Lurching towards a possible Ontario election: What the parties are saying about arts and culture

The prospect of an Ontario election continues to loom, the recent Throne Speech having failed to change the tone and tempo in the Legislature.  PC leader Tim Hudak has made it clear that, in his view, "we need to change the team that leads this province".  The NDP’s Andrea Horwarth argues the government’s Throne Speech was "vague and lacked details or concrete plans".

So where does arts and culture find itself within this environment?

The Liberals

Ontario’s recent Throne Speech positions arts and culture as part of the Province’s "bold vision" for a strengthened economy.  It talks about stimulating productivity across all sectors, including film, music and digital media.

Earlier this year, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Honourable Michael Chan, also launched the Live Music Strategy.   At the same time though, programs at the ministry are being consolidated or wound down, part of the fiscal restraint package put forward in the last budget.

The Progressive Conservatives

Word is that the PCs are developing their own arts and culture platform for the anticipated election.

In a February speech to the Toronto Board of Trade, Leader Tim Hudak said, “When it comes to creative talent, Toronto is blessed with deep bench strength.  One in four Canadian arts and culture industry jobs are here in Toronto.”

Further on, he stated, “But over the years we have overburdened some of Toronto’s crucial economic and cultural industries to the point where businesses are starting to look to other jurisdictions …. too many of them are having to make tough business decisions.  To go where business costs are lower, approvals happen faster and government treats them with respect, not suspicion.”

Mr. Hudak didn’t make any specific promises, but in the policy documents being tabled by the party, they make it clear that they want to “get out of the business of corporate welfare.”  How this would affect cultural industry tax credits is not clear.

The NDP

If the past election is any indication, it’s likely that some policy on the cultural industries will be forthcoming.  At this point though, there are no clear statements or positions available.

Canadians support the arts. Now let's ask how best to do this!

The public opinion research on attitudes towards arts and heritage released by the federal government last week reaffirms Canadians’ longstanding belief that culture is important to us:

• 57% of Canadians say they were involved in at least one artistic activity in the last 12 months
• 66% of Canadians feel that arts and culture are important to their quality of life, and that of their families.

It follows that most Canadians believe in strong government support for arts and culture.  Nine in ten of us feel that government should support the arts.  95% of Canadians agree that governments in Canada should help protect and preserve the country’s heritage.

Other similar reports, such as the Ontario Arts Council research commissioned from Environics on The Arts and Quality of Life, found similar trends.

With such strong support for the cultural sector, the conversation now needs to shift from ‘whether or not to support’ to ‘how best to support’ the sector.

The dialogue has started at the Canada Council for the Arts and other agencies.  Going forward, let’s hope that we all contribute to it in meaningful ways.

Looking forward: Stories to watch in cultural policy in 2013

A new year brings the opportunity to take the long view and see what’s ahead over the coming twelve months.  These are some the issues and developments The Arts Advocate will be watching:

Federally

The EU free trade negotiations and their implications for cultural industries and commerce:  If a trade deal is finally inked, it could set the tone for Canada’s negotiations in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks also underway.  Thoughts are that the TPP could be much tougher, as the US is not seen as likely to warm to any cultural exemptions.

Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore’s cross-country consultation on Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, if this goes according to a plan laid out in a recent story in the Ottawa Citizen.

Developments in the Canadian publishing:  The industry was dealt some tough blows in 2012 with the downgrade of McClelland and Stewart to an imprint in January and then Douglas & McIntyre’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection in the fall.  We’ll be looking to see what the status of Canadian Heritage’s consultation into a revised foreign investment policy for publishing is.

The results of the Canada Council for the Art’s ‘change agenda’ and the potential it holds for a fundamental long-term rethinking of the programs and approach at the Council.

The 2013 budget, where we will be looking to see if the feds respond to the request for a stretch tax credit charitable donations, a long advocated measure that will help arts organizations with charitable status.

Ontario

The political volatility in Ontario holds the potential for significant change, even upheaval:

-  Ontario will see a new cabinet following the Ontario Liberal Leadership this month.  That could mean a new Minister of Culture.  Minister Michael Chan has been in the post since 2010.

-  The prospect of a provincial election is all but certain.  With all three parties viable contenders, according to polls, we could be looking at an entirely different government within a few months.  Neither the NDP or the PCs have said much about their cultural policies, but we do know that work is underway on them.

The Ontario budget will essentially be a campaign platform.  We’ll be looking to see where culture fits in it.

So, all in all, it looks like there will be an interesting and full year ahead.

All the best for 2013.

Top cultural policy headlines from 2012

Here is The Arts Advocate’s list for the top cultural policy stories and trends of 2012:

-  Passage of a revised Copyright Act, without a doubt one of the most significant results of the year.


-  Sustained public funding to key cultural agencies, like national museums, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and others, the result of effective advocacy throughout the cultural sector.

(We acknowledge that there were funding cuts to others, like the CBC, Telefilm, National Library and Ontario’s cultural attraction agencies.  In the scheme of things, the overall view is that the cultural sector weathered relatively well in 2012, though there remains well-grounded fear for the future.)

-  The establishment of the Canadian Museum of History.

-  The demise of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, Canada’s longest-standing arts advocacy organization.

-  The drive to make fundamental changes to the way cultural agencies support their clients.  At its AGM, Telefilm Canada announced that it had completed a complete redesign of its entire range programs.  The Canada Council for the Arts has made it clear that fundamental change to its programs is on the way, with a shift in focus from ‘supply’ to ‘demand’.

-  The EU free trade agreement, something that has flown under the radar screen for the most part.  In November, Canadian Heritage James Moore told a parliamentary committee that the deal would “genuinely protect our cultural communities and their needs.”

-  An unstated but creeping sense that arm’s-length agencies are feeling the arm becoming shorter and shorter, something being talked about at the water cooler in all jurisdictions.

No doubt there are headlines we’ve missed.  We look forward to your comments on what’s not here.


Onwards to 2013.

TAPA Stats Report reinforces need for a rethink of cultural policy objectives

In our last issue of The Arts Advocate Report, we noted the shifting policy landscape for arts and culture in Canada.

This week, the release of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) Stats Report reinforced why this is happening.  The way that Canadians engage in cultural activity, like theatre, opera and dance, is changing.  The TAPA Stats, presented by The Strategic Counsel, show a drop in audience attendance between 2004/05 and 2009/10, a trend that cultural organizations have been observing for a while.  What is not so evident are the implications.

The shifting audience patterns mean that cultural organizations, together with the governments that support them, need to evaluate the policies and programs in place to support the arts in Canada.  As the Canada Council for the Arts notes in its recently published discussion paper, there “is a shift from a focus on the art and the artist to the public as the central driver of cultural and arts policy and actions.”

In a related vein, the Ontario Arts Council specifically talks about “build(ing) actively engaged audiences who reflect the changing generational and cultural demographics of Ontario” in their current strategic plan.

What does all this mean?  Clearly, there are no easy answers.  It’s time for thoughtful analysis and reflection that goes beyond talking about the age-old ‘challenge’ of inadequate funds (not surprisingly among the top issues cited in the TAPA Stats Report).

Canadian Conference of the Arts & Creative Trust: Lasting legacies

As October winds down, so do two of Canada’s leading cultural organizations.  The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) and Toronto-based Creative Trust each had a profound and important impact on the strength and vitality of arts and culture in Ontario and Canada.

With a 67-year history, Canadian artists and cultural organizations owe a debt of gratitude to the leaders and volunteers of the CCA.  The Conference has been instrumental in the development and creation of important agencies like the Canada Council for the Arts and Status of the Artist legislation, measures which allow our artists to thrive today.

Without question, the CCA faced bumps as it worked to advance the place of artists and cultural workers in Canada.  It’s equally clear that we’d all be in a poorer position if their board members and staff hadn’t so passionately championed the sector over the years.

Creative Trust, the brainchild of a dedicated volunteer group of arts managers in Toronto, has had an impressive and positive impact on the financial and organizational health of 21 mid-sized Toronto organizations, and helped a host of others.  Focused on providing working capital, Creative Trust made important interventions that helped arts organizations put the structures in place to thrive.  While good things must often come to an end, Creative Trust’s support and expertise will be missed.

Both the Canadian Conference of the Arts and Creative Trust have left indelible marks on our country’s cultural landscape.

Thank you to all those who persevered in realizing the vision that each held.

Passion and perseverance: Rita Davies’ Cri de Couer

It’s nice to be catching up on The Arts Advocate (TAA) blog!

Perhaps because it was such a fantastic summer or maybe it was that there is so much to ignite the imagination, but fair to say the TAA blog was the victim of writer’s block! I certainly can’t blame it on lack of inspiration. As I took in a wide variety of plays, museums, art shows and other cultural offerings, I was struck by the richness of what Ontario has to offer. The creativity and originality evident in every corner of the province is remarkable.

 I was equally struck by the perseverance and commitment of the people who make this happen. No-one personifies this more than Rita Davies, who has worked tirelessly to galvanize a city around the power of the creative sector. In her capacity as both the Executive Director of the Toronto Arts Council and more recently as head of the City of Toronto’s Culture Division, Rita has been a driving force behind the rich cultural tapestry that is now Toronto. On leaving her post at the City, Rita’s cri de coeur resonated with those that gathered to say thank you and good-bye in August. More important though, it was a call for all of us committed to a rich cultural life to persevere.

 She said it best:

I started out by describing myself as an arts activist. Not an Executive Director, not a leader or even an advocate, though I have been all those things, but an activist. 

Because that was the other catalytic ingredient in the transformation of Toronto into a creative capital: through the eighties and nineties the arts community, under the umbrella of the Toronto Arts Council, learned that together their voices were strong. … 

We learned that when one voice was joined by hundreds, it was a force, a strong force that packed political clout. So our Mayors and politicians listened. Sure, they listened to the arguments – and they were and are good ones – about employment and economic impact – but they also noticed that this was a real constituency. And the dollars started to get invested. 

And when that happened, the growth became exponential… 

 Thank you Rita. Your perseverance and passion live on, in Toronto and beyond.