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Home | Resources > Newsletter | Synergy - February 4, 2005
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February 4, 2005 Volume 16, Number 2 Synergy, the electronic newsletter
Advocacy alert: We are asking for your help to halt potential cuts to the Arts Promotion Program at Foreign Affairs Canada, the FAC's primary foreign policy tool to promote Canadian Culture abroad. These funds provide travel grants to Canadian artists and companies and enable Canadian missions, embassies and consulates abroad in the delivery of their cultural programs. They also provide funds to bring foreign presenters to Canadian festivals and showcase events giving them the opportunity to see the work of Canadian artists. This cultural exchange not only extends markets for Canadian artists into other countries but it is often the first contact international presenters ever have with Canadian cultural product. Apart from increasing the export of Canadian cultural industries to the rest of the world, the Arts Promotion Program ensures that Canada has its own cultural voice on the world stage, essential for a country living next to the United States, the most culturally dominate presence in world. This March, the Arts Promotion Program will experience a 35 percent cut, or $2 million annually, in funding due to the end of the FAC's Public Diplomacy Fund. Continued, and increased, funding is essential for the department to sustain the opportunities for showcasing Canadian creativity internationally. Currently, 45 percent of applicants do not receive funding due to the limited amount available; further cuts would make it even more difficult to receive grants, and Canada's presence on the international culture stage would diminish dramatically. Please send letters or emails to those listed below, and send a copy to your own MP. Heather Redfern, Send your letter or email of support to: Right Honourable Paul Martin Honourable Ralph Goodale Honourable Pierre Pettigrew IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Government spending on culture Editor: Allison Markin 1. Government spending on culture Statistics Canada recently released a report on cultural spending in Canada -- total spending on culture by all three levels of government increased in 2002/03 by 5.2 percent over the previous year, to $7.1 billion. However, the rate of increase was lower than in the preceding two years. On a per capita basis, federal spending on culture was highest in the three territories -- Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut -- while BC was the lowest. Per capita provincial and territorial spending was below the national average in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and BC, however BC was above the national average when it came to municipal spending. The federal government spent $3.4 billion, or 1.9 percent, of its total budget on culture in 2002/03, a slight increase over the previous year. Most provinces reported higher federal spending on culture; the highest increase was 13.9 percent in BC. The Vancouver City Planning Commission recently announced a competition aimed at finding ways to revitalize the city's common spaces. Called 21 Places for the 21st Century, Vancouverites are invited to submit proposals to improve neglected or abandoned areas as a means of "re-imagining" the space. The 21 best proposals will be selected by a jury in early April, and will then be displayed at Interurban Gallery in downtown Vancouver and outlined in a brochure promoting a walking tour of the proposals. Submit your idea by March 25. For more info, visit: http://www.alternativefutures.bc.ca/
The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA), Canada Council for the Arts, and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO have jointly launched a program called Arts and Learning: A Call to Action. The goal of this program is to promote the arts and creativity as learning strategies in Canada's schools and communities, as well as to ensure a permanent understanding of the importance of this principle in public policy. The project will undertake an awareness campaign, will include research on the arts and learning in Canada, and will establish partnerships with various levels of government, the arts and culture community, and the community-at-large. For more information, please call the project coordinator, Denis Bertrand, at 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4437, or send an email to denis_bertrand2004@yahoo.ca.
Hill Strategies Research (http://www.hillstrategies.com), included a Muttart Foundation study in its recent issue of Arts Research Monitor. The report, Talking About Charities 2004: Canadians' Opinions on Charities and Issues Affecting Charities, is based on the results of a telephone survey of 3,863 adult Canadians. Overall, the report indicates that "Canadians value the work of charities and feel they have an important and trusted role in society. At the same time, the public has a healthy degree of skepticism when it comes to how charities function." Seventy percent of respondents believe that charities do not have sufficient funds to meet their objectives, while 57 percent believe that "it is appropriate that a reasonable amount of money they donate go toward the operating costs of the charity." Sixty percent feel that it is unacceptable for charities to pay fundraisers on the basis of a percentage of the donations that they raise, and a majority of 69 percent believe "there are too many charities trying to get donations for the same cause." When asked about trusting charities, 79 percent said they trusted charities "a lot" or "some", but only 61 percent reported having "a lot" or "some" trust in charities that focus For more info, visit:
MLA Christy Clark, BC's former education minister, recently announced plans to introduce a private member's motion calling for tax breaks for parents who encourage their kids to take part in sports, recreation and the arts. Clark will be introducing the motion during the spring sitting of the BC legislature, which begins on Tuesday. The motion doesn't outline any specifics, but is meant to introduce the idea of such a tax incentive, according to The Vancouver Sun, which says the idea is the brainchild of Sharon Mack, a mother from Port Moody who claims to spend $1600 a year in registrations fees for her daughter. Clark chose to present a private member's motion as legislature rules do not permit her to bring forth a bill that would impact government revenue. She hopes that the government will run with the idea and introduce legislation to create these tax breaks. In her remarks, Clark said, "I believe that sports and arts and recreation have an inherent value to our society. They build smarter, healthier, better citizens and everybody -- whether or not you have children -- benefits from that." No province currently offers tax breaks of this nature to parents. Clark has posted a petition on her website: http://www.christyclark.net
The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is asking for your input on the development of a federal cultural policy. The CCA has been involved in the federal cultural policy debate for decades, and in 1998 published the Final Report of the Working Group on Cultural Policy for the 21st Century, which stated: "the implementation of a federal cultural policy as an essential affirmation of the sovereign right of Canada to manage its domestic cultural affairs in the way it best sees fit." The report's recommendations remain relevant today, and you can read its executive summary and recommendations at: A federal cultural policy will provide a framework of coherent principles, objectives and means to bring together all aspects of culture in Canada, replacing the current piecemeal policies. It will also bring together the various federal departments involved, to some degree, in culture, such as Finance, Industry, National Revenue, Foreign Affairs, and Human Resources, alongside Heritage. The CCA's next policy conference, coming up in November, 2005, will focus on this issue. In preparation, send your thoughts to info@ccarts.ca by February 14. Abridged from the CCA Bulletin.
The BC Arts Council recently released a discussion document entitled Proposed Strategic Objectives for the BC Arts Council, and is inviting comments on its contents. Read the document by visiting http://www.bcartscouncil.ca/publications/ and clicking on the PDF file of the same name, dated January 13, 2005. Comments can be emailed to: BCArtsCouncil@gems2.gov.bc.ca Study Award to continue The Vancouver Foundation has announced that it will be continuing its Advanced Arts Study Award program. The board of directors has approved $70,000 for the program, which assists performing arts students who wish to pursue their studies toward a career in music, dance or theatre. Last year 24 students received awards. More info can be found at: More student grants The Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation also recently announced good news: a one-time increase in its Grant-in-Aid Program in celebration of the Foundation's 50th Anniversary in May, 2005. For the 2005/06 academic year, grants of up to $15,000 are available to BC students who wish to undertake pre-professional arts studies at academic institutions outside of the province. The deadline to apply is March 31. More info can be found at: CBC recently launched an "online magazine covering ideas and trends in arts, media and entertainment". Visit: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/ In print news, the Georgia Straight reports that CanWest Global Communications Corp. is looking at publishing a fourth daily newspaper in Vancouver, Canada's media concentration capital. The paper, scheduled to launch in March, according to The Globe and Mail, will be called Dose and will be published in five cities across Canada. CanWest owns 11 of the 20 largest papers in Greater Vancouver. The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications recently held hearings in Vancouver to discuss media concentration -- read The Tyee's examination of convergence at: Cultural Presentations: the next deadline to apply to perform as part of Cultural Presentations for Council Meetings is February 15th. Visit the CPCM webpage. ENDQUOTE "Let us talk about cultural policy. It has three objectives. The first and most important one is to put the creator at the core of our concerns. The second one is to strengthen our Canadian identity. Finally, the third objective is to promote accessibility. We want to ensure that people not only appreciate what our creators do, but that they have access to their work." --Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, to the Committee of the Whole, November 16, 2004 (as reported in the CCA Bulletin)
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Copyright © Alliance for Arts and Culture, 2005 |
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