At a time when economic doom and gloom dominates much of Ottawa’s agenda, it’s refreshing to know that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is looking forward to 2017 and how to best celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary. Happily, arts, heritage and cultural institutions appear poised to be central players in making this happen.
Many, if not most, Canadians have a fond memory of either the reality, or recollections, of our country’s centennial in 1967. Its legacies and accomplishments have resonated ever since. Looking ahead, Canadians appear ready for another national celebration. According to an Environics poll commissioned earlier this year, 49% of us think it is very important to commemorate this event in a meaningful way.
This week, leaders of Luminato, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, The Banff Centre and the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society will be appearing before the Committee. They have a fabulous opportunity to speak with MPs about how arts and culture can deepen the conversation about what kind of Canada we want, and how we need to adapt to our rapidly changing country. Beyond that of course, we can probably expect that they will point to how arts and culture can tell our sesquicentennial story to the world!
The Arts Advocate will be watching.
You can too by going to a video link on the parliamentary webpage.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
From the Ground Up, a new report that reinforces the connection between jobs and culture
From the Ground Up: Growing Toronto’s Cultural Sector is a new report prepared for the City of Toronto by the Martin Prosperity Institute, and six other partners, that explores the link between culture, economy and place and its relationship to economic prosperity. It adds further evidence that culture, and the jobs it creates, are a fundamental part of an international economy. This comes at a time when the City of Toronto is wrestling with its 2012 budget, amid continued skepticism that arts and culture is a frill.
The Report reinforces that culture positively impacts:
- Jobs;
- Business growth;
- International attraction; and
- Quality of Life.
Not surprisingly, it argues for continued cultural investment, not less.
What is new about this report is that it provides new tools for identifying the geographic patterns of Toronto’s cultural resources. The project partners hope that this information can feed into more pro-active land-use strategies and planning, business development and preservation. All of this, they suggest, will lead to increased global competitiveness for the City of Toronto.
The model put forward in From the Ground Up speaks to a large urban centre. That said, it advances principles and a framework that other centres can apply to their cultural planning and economic development.
The Report reinforces that culture positively impacts:
- Jobs;
- Business growth;
- International attraction; and
- Quality of Life.
Not surprisingly, it argues for continued cultural investment, not less.
What is new about this report is that it provides new tools for identifying the geographic patterns of Toronto’s cultural resources. The project partners hope that this information can feed into more pro-active land-use strategies and planning, business development and preservation. All of this, they suggest, will lead to increased global competitiveness for the City of Toronto.
The model put forward in From the Ground Up speaks to a large urban centre. That said, it advances principles and a framework that other centres can apply to their cultural planning and economic development.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The longstanding transparent criteria-based processes of arts grant decisions a great example to be showcased
The process around the federal government’s decision to award $33 billion in shipbuilding contracts to Seaspan and Irving Shipbuilding has been widely applauded.
In Ottawa, according to some Parliament Hill journalists, “the debate is over why future procurement contracts – such as that multibillion-dollar, fifth-generation, fighter-jet deal – cannot be structured the same way as the shipbuilding contracts.” Removed from the political realm, the process used was a points-based evaluation on an established set of criteria. It is seen as transparent and fair.
All of this sounds remarkably like the longstanding, well-established process of determining grants at the country’s arts councils:
Important cultural agencies, like the Canada Council for the Arts, or the Ontario Arts Council’s have a strong track record in making funding and granting decisions that are, for the most part, seen as fair and objective. In fact, in a ‘special examination’ of the Canada Council in 2008, the Auditor General of Canada commended it and said that ‘the Canada Council’s systems and practices have contributed to success in several areas.’
So why the sudden revelation in Ottawa and public policy circles that an objective set of criteria, administered through a process removed from political realm, renders good decisions? We’ll leave our readers to ponder that question.
Maybe though, those of us in the cultural sector, should blow our horns just a little louder when it comes to demonstrating the transparent administrative effectiveness and sound policies of the organizations that invest in Canadian arts and culture.
In Ottawa, according to some Parliament Hill journalists, “the debate is over why future procurement contracts – such as that multibillion-dollar, fifth-generation, fighter-jet deal – cannot be structured the same way as the shipbuilding contracts.” Removed from the political realm, the process used was a points-based evaluation on an established set of criteria. It is seen as transparent and fair.
All of this sounds remarkably like the longstanding, well-established process of determining grants at the country’s arts councils:
Important cultural agencies, like the Canada Council for the Arts, or the Ontario Arts Council’s have a strong track record in making funding and granting decisions that are, for the most part, seen as fair and objective. In fact, in a ‘special examination’ of the Canada Council in 2008, the Auditor General of Canada commended it and said that ‘the Canada Council’s systems and practices have contributed to success in several areas.’
So why the sudden revelation in Ottawa and public policy circles that an objective set of criteria, administered through a process removed from political realm, renders good decisions? We’ll leave our readers to ponder that question.
Maybe though, those of us in the cultural sector, should blow our horns just a little louder when it comes to demonstrating the transparent administrative effectiveness and sound policies of the organizations that invest in Canadian arts and culture.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Tourism and culture in the minority legislature: steady as she goes
Markham MPP Michael Chan will continue as Minister of Tourism and Culture in Premier Dalton McGuinty’s minority cabinet, unveiled 20 October 2011. He is one of just a few ministers remaining in their previous portfolio (despite no new faces being added to Cabinet).
Minister Chan’s reappointment will bring stability and predictability for the sector. It also suggests that the government will be staying the course on cultural files, holding steady to past accomplishments with little in the way of new initiatives. Any cultural announcements will almost certainly be filtered through the ‘jobs’ lens, the dominant priority of Premier McGuinty and his colleagues.
The stand pat position of the Ontario government was evident in this fall’s election, when, for the first time, the Liberal party did not issue a stand alone cultural platform, as it has done since 2003. Rather, the Liberals stood on their record. Citing a $4.1 billion investment in the cultural sector since 2003, the Liberal’s indicate that ‘creative-industry jobs have increased 15% - representing 39,000 jobs’.
Jobs results like this will be helpful to holding the sector in good stead as the Ontario government looks to contain its costs and address the fiscal deficit.
Minister Chan’s reappointment will bring stability and predictability for the sector. It also suggests that the government will be staying the course on cultural files, holding steady to past accomplishments with little in the way of new initiatives. Any cultural announcements will almost certainly be filtered through the ‘jobs’ lens, the dominant priority of Premier McGuinty and his colleagues.
The stand pat position of the Ontario government was evident in this fall’s election, when, for the first time, the Liberal party did not issue a stand alone cultural platform, as it has done since 2003. Rather, the Liberals stood on their record. Citing a $4.1 billion investment in the cultural sector since 2003, the Liberal’s indicate that ‘creative-industry jobs have increased 15% - representing 39,000 jobs’.
Jobs results like this will be helpful to holding the sector in good stead as the Ontario government looks to contain its costs and address the fiscal deficit.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Ontario election: the implications of cultural policy silence
The way politics happens in Ontario has changed.
Gone are the days when sectors could engage political leaders and parties in meaningful dialogue and discussion to better understand their perspective on the issues affecting them. Nowhere was this more evident than in the decision of Ontario’s two leading political parties to decline participation in a roundtable dialogue with the Ontario NonProfit Network last week.
The same is true for the cultural sector. Barely a whisper has been heard on the contribution and potential of this sector, despite its impressive contribution to Ontario’s economy. (The cultural sector accounts for over 4% of Ontario’s total employment, or over 252,000 jobs for the province).
This means that going forward, the arts, heritage and cultural industries have little sense of what the future holds in the way of cultural policy, regardless of which party forms government.
There’s no question that broad policy initiatives, such as deficit reduction, will impact the sector; but the policy lens which will inform these decisions is unclear.
* Will audience access be the priority, or will it be opening up international markets?
* Will there be a download to municipalities, or will there be continued strong provincial investment?
* Whither the Entertainment and Creative Cluster?
These are just some points to ponder, with no compass to provide a guide.
As the cultural sector looks ahead to working with the next government, whatever stripe, it will want to consider how it engages with government on these broader cultural policy questions.
Leaving it only to happenstance is unlikely to yield the best possible results.
Gone are the days when sectors could engage political leaders and parties in meaningful dialogue and discussion to better understand their perspective on the issues affecting them. Nowhere was this more evident than in the decision of Ontario’s two leading political parties to decline participation in a roundtable dialogue with the Ontario NonProfit Network last week.
The same is true for the cultural sector. Barely a whisper has been heard on the contribution and potential of this sector, despite its impressive contribution to Ontario’s economy. (The cultural sector accounts for over 4% of Ontario’s total employment, or over 252,000 jobs for the province).
This means that going forward, the arts, heritage and cultural industries have little sense of what the future holds in the way of cultural policy, regardless of which party forms government.
There’s no question that broad policy initiatives, such as deficit reduction, will impact the sector; but the policy lens which will inform these decisions is unclear.
* Will audience access be the priority, or will it be opening up international markets?
* Will there be a download to municipalities, or will there be continued strong provincial investment?
* Whither the Entertainment and Creative Cluster?
These are just some points to ponder, with no compass to provide a guide.
As the cultural sector looks ahead to working with the next government, whatever stripe, it will want to consider how it engages with government on these broader cultural policy questions.
Leaving it only to happenstance is unlikely to yield the best possible results.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Ontario election: with jobs as a focus, why is there not more discussion of the cultural sector?
Jobs are a central theme of the Ontario election campaign: Ontario Liberals delivering 300 clean-energy jobs for Windsor is today’s headline for the governing party; yesterday, it was Creating jobs for Sudbury. And so it has gone since the start of the campaign. The jobs theme is a little less pronounced for the Progressive Conservatives (focusing of late on wasteful spending and sexual predators), but they also declare the Ontario PC Party has a real jobs plan that will give all workers an equal chance to succeed. The NDP pledges to create a post of Jobs Commissioner, a position they say will bring stakeholders together when lay-offs are announced to explore alternatives.
Recognizing the size of the cultural workforce in Ontario and the 252,300 jobs it represents according to Statistics Canada, it’s noteworthy that none of the parties in Ontario’s provincial election have yet put forward a cultural platform. This, despite the fact that the cultural sector is a major economic driver contributing almost $20 billion to Ontario’s GDP.
Save the Liberals’ attention brought to the Ontario-India Film partnership during TIFF and the importance of tax incentives to that industry, there has been no discussion of the place of arts and culture in this election campaign.
We’re not yet at the half-way point of this campaign, so there is still lots of time to hear what the parties might have in mind for arts and culture. Hopes are high in the cultural sector that we will.
If history serves as a guide, both the Liberals and the PCs issued stand alone cultural platforms in 2007. The NDP have always been more vague, making pledges to strengthen Status of the Artist.
We’ll keep you posted.
Recognizing the size of the cultural workforce in Ontario and the 252,300 jobs it represents according to Statistics Canada, it’s noteworthy that none of the parties in Ontario’s provincial election have yet put forward a cultural platform. This, despite the fact that the cultural sector is a major economic driver contributing almost $20 billion to Ontario’s GDP.
Save the Liberals’ attention brought to the Ontario-India Film partnership during TIFF and the importance of tax incentives to that industry, there has been no discussion of the place of arts and culture in this election campaign.
We’re not yet at the half-way point of this campaign, so there is still lots of time to hear what the parties might have in mind for arts and culture. Hopes are high in the cultural sector that we will.
If history serves as a guide, both the Liberals and the PCs issued stand alone cultural platforms in 2007. The NDP have always been more vague, making pledges to strengthen Status of the Artist.
We’ll keep you posted.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore an effective champion for culture in Conservative government
The shape of Canada’s new Conservative majority government will become clearer this week as Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce his next Cabinet. For the cultural sector, the question is obviously whether Minister James Moore will stay in Canadian Heritage or be moved to a more senior portfolio. Recognized as a strong performer in the last Cabinet, there is strong speculation that he will be rewarded with a bigger portfolio, while also becoming BC’s political minister.
That said, it’s not clear who could take on a portfolio as diverse and sensitive as Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. Minister Moore’s bilingual ability, appreciation of both the cultural and economic contribution of the cultural sector and a perspective that looks to embrace the new digital reality uniquely position him to champion the sector.
Clearly, not everyone, or every cultural organization, agrees with Minister Moore or the policy decisions of the federal government he has been part of. Bill C-32 is the obvious case in point.
That said, Minister Moore’s combination of attributes and understanding will be hard to replace if the Prime Minister decides to do so.
There are no doubt others in the Conservative caucus who would be effective advocates for the cultural sector, should Prime Minister Harper move Minister Moore to another portfolio. Whoever is appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage, we hope they bring the enthusiasm and sensitivity displayed by Minister James Moore.
That said, it’s not clear who could take on a portfolio as diverse and sensitive as Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. Minister Moore’s bilingual ability, appreciation of both the cultural and economic contribution of the cultural sector and a perspective that looks to embrace the new digital reality uniquely position him to champion the sector.
Clearly, not everyone, or every cultural organization, agrees with Minister Moore or the policy decisions of the federal government he has been part of. Bill C-32 is the obvious case in point.
That said, Minister Moore’s combination of attributes and understanding will be hard to replace if the Prime Minister decides to do so.
There are no doubt others in the Conservative caucus who would be effective advocates for the cultural sector, should Prime Minister Harper move Minister Moore to another portfolio. Whoever is appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage, we hope they bring the enthusiasm and sensitivity displayed by Minister James Moore.
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