online interactive magazine CCA @gora.

CCA's Annual Budget Analysis examines federal funding to the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH), cultural agencies and crown corporations in Canadian Heritage's portfolio; organizational and funding changes within DCH ; federal funding of key programs across the arts, heritage and cultural industries, and other noteworthy developments. A number of key findings emerge in the analysis of the 2006 federal budget, the first introduced by the new minority government.

Tell Me More. 

As mentio ned in CCA Bulletin 23/06, the federal budget presented on May 2 by Minister of Finance the Hon. Jim Flaherty did contain some modest good news for the arts and cultural sector. However, the 2006 federal budget analysis by the Canadian Conference of the Arts captures the sense of lingering uneasiness many in the sector feel in the current period.

While overall funding levels rise modestly in Budget 2006, many are concer ned this may be a period of calm before the proverbial storm. Stephen Harper's recently elected minority government is focusing and delivering on a limited number of priorities (none of which directly target the cultural sector) and are avoiding drastic change in other policy areas. With the party's popularity growing in public opinion polls, there is a question on many minds: How would culture fare under a majority Conservative government?

It is not clear what the answer to this question might be at this time, although there is some cause for concern. The government's common refrain is that key cultural programs and institutions - notably the CBC - are "under review" and will be subject to consultation with Canadians. To date, however, the consultation style of the governing Conservatives is less fulsome, comprehensive and meaningful than many in the sector - indeed in many other sectors of Canadian civil society - would desire. In this context, it is difficult to feel assured about the future of federal cultural policy, and programs and it is more important than ever for those in the cultural sector to impress upon the government the significance of cultural policy and programming to Canada.

Another reason for concern is that w hile the appointment of the Hon. Bev Oda as Minister of Canadian Heritage was welcome news given her active support of the cultural sector as Canadian Heritage Critic while in Opposition, the CCA notes that of the five decision-making committees put in place by the Prime Minister, Minister Oda has only been appointed as a member of the Social Affairs Committee. This limits substantially the capacity for a cultural lens to be applied to policy in sectors beyond social affairs - notably those related to economic growth, infrastructure, international trade negotiations and foreign affairs.

Now turning to the federal budget itself, the first thing to note is that while cultural funding levels rise modestly in 2006/07, it is crucial to bear in mind that there were no Supplementary Estimates in fiscal year 2005/06. Additional expenditures in 2005/06 were made through Governor General's Special Warrants and these incremental amounts have been included in this year's Main Estimates. As such, funding increases must be interpreted with caution as they include expenditures undertaken last fiscal year.

Second, expenditure commitments made under the previous government will not necessarily be upheld by the current government, as demonstrated by the decision to significantly scale back the funding increases to the Canada Council for the Arts and not changing those of the National Arts Training Contribution Program, the National Arts Centre and the Confederation Centre of the Arts, promised increases which have disappeared altogether in the May 2 Budget. The National Museums policy is also conspicuously absent from the Budget and as recent news items indicate, there is growing concern that the plan ned Portrait Gallery of Canada will be mothballed. Similarly, the previous government renewed the Tomorrow Starts Today initiative for a five-year period (2005/06 to 2009/10). While the government maintai ned Tomorrow Starts Today funding levels for fiscal year 2006/07, the fate of the program into the future is somewhat unclear. There is therefore a legitimate cause for concern, particularly given Ms. Oda's current review of all programs in her Department, a review which is supposed to be completed by September.

Last, there are signs of a different - and possibly troublesome - approach to culture under the Conservatives. Party MPs' statements in the House of Commons and in the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage emphasize freedom of choice, reliance on the private sector, and consumer choice in cultural policy. Could this be setting the stage for a significant withdrawal, reorientation of programming, or reduction in funding to the cultural sector? Are we heading towards a model where the federal government may facilitate donations and support to arts and culture, but considers this funding responsibility to rest essentially with the private sector and with individuals? No doubt that the coming several months will provide answers to such de-stabilizing questions and the CCA will be present for whatever debates emerge.

What Can I Do?

The CCA Analysis provides members, as well as policy and decision makers, with insights regarding the "big picture" of federal funding levels to arts, culture, and heritage, i.e. Where is the money going? How will expenditure review affect the sector? How are individual programs working? The document also offers a detailed examination of crucial funding issues, trends, challenges and opportunities on a sub-sectoral basis, with reference to specific programs.

This budget analysis proceeds in four sections. The first analyzes 'the big picture' by discussing overall federal funding levels. The second focuses on the Department of Canadian Heritage, examining its organizational structure and program expenditures. The third section undertakes a detailed analysis of expenditures across cultural sub-sectors, bringing forward the main changes, challenges and opportunities. The final section explores a range of developments in the cultural sector beyond expenditures (e.g. legislative changes, regulatory amendments, other policy initiatives with potential implications for the cultural sector, etc...).

Organizations or individuals interested in acquiring the full text of the document can do so by completing the publications order form located on our website.