National Arts Center
Of the eight organizations that were cut in the recent federal budget, the reductions to the National Arts Centre have received very little reaction. The cutbacks to the organization may have been overshadowed by the much larger cuts to the CBC and the Heritage Department and the fact that funding was maintained for the Canada Council for the Arts. However the cuts of $1.9 million over 3 years add up to just over 5% of the NAC’s budget — and this does not include having to cover inflation on salaries, goods and services.
Very few arts organizations reacted to the cuts with much more than a brief mention that it had happened among other highlights of the budget. One of the few to show strong disappointment was the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres. “PACT is very concerned about this cut,” said Lucy White, Executive Director. “The NAC plays a critical role in our cultural landscape. Reductions could have a negative impact on the theatre community as a whole since the NAC is a major partner in many artistic endeavours across the country.”
The organization itself has kept mum however and has not released an official press release. CEO and President, Peter Herrndorf was quoted however by CBC news as saying “I suspect there will be some job reductions, but we’ll try to minimize that. A lot of that will be done through vacancies but our biggest challenge is to make absolutely sure that the quality of the programming is protected.”