MPs Talk Advocacy with the Arts and Cultural Sector

Ottawa, April 13th, 2005 — Mem­bers of Par­lia­ment rep­re­sent­ing each of Canada’s four fed­eral polit­i­cal par­ties will debate the mer­its of var­i­ous advo­cacy strate­gies as part of this Friday’s Chalmers Con­fer­ence, orga­nized by the Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA).  The panelists, including Ed Broad­bent  (NDP, Ottawa-Centre), Sar­mite Bulte (Par­lia­men­tary Secretary, Canadian Her­itage, Parkdale-High Park), Bev Oda (CPC, Cana­dian Her­itage Critic), and Maka Kotto (BQ, Cana­dian Her­itage Critic), will debate ques­tions put to them by CPAC’s “Talk Politics” host, Ken Rock­burn, before a cap­tive audi­ence of rep­re­sen­ta­tives from the arts and cul­tural sector’s major organizations.

This year’s Chalmers Con­fer­ence, to be held April 15th at the National Arts Cen­tre in Ottawa, will include two panel dis­cus­sions and sev­eral pre­sen­ta­tions from indus­try spe­cial­ists, and is intended to pro­vide del­e­gates with a clearer under­stand­ing of the work­ings of gov­ern­ment and the par­lia­men­tary process.  The break­fast will fea­ture guest speaker Wendy Lill, who will draw on her back­ground as both a play­wright and a for­mer NDP MP to dis­cuss how arts and cul­tural orga­ni­za­tions can get their mes­sages heard on Par­lia­ment Hill.

“This type of infor­ma­tion is essen­tial in the arts and cul­tural sec­tor,” stated CCA National Direc­tor Jean Malavoy.  “An under­stand­ing of such processes is an impor­tant ele­ment in ensur­ing the best use of an organization’s advo­cacy ener­gies and dollars.”

Many in the arts and cul­tural sec­tor breathed a sigh of relief when renewed fund­ing for Tomor­row Starts Today was announced in the Feb­ru­ary 2005 Fed­eral Bud­get.  CCA, though grate­ful for the fis­cal com­mit­ment, was quick to cau­tion that this pro­vides only a tem­po­rary hia­tus for the sec­tor.  This year’s Chalmers Con­fer­ence is designed to fur­ther equip arts and cul­tural orga­ni­za­tions with the knowl­edge and infor­ma­tion required for ongo­ing advo­cacy.  “This is a must-attend event for orga­ni­za­tions wish­ing to influ­ence the fed­eral pol­icy agenda and affect pos­i­tive change in Canada’s cul­tural sphere,” Malavoy indicated.

For infor­ma­tion on indi­vid­ual pan­elists and for a more detailed descrip­tion of the day’s events, please visit CCA’s web­site at: http://www.ccarts.ca/en/events/chalmers2005.htm

The Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts is Canada’s national forum for the arts and cul­tural com­mu­nity. The CCA is a leader in the defence of artists’ rights, an author­ity on pub­lic pol­icy in arts and cul­ture, and a cat­a­lyst for debate and action within the secto