Canadian Conference of the Arts

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Shaping a vibrant future for Canada’s Arts and Culture

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CCA Publishes its 2012–2013 Analyses of Provincial and Territorial Budgets

Letter from the President

The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is happy to meet its commitment to publish its Analyses of the Provincial and Territorial 2012-13 Budgets from the perspective of arts, culture and heritage.

http://ccarts.ca/front-page-slider/cca-publishes-its-2012-2013-analyses-of-provincial-and-territorial-budgets/#comments

National Director’s Blog
This morning the CCA issued a press release titled, The Canadian Conference of the Arts closes its doors after 67 years. I don’t need to tell you how difficult it has been to write those words down and how we have tried our best not to express them. But there comes a moment when reality stares down the most hopeful outlook on things. It is seven years to the day that I was given the job of National Director of the CCA. During these years I have developed the greatest of respect for this organization and the incredible contribution it has made to the development of cultural policies at the federal level. How many times, particularly over the past two years, have I heard people say that if we did not have the CCA, we would have to invent it? Over the last 18 months we have enthusiastically embraced the challenge set before us by the government’s decision to put an end to 47 years of funding. We attempted to reinvent the organisation as an autonomous body, but as our Chair Kathleen Sharpe says in her letter, we would have needed two years of funding to transition to this new[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/front-page-slider/national-directors-blog/#comments

The Canadian Conference of the Arts to Close Doors after 67 Years
Press Release The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA), the largest national alliance of the arts, culture and heritage sector across Canada, announces that it will begin winding down its operations immediately. Founded in 1945 by a group of eminent artists, including painters Lawren S. Harris, of the Group of Seven, and André Biéler, the CCA has the unique mandate in the Canadian cultural sector of promoting the interests of Canadian artists and of the cultural sector at large at the federal level, and of providing a national forum where issues of common interest can be discussed and pursued. The name of the CCA has been associated with all major cultural policy developments at the federal level, from the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts in 1957 to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2005. A year and a half ago, the CCA became aware of the Harper government’s intention to put an end to 47 years of funding. The CCA informed the Department of Canadian Heritage right from the beginning that it embraced the challenge of making the CCA financially autonomous, but that in order to do[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/front-page-slider/the-canadian-conference-of-the-arts-to-close-doors-after-67-years/#comments

Letter From the Chair

It is with great sadness that the Board of Governors of the CCA came to the conclusion last week that we have to shut down operations immediately. I can tell you that the decision announced today, while not a surprise given the known challenges we were facing, was most difficult to take...

http://ccarts.ca/front-page-slider/kathleens-letter-to-members/#comments

Testimonials

Everybody’s talking about us! And this is what they are saying . . .

“The Culture Office of the City of London belongs to the Canadian Conference for the Arts because it helps us to continue to be informed about arts and cultural issues which are happening at the national level which provides us with a context for issues that are affecting our municipality and local cultural community.” - Robin Armistead, Culture Manager, City of London

http://ccarts.ca/uncategorized/testimonials/#comments

CBC Special Edition

On the eve of public hearings on the CBC license renewals, we present a special issue including an interview with CEO Hubert Lacroix and an overview of issues facing our public broadcaster.

http://ccarts.ca/in-the-news/cbc-special-edition/#comments

Decision Time
Issues and Challenges for the CBC The CRTC hearings on the CBC’s license renewal will begin on November 19th. It is impossible to deny that things have changed in the world of communications in the 13years since the Corporation’s last license renewal. The broadcasting ecosystem has been turned upside down. “We could already sense it in 2000 during the last CBC renewal. The CBC had begun to mark its presence. But the last two years confirmed the magnitude of the phenomenon,” says Pierre Bélanger. The Major Changes Since 1999 Digital The rapid evolution of the digital world is one of the major changes that have defined the last decade. The CRTC has held public hearings on topics such as new media, value for signal, and vertical integration. We have seen an explosion in the number of specialised communications services in the last five years. The CBC has made major investments in digital platforms; the web is now very integrated with its radio and television programming. This graphic, from the CBC’s most recent quarterly report, denotes the integration – 82% of expenses went toward radio, television and Internet content. The CBC is resolutely focused on the future. The digital realm has[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/resources/broadcasting-telecommunications/decision-time/#comments

A Controversial Request
For the past 40 years, CBC and Radio-Canada radio has been a haven free from the barrage of commercials typical of most other radio providers. As it stands, one can listen to music or the debating of important questions on CBC/Radio-Canada radio without interruption. But following recent cuts introduced in Jim Flaherty’s 2012 federal budget, the Corporation has asked the CRTC for permission to broadcast national commercials over Radio 2 and Espace Musique airwaves. According to the CBC, this will lead to $15–20 million in revenue after two years, reaching $35-million by year seven. The majority of participants in the debate surrounding the CBC’s request have been against the commercialization of CBC Radio. According to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), a precedent will be set if the CRTC grants the CBC’s request. “Advertising on Radio 2 and Espace Musique would create a precedent and could result in the corporation asking for the right to have advertising on its other radio properties, Radio 1 and La Première Chaîne,” argues the CAB. This “would ultimately reconfigure the balance of public/private services and the diversity in content and format each brings to the Canadian broadcasting system.” In its memo concerning the request,[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/resources/broadcasting-telecommunications/a-controversial-request/#comments

CBC Calling
Alright, I admit it. The CBC is a part of me. Like Obélix, I fell in the cauldron of elixir when I was young. I was brought up with the CBC. I remember Sunday mornings in our living room, my brother and I playing while my parents read. We all listened to Sunday classical music programming on CBC radio. And then there were television programs like Pépinot and Marie4poches… It seems so long ago! But it’s clear that the time for nostalgia has passed. We have changed, and the CBC too. The world of communications is a universe away from where it was even a decade ago. The CBC, to me, is also a place where I worked on and off over the past 30 years, be it in Ottawa, St-Boniface or Montreal. In 1999 I was one of those who worked on the French television licence renewal. So much has happened since then. Issues that were only emerging then are now a part of our everyday lives. Contrary to my introduction, we at the CCA are conscious that this is not the time for nostalgia. Several comments from CBC’s friends will argue that it should reverse to what it[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/resources/broadcasting-telecommunications/cbc-calling/#comments

We Love the CBC But…
It seems the old adage is true: everyone’s a critique! In November 2012 the CBC/SRC appear in front of the CRTC for the renewal of its multiple licenses. In the weeks leading up to the hearing, organizations and individuals across Canada have been submitting their opinions on the proposed changes to Canada’s national broadcaster. It is clear from the submissions that Canadians love the CBC, but have very strong feelings on the way it should be run. The CBC is an integral part of Canadian society and, as a Crown Corporation, its purpose is notably different from that of other broadcasters. The terms of the upcoming license renewal will have an important impact on the future of the CBC and its responsibility in the promotion of Canadian talent. We have culled quotes from various submissions to encapsulate the variety of opinions on different issues that will be debated during the hearings. Overview CBC is our national public broadcaster and is mandated to show “predominately and distinctively Canadian”[1] programs. Many submissions are critical of the CBC’s English television programming choices. They feel that the existing schedule includes too many American feature films and reality entertainment productions that appeal to commercial investors[.....]
http://ccarts.ca/resources/broadcasting-telecommunications/we-love-the-cbc-but/#comments