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CCA BULLETIN / BULLETIN DE LA CCA
ELECTION
WORD ON THE STREET
Ottawa, June 21st, 2004 -
With only one week remaining in a heated election campaign,
the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is working with
our members to keep arts and culture in the minds (and hearts)
of political candidates and the voting public.
Toronto Arts Coalition has posted survey responses at
www.torontoartscoalition.org/Elections2004-Feds.htm
which outline the Greater Toronto Area's candidates' positions
on arts and culture issues. One statement in particular,
by NDP candidate Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park), caught the
attention of CCA:
"The NDP will lock in all federal arts and culture funding
and guarantee a 3 percent increase per year on all currently
allocated funds to cover inflation. As well, we will
infuse an additional $240 million per year over the next two
years for Canadian culture, and increase that to $340 million
additional funds by 2007."
This is a clear articulation of the need for stable, increased,
multi-year funding for the cultural sector, for which CCA
has advocated for a number of years.
Responses from Liberals and Bloc Québécois to
letter from cultural industry organizations
On
11 June, twelve directors of Canadian cultural industry organizations
signed onto a letter to the leaders of the five major political
parties, soliciting their positions on:
- Canadian ownership
of Canadian telecommunications and broadcasting.
- The maintenance of
Canadian content regulation in broadcasting and broadcast
distribution.
- Provisions for stable
long-term financial support for Canada's cultural industries.
According to the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, only two
of the major parties have replied to date. (For the
complete text of the letter letter and replies, go to
www.friends.ca .)
Liberal Party response :
"The Liberal government has developed a strong broadcasting
system that meets the cultural objectives of Canadians.
We will continue to build a strong and vibrant system that
reflects the lives and the values of Canadians from all parts
of this country.. [We] understand that cultural institutions
begin production of their programs and films several years
in advance. We support the recommendation of the Standing
Committee on Canadian Heritage to provide these institutions
with stable multi-year funding.. The Liberal government
places a heavy emphasis on Canadian content.. Canada
has the right and the duty to protect its cultural identity.
Canadian programming interests will not be sold to or controlled
by foreign interests.. [Our] commitment to a Canadian-owned
broadcasting system is unshakeable."
Bloc Québécois response :
". Government support for culture allows artists to express
a viewpoint on everything that touches humanity.. The
[BQ] believes the federal government is doing a poor job of
defending Canadian and Quebecois culture. Government
measures to support, promote, and protect culture need to
be protected and reinforced.. The Bloc is opposed to
the idea of removing restrictions on foreign ownership in
telecommunications and broadcasting as it would weaken the
authority of the CRTC .. [We] believe that whoever controls
access also controls content.. Furthermore, the Bloc
believes that the Canadian government must reinforce the authority
of the CRTC to better enable it to deliver its mandate of
scrutiny and regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications..
[We believe] cultural institutions. must receive stable, reliable,
multi-year funding."
(CCA translation)
Excerpts from the "Policy Briefing Note For Canadians"
CCA
has obtained a copy of the handbook circulated to all 308
Conservative Party candidates at the beginning of April, developed
in lieu of a policy convention given the short timelines before
the election call. The policy statements excerpted below
put into serious question the party's statements that issues
not appearing in the official election platform document will
be "status quo" if they are elected. (See CCA bulletin
28/04, "CCA Gets to Know its Neighbours.".)
"Foreign Ownership Restrictions: The
Conservative Party supports relaxing foreign ownership rules
on Canadian industry in concert with our major trading partners
in the telecommunications, broadcast distribution, and airline
industry. We will conduct an immediate review to determine
whether to reduce or completely remove these rules."
"CRTC: . supports the
restructuring of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications
Commission, reducing its mandate to registration and/or marketing
of bandwidth and to dealing with international communications
negotiations."
"Satellite Broadcasting: .
believes a sound Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite policy represents
an opportunity to support Canadians' ability to develop an
international market for their programs. Our approach
would be to negotiate a reciprocity agreement with the United
States to create an open market in the licensing of television
satellite distribution. This agreement would make Canadian
programming available in the United States and allow foreign
programming to be available here in Canada for the free choice
and benefit of all Canadians."
" Celebrating Canada's Diversity of Culture :
. believes that Canada's multicultural society Is a valued
reality and accepts the need to foster understanding and equality
of opportunity while promoting common values across Canada.
A Conservative government will uphold the freedom of individuals
and families to nurture aspects of culture that are important
to them."
"Heritage : . affirms
the federal government's role in the preservation of Canada's
natural and historical heritage (such as national parks, museums
and historic sites) for the benefit and enjoyment of all and
as an enduring reminder to all Canadians of our common inheritance."
Conspicuous absence at some candidates' debates
Candidates Andy Scott (Liberal), John Carty (NDP), and Daron
Letts (Green) participated in the Fredericton Arts Alliance's
all candidates' debate on culture, held on 15 June.
The Fredericton Gleaner (17 June) reports that:
" Kent Fox, the Conservative Party of Canada candidate, did
not attend the meeting due to a previous commitment to meet
gun owners that evening. The absence was noticed. His
opponents capitalized on his absence, using facts and figures
from the Conservatives' own platform to bury the party in
the course of the debate. This is a dangerous riding
to be indifferent in, considering that Mr. Scott has a fine
record of supporting the arts on the federal level..."
On
16 June, a standing-room only crowd gathered in Toronto for
another all candidates' debate . Artist-Run
Centres and Collectives of Ontario (ARCCO) reports in
their online newsletter that three broad themes were discussed:
justifying arts and culture in terms of their social, not
just economic, value; Canada's cultural sovereignty; and concerns
about freedom of expression and Bill C-12 ( http://www.arcco.ca/html/Information/Current_NewsFlash.html
). The meeting was attended by candidates
Sarmite Bulte (Liberal), Peter Tabuns (NDP), and Mark Vitala
(Green), though the ARCCO Newsletter notes: "There
was another empty chair at the meeting. It was a void
that occupied the thoughts of all in attendance. Two
of the event organizers. had invited six Conservative candidates
in an effort to get someone to take a place at the table.
They also sought help from the Conservatives' national office
to get participation, but to no avail. The assembled candidates
made heartfelt affirmations about the value of culture.
But, at the end of the evening, no audience member left with
a clear sense of where all the parties stood. In fact,
voices that were absent from the debate, particularly the
Conservative no-show, left many people more concerned. "
Analysis of platform budgets
The
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the think tank which
brings you the Alternative Budget each year, has released
a financial analysis of the party platforms ( www.policyalternatives.ca
). The following is excerpted from the
document's conclusion:
"The Conservatives cannot pay for what they say. We
project that the Conservatives will run cumulative budget
deficits of $11.4 billion. This obliges the Conservatives
to tell Canadians how they intend to deal with this shortfall.
Do they intend to make further cuts to government spending
to balance their books? Or are they intending to increase
the federal debt?
The Liberals can pay for what they say. However, their
cumulative $24.2 billion surpluses between 2004/05 and 2008/09
are far in excess of the margin that the Liberals typically
leave for 'contingency reserves'. The Liberals usually
set aside $3 billion per year for this contingency fund, or
a total of $15 billion between 2004/05 and 2008/09.
Thus the Liberals are again underestimating the fiscal capacity
for program spending. As past performance has indicated,
this is likely to result in the diversion of these 'surprise'
surpluses into debt repayment.
The New Democrats can pay for what they say - in fact, we
foresee them running higher surpluses than they themselves
forecast. This $14.6 billion in cumulative surpluses
provides the NDP extra capacity to enact further spending
increases or tax cuts. Alternatively, this $14.6 billion
surplus may be used to absorb any unanticipated shortfalls
in their revenue projections, or overruns in their cost projections."
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
31/04
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