Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 14th, 2022

[Sharon Bollenbach]

Most impacted has been our local fundraising. We tapped into the Sport Canada recovery fund in 2021, and many chapters have benefited from federal government employee salary benefits. We will be tapping into the newly launched funding through Sport Canada.

We've had a tough go of it, but our aim and our priority are to recover, rebuild and reignite our movement.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

These have been very interesting presentations, everyone. I heard some things today that I hadn't heard from other witnesses in the past. You put new chapters on the table. Thank you.

Now we're going to go to the question-and-answer session.

We're going to the first round of questions and answers. This is a six-minute round. I just want to warn you that the six minutes includes questions and answers. Everybody is going to have to work well to be able to get as many questions in as they can. Perhaps witnesses could keep their answers short so that we can get in as many answers as we can.

The first round is for the Conservatives with Kevin Waugh.

Kevin, go ahead for six minutes.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Welcome to the six groups that joined us here today.

To the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization, Alexandra, when you look across the country, many arts and museum organizations are tired of the Ottawa precinct taking most of the money. You've mentioned a wide range of $300,000 to $55 million, but the animosity of many museums in this country is that the precinct of Ottawa, with its big museums, gobbles up most of the money.

I'd like you to comment on that.

[Alexandra Badzak]

Thank you very much.

Through the Chair, it's a really interesting question. I come from the west. I lived and worked in Saskatoon for many years at what was then the Mendel Art Gallery, so I understand the perception of Ottawa as the seat of all the national institutions and that there is a perception that the funding pots go toward their....

As the Ottawa Art Gallery, we're a local, regional art gallery. We've carved out our space to tell the story of Ottawa's municipal and regional perspectives. There's that perception out there that they're crown corporations, so they get funded differently than the rest of us.

Typically, art galleries and directors across Canada have the trifecta of local government funding, provincial government funding and then funding from the Canada Council for the Arts or from Heritage. We feel that those are solid programs. They just need better funding pots within them for us to access more funds because, let's face it, we're all struggling. However, I think that the nationals sit outside.

Where we might pick away at that a bit is that corporations and patrons, perhaps potential donors, don't often see the distinction between the local and national institutions. That may be an area where we could encourage more localized or regional support, at that corporate and individual donor level.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Of course, the Mendel family was synonymous with our city of Saskatoon. Now it's Ellen Remai and the Remai Modern art gallery. So I see where you're coming from when you say that individuals pick up the slack of provincial, municipal or even federal governments.

I have a question for Ms. Bollenbach from Special Olympics Canada. About a month ago or less, I had in my office Greg Donaldson, a Special Olympian snowshoer in my city, along with Faye Matt, the CEO of Special Olympics Saskatchewan. They're concerned about the federal funding, because in 2021 your organization received $3.8 million from the federal government. Right now, they estimate that only $2 million will be coming forward in 2022.

They asked if $1.8 million is the shortfall or if this federal government is going to fill the void of 2022, as they did in 2021. You didn't talk about the funding, yet I had Special Olympians in my office three weeks ago who were very concerned about this.

Is that a concern of the Canadian Special Olympics?

[Sharon Bollenbach]

Yes, it is. We had what we call our Hill Day, when we met with over 150 members of Parliament across the country.

You are correct. You met with some local folks in Saskatchewan, but across the country, we were speaking to members of Parliament to talk about the gap in funding that we will have in some incremental funding that was awarded to us four years ago. We are looking at a gap, starting April 1, of $1.8 million. We have been speaking to MPs about getting that gap filled in our funding.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Good luck with that. We're only two months away.

Greg was very depressed in our office, talking about the opportunities that sport has given him, mentally and physically. He's a great snowshoer. His mom was on hand, plus Faye Matt was there.

Is there any hope of getting that $1.8 million from the federal government?

[Sharon Bollenbach]

Thank you for bringing it up.

We certainly are. I had it in my notes and got short on time. I had it included to speak to today.

We are hopeful. We've put in the ask. We've made a written submission to the Standing Committee on Finance. As I've said, we've spoken to over 150 MPs, who have said they are showing their sign of support for our ask. I know many of them wrote letters to the Minister of Finance, to the Minister of Sport and to the chair of the Standing Committee on Finance to support that ask.

We are very hopeful. We've spread the word across the Hill of this need for finance. We hope that we will be showing up in the budget when it's presented.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 36 seconds left, Kevin.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Thank you.

If the $1.8 million is not there, what happens to your organization?

[Sharon Bollenbach]

We will have cuts in funding. We've already created an alternate budget with the $1.8 million not included. It will definitely mean that we will be cutting programs and services that our organization provides for athletes with an intellectual disability.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I think that's it, Kevin.

Now I'm going to go to the Liberals for six minutes.

Lisa Hepfner.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I want to thank all of the witnesses for their time and opening statements today.

I'd like to focus my questions on Shelley Falconer from the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

First off, thank you for the good work that you do. The art gallery is a key institution in our city. When my son visited the art gallery, it was one of his favourite and most lasting memories of elementary school. For me, I think the last time I was there was for the exhibit to celebrate the life of Milli, one of our iconic fashion designers. I don't think that exhibit could have happened anywhere else. It was really important.

I've heard anecdotally that people have been clamouring to get into the art gallery when you have been open. I think that's my first question for you, Shelley. Do you feel that the art gallery will have to work to overcome people's reluctance to be in crowds again or do you feel that there's a pent-up demand and you'll have lots of people coming to visit the art gallery when they can?

[Shelley Falconer]

Thank you Lisa, for the shout out and the question. It's a great question.

We opened our doors this past weekend with our new exhibitions. I'd like to point out that our Margaret Watkins exhibition, like a lot of things right now, are tied up with the supply chain issues. Half of the exhibition is in crates in Istanbul. They didn't get on the plane. We're missing one of our exhibitions. In our history, that's never happened before.

We did open this past weekend with most of our new exhibitions and there was a line-up outside the door. That doesn't always happen. That answers part of your question.

We have noticed though, with the last few re-openings—because we all know that we've been in a few lockdowns—our younger audiences are much more ready to come back. We do find it more challenging—and my colleagues can jump in with their comments on this—with the older audiences. They're quite reluctant to be in crowds. In fact, we've been reaching out directly to quite a few of them and offering to bring them in when the gallery is closed to the public, so they can feel secure.

I'm not saying it's for all, but it seems to be that certainly the younger demographic is more willing to go and our older audience is far more reluctant.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Those are really interesting observations. Thank you.

In your opening statement, you talked about aging infrastructure. I don't know how old the building is that the art gallery is in, but I know it's at least several decades old. I'm sure that you have challenges to deal with.

At Canadian heritage, there's a relatively new fund called the cultural spaces fund. This is grants and contributions for construction and renovation projects, specialized equipment purchases, and feasibility studies for professional non-profit arts and heritage infrastructure projects.

I'm wondering if you're aware of this fund. Is this something that would help you to address some of those aging infrastructure projects?

[Shelley Falconer]

Yes. Thank you for bringing up cultural spaces. They've been dear friends to us. They funded our feasibility study.

You're well aware of the aging infrastructure in downtown Hamilton. The new revitalization of those buildings that is about to occur is by a group of developers that will be taking over those buildings for the city. We are one of those buildings. However, we were not included in the city's plans to be taken over. It's an odd situation to be in. It's a city-owned building with aging infrastructure. I'd say that the gallery, to date, has put in millions to keep it going as a public institution.

Cultural spaces has started to assist us with the very extensive feasibility study that we have now completed and submitted. We will be going back into cultural spaces for support, but as you know these are very expensive projects.

One of my points in raising the infrastructure issue is that in Ontario alone the ceiling for cultural spaces is $10 million to $15 million. To renovate a building like ours—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Excuse me for one second, please.

There is an echo. An interpreter or someone is speaking.

Please make sure that your mikes are all muted. They seem to be, so I don't know where that's coming from.

Carry on, Shelley.

[Shelley Falconer]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'll give you the extra time that I just took from you.

[Shelley Falconer]

My point is that this program has been in place for some years now. Given the problems we're having across the country with our aging infrastructure, I think that, like the operating funds, it needs to be looked at. I was trying to bring up the issue of both operating and infrastructure. I think the fund needs to be a fund that is bigger if we're going to do anything to reinforce or to renovate the aging infrastructure that we have. We are holding collections worth billions of dollars when you bring them all together, so they're really important assets.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Thank you for that.

You also mentioned in your opening statement that the Art Gallery of Hamilton was one of the first to go online and start offering programming. Can you reflect on how maybe the pandemic has changed the way museums may operate in the future? Do you expect that digital programming will continue? Do you have any advice on that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute.

[Shelley Falconer]

I'll be very quick.

I think it was largely due to our size. As a mid-size institution, I think it's easier to be a little more nimble, but I think the problem we have is that funds were released for a lot of strategy: We need infrastructure. Most of us do not have the technology or the skilled employees to be able to run our institutions like a television studio, which is what I feel like I have become this past year.

We did move quickly. We were fortunate, but I know that we and others are struggling because we simply don't have those kinds of funds built into our operating—

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

If I have a couple of seconds left, I will—