Holiday Season Comes Early for the Canada Council for the Arts

Bul­letin 47/05

Ottawa, Novem­ber 23, 2005 – Today in Mon­tréal, the Min­is­ter of Cana­dian Her­itage the Hon. Liza Frulla,
pre­sented a big gift-wrapped pack­age by announc­ing that the bud­get of the Canada Coun­cil for the Arts will be
sig­nif­i­cantly increased over the next three fis­cal years.
The Min­is­ter has suc­ceeded in con­vinc­ing her Cab­i­net col­leagues to approve a stepped increase to the bud­get of
the Canada Coun­cil, $ 56.5 mil­lion in 2006-07, $ 100 mil­lion in 2007-08, and $ 150 mil­lion in 2008-09, for a total of
$306.5 in new fund­ing over the next three fis­cal years. This pack­age would effec­tively dou­ble the cur­rent bud­get
of the Coun­cil by the end of the third year of the fund­ing increase.
“This is indeed a great day for the arts in Canada,” says Alain Pineau, CCA National Direc­tor, “and the CCA
con­grat­u­lates its part­ners in the Cana­dian Arts Coali­tion, as well as the Min­is­ter, her Depart­ment offi­cials, and
the gov­ern­ment for a job well done.“
Addi­tional fund­ing increases were also announced today for For­eign Affairs’ Inter­na­tional Tour­ing Pro­gram, the
National Arts Cen­tre, National Arts Train­ing Con­tri­bu­tion Pro­gram, and the Con­fed­er­a­tion Cen­tre of the Arts
(see DCH back­grounder below).
The new fund­ing will have to pass through the var­i­ous Par­lia­men­tary hoops and will be reflected in the 2006-07
fed­eral budget’s Main Esti­mates, which also have to be approved by the Stand­ing Com­mit­tee on Cana­dian
Her­itage and the House of Com­mons. The CCA hopes that all polit­i­cal par­ties will endorse the need for, and
value of, this increased invest­ment in the arts when­ever the mea­sure comes before Par­lia­ment.
“Bril­liant visual artists, inspired writ­ers and gifted per­form­ers cap­ture the sto­ries of our coun­try in works of art,
lit­er­ary works and song. The artis­tic excel­lence of which Cana­di­ans are so richly capa­ble must be saluted and
cel­e­brated,” said Min­is­ter Frulla, in the Depart­ment of Cana­dian Heritage’s news release. “Today I am proud to
demon­strate to Cana­di­ans the Gov­ern­ment of Canada’s com­mit­ment to artists and the arts.“
The DCH news release indi­cates that por­tions of the increase in fund­ing was to be directed at “major cen­tres of
excel­lence in the arts”, such as the Citadel The­atre in Edmon­ton, the National Bal­let of Canada, les Grands Bal­lets
Cana­di­ens, and the Cana­dian Opera Com­pany.
Today’s good news comes at a time where there is a litany of other cul­tural pol­icy devel­op­ments that the Min­is­ter
has on her “to do list”. Another key pri­or­ity is her pub­lic com­mit­ment to a new muse­ums pol­icy, and spec­u­la­tion
in Ottawa is than an announce­ment is immi­nent. At the press con­fer­ence in Mon­treal, the Min­is­ter added that
there were other major cul­tural issues to deal with in the near future, includ­ing review­ing the CBC man­date,
pulling together a Cana­dian cul­tural pol­icy, and work­ing on the sta­tus of the artist in Canada.
It is the col­lec­tive hope of the CCA and its mem­bers that what­ever the tim­ing and the out­come of the next fed­eral
elec­tion, the new gov­ern­ment will hon­our this com­mit­ment, which is so vital to the health and sus­tain­abil­ity of
the arts in Canada.

Excerpt from the Depart­ment of Cana­dian Her­itage Back­grounder, “Details of New Invest­ment in the
Arts”, Novem­ber 23 2005, which is avail­able at:
www.pch.gc.ca/newsroom/news_e.cfm?Action=Display&code=5N0325E
This invest­ment in the arts will dou­ble the Canada Coun­cil for the Arts’ fund­ing by 2008 and will pro­vide the
arts sec­tor with much improved finan­cial sta­bil­ity.
These new resources will enable the Coun­cil to sig­nif­i­cantly increase its sup­port for artis­tic cre­ation, national
and inter­na­tional tour­ing, and the Pub­lic Lend­ing Right Pro­gram, which com­pen­sates authors for access to
their works pro­vided by pub­lic libraries. This invest­ment will also:
” enable For­eign Affairs Canada to increase the pres­ence of Cana­dian artists abroad
” enable the National Arts Cen­tre to enhance its Regional Scenes series, as well as its tour­ing and
edu­ca­tional activ­i­ties
” enable the Depart­ment of Cana­dian Her­itage to bet­ter sup­port high-calibre arts train­ing insti­tu­tions,
and fur­ther the national man­date of the Con­fed­er­a­tion Cen­tre of the Arts in Char­lot­te­town.
Fund­ing will be allo­cated as fol­lows:
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 Total 2006–2011
Canada Coun­cil for the Arts $56.5 M $100 M $150 M $306.5 M
For­eign Affairs Canada — Inter­na­tional Tour­ing $2 M $4 M $5 M $11 M
National Arts Cen­tre $1.5 M $2 M $3 M $6.5 M
National Arts Train­ing Con­tri­bu­tion Pro­gram $2 M $4 M $6 M $12 M
Con­fed­er­a­tion Cen­tre of the Arts $1 M $2 M $2.8 M $5.8 M
TOTAL $63 M $112 M $166.8 M $341.8 M
Back­grounder
Canada Coun­cil for the Arts
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
Exist­ing resources $151 M $151 M $151 M
New resources $56.5 M $100 M $150 M
TOTAL $207.5 M $251 M $301 M
With these new resources, the Canada Coun­cil for the Arts will be able to:
” bet­ter sup­port our most cre­ative arts orga­ni­za­tions of all sizes in all regions
” greatly increase resources for domes­tic and inter­na­tional tour­ing
” expand sup­port for the work of indi­vid­ual artists in more com­mu­ni­ties across the coun­try
” increase the resources of the Pub­lic Lend­ing Right Pro­gram, which com­pen­sates authors for access
to their works pro­vided by pub­lic libraries
” bet­ter hon­our the high­est achieve­ments of Cana­dian artists
Canada’s arts sec­tor enriches our com­mu­ni­ties and projects an image of a cre­ative and inno­v­a­tive coun­try to
audi­ences around the world. This invest­ment will play a key role in build­ing and sta­bi­liz­ing Canada’s arts
sec­tor, enabling it to invest in the cre­ative activ­ity essen­tial for artis­tic excel­lence.
The role of the Canada Coun­cil for the Arts, which was cre­ated in 1957, is to fos­ter and pro­mote the study
and enjoy­ment of, and the pro­duc­tion of works in, the arts. The Canada Coun­cil is the prin­ci­pal means
through which the fed­eral gov­ern­ment pro­vides sup­port for pro­fes­sional artists and non-profit arts
orga­ni­za­tions through a broad range of grants and ser­vices in music, the­atre, writ­ing and pub­lish­ing, visual
arts, dance, media arts, and inter­dis­ci­pli­nary and per­for­mance art.
The Canada Coun­cil for the Arts is over­seen by an eleven-member Board appointed by the Gov­ern­ment of
Canada. The Coun­cil relies heav­ily on the advice of artists and arts pro­fes­sion­als from all parts of Canada. It
reports to Par­lia­ment through the Min­is­ter of Cana­dian Heritage.