It might be an example of hiding the bad news in the good. More than two weeks after the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of Human Resources Development announced $8.5 million in consolidated annual funding for 12 national arts and culture training institutions, there’s still no word on how the breakdown will look.

According to Heritage and Human Resources Development, the $8.5 million represents a $577,000 total increase over last year’s support. It’s been indicated that $1.3 million to $1.5 million will be directed towards the three film and television training bodies involved ­ the National Screen Institute in Edmonton, the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto, and Institut National de L’Image et du Son in Montreal. In a worst-case scenario, the allotment could mean that one or more of the organizations may actually receive less than it did under the previous system.

‘Now it gets into the politics of distribution,’ says nsi executive director Jan Miller, ‘but it could end up that the nsi gets less money overall.’

On the other hand, cfc head Wayne Clarkson sees the announcement as an indication that government ­ at the federal level ­ is assigning some priority to national training for the cultural industries after a period of devolution.

‘We’ve seen the onus for training shift to the provinces,’ says Clarkson, ‘and we’ve been lobbying on behalf of truly national institutions.’

Clarkson points out, however, that the lion’s share of the money will be directed towards training in the fine arts, such as the National Ballet School and the National Theatre School of Canada.

nsi’s Miller says she has worked closely with the cfc and Institut National de L’Image et du Son in lobbying for ongoing, secure funding. Miller adds that she has sent a ‘strong’ letter to Heritage emphasizing that her organization cannot withstand a cut.

Previously, money has filtered down to film and tv training initiatives via Heritage and Human Resources Development, as well as through the nfb and Telefilm. It has been indicated that Telefilm will administer the film and tv portion of the fund annually for Heritage.

As for provincial training programs and other national initiatives not singled out by the announcement, there are concerns that the feds may be placing too much emphasis on higher-profile, national programs at the expense of grassroots organizations such as film co-ops which train below-the-line crew as well.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps appeared in Winnipeg with Human Resources Development Minister Pierre Pettigrew to make the announcement. Copps said the need for development of new talent was stressed during February’s roundtable on culture.