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Municipal leaders urge Feds to renew Tomorrow Starts Today
Ottawa , September 24 th , 2004 - Municipal politicians are throwing their support behind a long-term and sustained renewal of Canada 's most significant cultural funding program.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the voice of Canada 's cities on federal policy, has made a significant declaration in support of meaningful, long-term investment in the arts. At the September 10, 2004 meeting of the FCM's Board of Directors, a resolution was passed “strongly urg(ing) the federal government to renew the multi-year Tomorrow Starts Today funding initiative.”
“Support for arts, culture and heritage is a major component of our policy,” said Erin Murphy, Policy Analyst for the FCM. “The Tomorrow Starts Today program includes provisions to help communities develop and sustain arts and heritage programs relevant to their aspirations and circumstances, and to enhance access to the arts for all Canadians through arts celebrations, festivals, and support for arts presenters. We will continue to advocate the renewal of this program and increased funding and support for arts, cultural and heritage facilities and programming in communities across Canada .”
The resolution, put forth jointly by the representatives of the cities of Vancouver , North Vancouver and Canmore , Alberta , reads as follows:
WHEREAS the initiatives supported by the Government of Canada's Tomorrow Starts Today $560 million cultural investment, announced in May 2001, reached into communities across the country; contributed significantly to the quality of life of Canadians; and reaffirmed the importance of culture and creativity in Canada; and
WHEREAS Tomorrow Starts Today embraced the diversity of Canadian voices and allowed for the emergence of the best arts, cultural and heritage offerings in municipalities of all sizes across the nation; and
WHEREAS more than 100 communities in Canada, from large urban centres to small and remote communities, benefited from improved infrastructure that builds cultural capacity, while 225 communities have had access to arts and cultural festivals of the highest quality through Tomorrow Starts Today investments; and
WHEREAS Tomorrow Starts Today doubled the number of arts training institutions supported, with most of the new institutions offering training in Aboriginal arts and in arts related to Canada's diverse communities and their artistic traditions; and
WHEREAS the lack of timely decisions to renew the Tomorrow Starts Today funding would put at risk thousands of projects in hundreds of communities; would adversely affect employment in the arts, cultural and heritage sectors across the country; and would reduce Canadians' access to their culture;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities strongly urge the Government of Canada to renew the multi-year Tomorrow Starts Today funding initiative, so as to continue this important cultural investment for the social and economic development of Canadian cities and communities.
This articulation of support from outside the cultural sector provides a considerable momentum for those within the sector making the push to have this funding renewed. It shows an understanding on the part of at least one level of government of the important role cultural activities play in the lives of Canadians.
In a September 23 speech kicking off Toronto 's Arts Week, Toronto Mayor David Miller spoke passionately of the cultural sector's importance.
“There are too many people who seem to consider the arts to be a luxury – or worse, an afterthought,” Mayor Miller said. “There's a palpable shortage of money, of performance venues, and of supportive infrastructure for Toronto 's artists. This is unacceptable.”
“If we don't support the city's arts scene, we fundamentally damage the whole city.”
What now?
It is crucial that members of the arts and culture community build on this demonstration of support. With Parliament reconvening and decisions about Tomorrow Starts Today weaving their way through the new Cabinet approval process, it is vital to the future of the sector that MPs and members of the Cabinet understand how critical this investment is to arts groups, both large and small.
For more information on how you can convey your opinions, see the Advocacy Alert on the CCA website. http://ccarts.ca/en/advocacyalert.htm
The CCA's Pre-Budget Submission, “THE ARTI ST IS AT THE CENT RE OF EVERYTHING” (a direct quote from the new Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla), strongly recommends that the Federal Government “renew its investment in the cultural sector and that it ensure there is adequate, stable, multi-year funding for the future so that cultural institutions and agencies, in all their diversity, are able to improve their stability, sustainability, and capacity building abilities.” The full text of the Pre-Budget Submission will be available on our website at the beginning of next week.
For more information:
Kevin Desjardins
Communications and Public Relations Manager
(613) 238 3561 ext.11
Fax (613) 238 4849
44/04
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