CCA Bulletin 29/08

Ottawa, Monday, August 26, 2008

Heritage Spending Cuts Part Two:

An Ongoing Saga?

Just the Facts

Over the course of the past several weeks, the Department of Canadian Heritage has been quietly announcing the reduction or elimination of funding programs and other services of importance to the arts and culture sector. To date, over $ 42 million of program and service cuts have been made by the Department and redirected to other government’s priorities, like the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. To these cuts, one must add the $4, 7 million PromArt program axed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

The most recent confirmed list of the effected programs can be found here. As you will see, almost every corner of the arts and cultural industries will feel the impact of these budgetary and service reductions. Programs like the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, the National Training Program for the Film and Video Sector, have been eliminated effective April 1, 2009. These relatively small programs ($2.5 million in the latter case) have an important impact within the film and video sector and they represent an important investment in the development of the Canadian creative economy. No reason has been put forward as to why the federal government should not contribute to the training of our creators: could it be that this is an application of the philosophy laid out in the Minister of Finance’s 2006 Advantage Canada document, where it is said that the government will "limit the use of the federal spending power and focus new spending on areas of federal responsibility"?

The cuts that have sent a shockwave through the art and culture sector are not the first of course, and they may not be the last. Earlier in the year, we learned of the Department’s decision to put an end to the E-culture program (the Canadian Cultural Observatory, including culturescope.ca and culture.ca). To explain this decision, Heritage said that the program had met its objectives and was no longer needed given the current search engines available on the web. Furthermore, this decision reflects the Department’s intention to consolidate its many web sub-sites into a mega-departmental site, as well as an intranet site for the use of departmental officials.

The Canadian Museum Association also reminds us of the cancellation of the Exhibition Transportation Service which, operating on a cost recovery basis, was an important enabling service for museums and art galleries.

The question that arises from these program cuts and eliminations: how were the decisions made? In reviewing programs, there are three possible answers:

the decisions follow a summative evaluation of a program or service when its funding mandate comes to an end;
the decisions are the product of the federal expenditure review process, an ongoing pan-departmental process which allocates resources from lower priorities to activities of a higher priority for the department and the federal government;
the Department has undergone a “strategic review” of its suite of programs and services to ensure that they reflect changing conditions and needs within the arts and culture sector and conform to the government’s priorities. In this case, a positive evaluation of

What we are being told is that some of the programs that are on the list have not received applications for some time and others have not spent a single cent in the recent past for want of demand. Other services have been considered to be extraneous to the central mission of the government which, based on information coming from the Prime Minister’s Office, would seem to be the case for TradeRoutes, PromArt and the training programs.

In its 2008 Pre-budget Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance, the CCA has identified $ 343 million of programs administered by Canadian Heritage that are up for renewal over the next two fiscal years. The CCA is asking that, as a minimum, the government renew its investments in arts and culture at the same level, either through a renewal of existing programs or through the creation of new ones better adapted to current needs. The rationale for this call is the importance of fostering stability as the creative economy develops in all parts of Canada.

It is not clear if the list of cuts for this year is final. The CCA will be keeping a watching brief on further budgetary developments that affect the arts and culture sector. Of particular interest will be the Economic Update that the Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Flaherty will make during the Fall session of Parliament. This statement may provide a clearer picture of the plans of the federal government in the longer term, unless of course the government follows up on its publicized intention to call a general election in the weeks to come!

The budget cuts and the elimination of services merit some broader context from the Department of Canadian Heritage to assuage the growing sense of alarm regarding funding for the arts and culture sector. The Minister and her departmental officials would do well to provide a clear and frank rationale for these actions and share with all Canadians a vision for the future of arts and cultural policy and funding.

This is why the CCA has called upon the Standing Committees on Heritage and on Foreign Affairs to ask the respective ministers to provide explanations on the government’s intentions concerning arts and culture. It appears that the Standing Committee on Heritage is meeting today to debate the merits of holding immediate hearings on the cuts. If the Committee goes ahead, witnesses will be invited to appear within a week, unless of course a federal election has been launched.

What Can I Do?

Let the CCA know how these cuts affect you or your organization by using our survey form. Please ensure that we receive your completed survey form Wednesday September 3, 2008.
Communicate your concerns to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and to your MP.
Contact the Clerk of the Standing Committee on Heritage to let the Committee know that your organization would like to appear in front of the committee if the hearing goes forward. This may not be the case if the government goes ahead and calls an election in the coming week or so.