On Tuesday March 2, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced a
further $181.5 million of support for arts and live performance workers in 2021-22 - something Equity and its coalition partners (
IATSE, the
Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) and the
Associated Designers of Canada (ADC)) have been collectively advocating for since August 2020.
These funds will be directed towards short-term work opportunities for artists, technicians, cultural workers, and arts groups/organisations in a number of artistic practices helping to ensure stability in the live performance sector and provide Canadians with continued access to arts and culture.
As a signal that the Equity’s advocacy is working, much of what has been announced were requests Equity made in our
Priorities for the 2021 Federal Budget, submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and
Proposals for Recovery submission to Canadian Heritage, both made in August 2020.
Breakdown of the Funding
The Canada Council for the Arts will receive $116.5M for two programs:
- A new, one-time digital innovation fund that will enable recipients to adapt or create works to be shared with audiences online ($50.5M).
- Explore and Create program that will enable individual artists and organisations to research, create, produce, and disseminate new works ($66M). This investment is in addition to the existing envelope, which will more than double the number of project grants available.
Department of Canadian Heritage will receive $65M for two purposes:
- New funding for COVID-19-safe live arts or music events that can be virtual or physically distanced ($40M will be delivered through Building Communities through Arts and Heritage, Canada Arts Presentation Fund, and the Canada Music Fund via FACTOR and Musicaction). Maximum funding is $100,000 per eligible applicant and can cover up to 100% of eligible project costs. Funding agreements for BCAH and CAPF will require recipients to dedicate at least 50% of their funds to paying artists, workers, and support staff. We hope this will help absorb some of the risk and create some job opportunities.
- Extension of Budget 2019 funding for Building Communities through Arts and Heritage, Canada Arts Presentation Fund, and the Canada Music Fund via FACTOR and Musicaction in 2021-2022 ($25M).
For further information please check out the
news release and
backgrounder.
Further Advocacy News
At the provincial level, Equity’s
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs – Proposals for Recovery to the Ontario Government in August 2020 along with similar submissions from our arts service organization partners, also appears to have resonated. On Tuesday, March 2 the Ontario Government announced details about how the $25 million to help artists and arts organizations survive the COVID-19 pandemic, remain solvent and prepare for a time when they can fully re-open their facilities, resume full programming and welcome back their visitors and audiences, will be delivered.
The Ontario Government has now named 140 arts organizations in Ontario who will be the beneficiaries of $24 million in pledged support, and a further $1 million will be provided directly to artists and creators from across the province. More information on the artists and creators support, including eligibility requirements and application deadlines, are promised to be available soon on the
Ontario Arts Council website.
Equity continues to advocate for our members and for our sector and we will continue to issue updates as we make further gains.
Visit
www.caea.com and the
COVID-19 Advocacy and Resources page for Equity's current updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.
#EquityStrong