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Beleaguered funds still in business

By Patricia Bailey
January 27, 2009

The federal Tories have pledged to keep both the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund alive over the next two years — despite fears that one or both would be eliminated — but industry watchers say Tuesday’s budget does too little to boost the audiovisual sector.

The budget, tabled late Tuesday afternoon, will pump $200 million into the CTF and $28.6 million into the CNMF over the next two years. While the CNMF will receive $14.3 million annually beyond that, no such support is earmarked for the beleaguered CTF.

In total, the budget provides over $335 million for culture and the arts, including a two-year, $60-million fund for cultural infrastructure projects such as la Maison du Festival de Jazz in Montreal.

Other highlights include:

  • $100 million over two years for marquee festivals and events such as jazz and other music festivals that draw a significant number of tourists,

  • $25 million toward the creation of international awards for dance, music, art and dramatic arts, and;

  • $30 million over the next two years to support access to Canadian magazines and community newspapers.

    ‘No bad news is good news,’ said Raymond Legault, spokesperson of the Union des Artistes, Quebec’s largest actors’ union. ‘Renewal of the CTF will remove a bit of pressure on this industry during the recession.’

    The Tories, he offered, ‘are being careful because they don’t want to put oil on the fire, but culture is clearly a peripheral issue for them.’

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s popularity in Quebec plummeted after artists rallied against his government’s cuts to culture programs last August. Many believe the move cost him a majority government.

    Legault was disappointed that the budget didn’t include any programs to replace the Trade Routes and PromArt programs to promote artists abroad and hopes to meet with Heritage Minister James Moore imminently to discuss the issue.

    ‘I think we are getting short-changed,’ NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) told Playback Daily. ‘Harper has made it very clear that he thinks artists are a bunch of fat cats going to galas… They are tip-toeing around the issue now because of the last federal election.’

    ‘We are underwhelmed,’ echoed ACTRA national executive director Stephen Waddell. ‘The government had a perfect opportunity to stimulate a sector that is very important to the Canadian economy and it didn’t.’

    ‘More people work in culture than work in agriculture, oil, gas, mining and forestry combined,’ said Waddell, citing a 2008 Conference Board of Canada study which revealed that cultural industries account for more than 7% of Canada’s annual domestic product.