Policy trends to watch in Ontario

While federal files such as the Copyright Modernization Act dominate the cultural policy agenda, Ontario trends and developments warrant attention.

The Ontario government has worked hard to demonstrate its support of the cultural sector. As the Province no doubt readies itself for some fiscal belt-tightening, Tourism and Culture Minister Michael Chan appears to have wrung out a series of three-year funding enhancements for cultural initiatives.

The most recent announcement was the three-year, $10 million renewal of funding to the Ontario Cultural Attraction Fund (OCAF), announced 25 November. In September, the Province introduced the Arts Investment Fund, another three-year program. There is still more buried in the Spending Estimates, the details of which remain hard to come by.

The latest OCAF news didn’t attract much attention beyond the client base most interested in its sustainability; that is likely the way the Ontario government preferred to see it played, if the buried news release is any indication. The government is looking to portray itself as fiscally prudent to the greater numbers of the unconverted and any cultural spending is risky business.

So, as Minister Chan told The Arts Advocate Report last month, ‘in the immediate term, we’re covered.’

What the future holds though is unclear: Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s Fall Economic Statement this month received short shrift in the media, with energy prices dominating any and all coverage. Policy watchers could be well advised to look beyond the headlines though, and consider the reality of what the $18.7 billion deficit will mean for all Ontario government spending, particularly after the October 2011 provincial election.