The Conservatives, as we all know, were beaten silly when they decided to trim a few million from the $2 billion or more Ottawa spends every year to support the cultural work of the country. So, it's only fair that, just as we noted the cuts, we should also note some of the additions — and there have been nearly $6 million worth of funding announcements made today. Similarly, I assume that those who decried the Tories for the cuts will now applaud their generosity. Pardon me? You think I'm a bit naive. Maybe so.
In any event, several MPs have been dispatched to cities across the country announcing grants to arts and cultural groups. These funds come from a program, run out of the Department of Canadian Heritage (James Moore, prop.), called the Endowment Incentives component of the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program.
From the boilerplate on all the releases: “This year, the Government of Canada is providing 72 cents for every dollar donated by the private sector. Since 2006, this program has provided more than $44 million to various endowment funds, while the private sector has provided $72 million, for a total of more than $116 million. This initiative complements other measures taken by our Government to encourage private-sector participation in arts funding, such as the tax exemptions on capital gains for donations of publicly traded securities to registered charities announced in the 2006 and 2007 budgets.”
Here's the list of recipients announced today and the grants they are getting from federal funds:
- Alberta Ballet
- EPCOR Centre for Performing Arts: $217,008.95
- Calgary Philharmonic Society: $122,514.21
- Banff Centre for Continuing Education: $947,760
- Globe Theatre Society: $3,616
- École nationale de cirque $108,504.48
- École nationale de théâtre $117,287.55
- Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal $19,422.30
- Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur $14,467.26
- Festival International de Lanaudière $54,512.65
- Jeunesses Musicales du Canada $284,197.82
- La Compagnie Jean Duceppe $35,518.00
- Les Grands ballets canadiens de Montréal $1,446,726.36
- Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal $7,233.63
- Orchestre symphonique de Montréal $1,446,726.36
- The Leanor & Alvin Segal Theatre $657,894.47
- Théâtre de la ville $30,370.40
- Manifestation Internationale d'art de Québec: $6,328.20
- Le chœur les Rhapsodes: $10,586.60
- Orchestre Symphonique de Québec $37,008.69
Yes, yes, Conservatives love the arts. But did you notice anything about the cities on that list?
Stay tuned, Jen — You're going to hate this — but, my sources tell me, expect millions more next week for Vancouver, Toronto, East Coast, etc. arts and culture groups …
That's not new funding. The funds sit in the Endowment Incentives program for as long as the program exists. It's not $6 milllion in new funds added to the sector. It's $6 million awarded out of an existing program budget.
I suspect that the Conservative government likes to issue press releases about the allocations made in these programs as if they were new sources of funding to make it sound like they're adding more to the pot. But they're not. They're just announcing that this scoop out of the pot is going to these folks. Nothing new getting added to the pot!
I'm being repetitive, sorry, but they keep doing this where they announce existing projects as if they were new initiatives and people keep believing them. Drives me up the wall.
It's always something eh Jen? It might be nice to hear a little appreciation from the arts community once in a while. It might encourage more attention. Afterall, who wants to spend money they don't have to in areas that are only going to slap them in the face when they do?