Julianna Yau’s blog

Below is my follow-up to my open letter to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which I’m once again releasing under a Creative Commons attribution license.

Honourable members of Parliament:

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for ParlVU, which allowed me to listen to today’s meeting of the Heritage Committee.

After hearing the various comments regarding the recent cuts, and further to my original email below, I would like to know:

• Why was the arts community not involved in the review for the usefulness and need for the programs?
• Where is the reallocated money going?
• Which programs which were cut had, according to the review, met their objectives?
• Which programs which were cut had, according to the review, similar programs? what are those programs?
• Which programs which were cut had, according to the review, have high operating costs? why Was adjustment to the budget or operation not considered before the program was closed? if these options were considered, why were they decided against?
• If the government is concerned about arts & culture, why is the art & culture sector not part of a formal consultation and review process of either federal arts spending or copyright legislation changes?

Sincerely,

Julianna Yau

Related posts

• Open letter to the Heritage Committee re: arts budget cuts (1)
• Emergency meeting TODAY on Parliament Hill re: Arts Cuts (2)
• Canadian Conference of the Arts - Resources for Arts Budget Cuts (0)
• Aug 26 Heritage Committee Meeting Notes (0)
• Write to your MP about the arts budget cuts (0)

Here are my summary notes from today’s Heritage Committee meeting.

Position on the budget cuts

• these are not “cuts” because the money is being reallocated
• comments about balancing books
• criticism of the 1995 budget cuts was that they were not done fast or deep enough
• funding was cut to programs (a) which met their objectives, (b) where similar programs were providing similar services, and/or (c) the program had high operating costs
• the cuts were part of an overall strategic review of all departments
• this is a changing world where art is changing (????)
• “ensure we are getting results”
• added $30m to festival programs
• funding provided to Quebec’s 400th anniversary celebration
• government is interested in protecting artists, for example through C-61
• mentioned multiple times that copyright protection is important to artists, which resulted in C-61

Criticisms (most of which were unaddressed)

• the cuts have been devistating to the arts community
• arts community fearing this is the tip of the iceberg
• government should not decide who gets funding — this should be done at arms length
• why were the reviews not made public?
• why was the arts community not involved? there should be public hearings & consultations, esp. involving arts organizations
• why did the changes bypass Parliamentary approval? why were the reallocation of funds not taken to Parliament?
• were changes an option before cuts were made?
• although there were cuts in 1995, new programs were also being created while others were cut
• why are programs which have previously been reviewed as being useful being cut?
• keep mentioning that money is being reallocated, but where? the office confirmed, then denied, that the money is being reallocated to the Olympic torch relay
• why were the announcements made in the middle of summer, during peak vacation time and around the time of the Olympics?
• the current government seems to love heritage but afraid of modern art, as shown through C-10
• festivals are important, but so is sending artists abroad
• with the Sustainability Program, the arts organizations are counting on Canada to be a full partner
• if there is good reason for cutting the programs, there should be transparency
• although they decided that copyright was important, the bill was delayed numerous times

At the end of the meeting, they decided that the committee members would submit lists of witnesses for a hearing by Friday at noon. After much verbal jossling, they decided to set a date for the next meeting once the list of witnesses was compiled.

My questions (some overlap with the critiscms above)

• why was the arts community not involved in the review for the usefulness and need for the programs?
• where is the reallocated money going?
• which programs which were cut had, according to their review, met their objectives?
• which programs which were cut had, according to their review, similar programs? what are those programs?
• which programs which were cut had, according to their review, have high operating costs? why was adjustment to the budget or operation not considered before the program was closed?
• if the government is concerned about arts & culture, why is the art & culture sector not part of a formal consultation and review process of either federal arts spending or copyright legislation changes?

Related posts

• Emergency meeting TODAY on Parliament Hill re: Arts Cuts (2)
• Write to your MP about the arts budget cuts (0)
• What scares me about the 2008 federal election (0)
• Town hall meetings in Toronto & London re: arts budget cuts (2)
• The Morning After (not coyote ugly, but…) (0)

Below is my open letter to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which I’m releasing under a Creative Commons attribution license.

Honourable members of Parliament:

This is an open letter regarding the recent announcements of Federal cuts on spending in the Arts.

As a visual artist living and working in Kitchener-Waterloo, the Secretary of CARFAC (Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens) Ontario and a supporter of arts & culture, I am deeply disturbed by the staggering number of programs and the amount of money being cut from the Arts.

I, and many other members of the arts community, was extremely pleased by the announcement of the increase of $30m in annual funding to the Canada Council for the Arts⁽¹⁾. However, this is an increase which has been offset by the recent cuts to programs and funding, totalling in excess of $46m⁽²⁾. No less than ten programs have been closed altogether. The Globe and Mail reports that the savings is being re-routed not to other arts spending, but to the upcoming Olympics⁽³⁾.

Why are these cuts being made and not being reinvested in the Arts, despite the recently passed Status of the Artist legislation⁽⁴⁾, which states:

The Government of Canada hereby recognizes
(a) the importance of the contribution of artists to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of Canada;
(b) the importance to Canadian society of conferring on artists a status that reflects their primary role in developing and enhancing Canada’s artistic and cultural life, and in sustaining Canada’s quality of life;
(c) the role of the artist, in particular to express the diverse nature of the Canadian way of life and the individual and collective aspirations of Canadians;
(d) that artistic creativity is the engine for the growth and prosperity of dynamic cultural industries in Canada; and
(e) the importance to artists that they be compensated for the use of their works, including the public lending of them.

References:
1. http://www.pch.gc.ca/newsroom/index_e.cfm?fuseaction=displayDocument&DocIDCd=CBO071014
2. http://www.ccarts.ca/en/documents/ListofrecentcutsENG210808_000.pdf
3. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080822.wcuts22/BNStory/Entertainment/
4. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/S-19.6/index.html

Sincerely,

Julianna Yau

Related posts

• Follow-up letter to the Heritage Committee (2)
• Emergency meeting TODAY on Parliament Hill re: Arts Cuts (2)
• Canadian Conference of the Arts - Resources for Arts Budget Cuts (0)
• Aug 26 Heritage Committee Meeting Notes (0)
• Write to your MP about the arts budget cuts (0)

Update: My open letter to the Heritage Committee

Four members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage have called an emergency meeting of the committee to discuss the recent cuts to arts programs. The meeting is on August 26 at 1:00pm.

This is call to flood inboxes of Heritage Committee members BEFORE their emergency meeting Aug. 26 at 1:00 pm. Remember to keep it calm and rational though passionate. State what riding you’re from, whether you’re an artist, cultural worker or supporter of the arts, and any thoughts you have. Please update yourself with recent developments on Recent News on the page if you haven’t already.

Heritage Committee Members
Denis Coderre Coderre.D@parl.gc.ca
Gary Schellenberger schelg1@parl.gc.ca
Andy Scott Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
Jim Abbott Abbott.J@parl.gc.ca
Ed Fast faste@parl.gc.ca
Luc Malo Malo.L@parl.gc.ca
Bill Siksay Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca
Michael D.Chong Chong.M@parl.gc.ca
Dean Del Mastro delmad@parl.gc.ca
Hedy Fry fry.h@parl.gc.ca
Francis Scarpaleggia scarpf@parl.gc.ca
Jim Prentice Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca

Sample letter: The Documentary Organization of Canada

Other resources:
My original post regarding a letter-writing campaign
Collection of relevant articles & websites
Canadian Conference of the Arts resource page
Against cuts to foreign touring and Trade Routes programs Facebook group
Status of the Artist legislation

Related posts

• Write to your MP about the arts budget cuts (0)
• Town hall meetings in Toronto & London re: arts budget cuts (2)
• Faceless Until October 14 (0)
• Canadian Conference of the Arts - Resources for Arts Budget Cuts (0)
• Aug 26 Heritage Committee Meeting Notes (0)