Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to share my views on this important subject.
Let me introduce myself. I am the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the International Conference for the Performing Arts, known as CINARS, a not-for-profit organization that was founded 25 years ago, with the aim of assisting the export of Canadian performing arts.
As experts in the field and as a rallying organization, we undertook a study last December on the impact of the abolition of PromArt and Trade Routes—two essential programs for the export of the performing arts. The results of that study can be found in the folder entitled « The Performing Arts in Peril », which you have in front of you. PromArt and Trade Routes were cost-effective and efficient. Every available government study or report has confirmed that fact. Not only were these programs cancelled without any justification, the resulting funding cuts are leading artistic companies to bankruptcy.
At the time we undertook our study, it was already one minute to midnight. The foreseeable consequences were already disastrous for the 61 professional or artistic companies that took part in our survey. In the next three years, 327 international tours would be compromised, representing some 3,395 shows across the globe and losses of more than $24 million. Today, it is a quarter past midnight. The house is on fire and it's time to call the fire department. Companies are living through a real nightmare. They can no longer undertake tours, or they must run a deficit. Foreign talent buyers are now turning to other countries to fill their show calendars. In the long term, Canada is putting itself in a position from which it will be very difficult to recover.
Let us look briefly at these two programs, so as to better understand their purpose. I invite you now to look at the summary diagram which can be found in your folder, in French and English.
First of all, PromArt comes under the Department of Foreign Affairs. It was a program designed to assist Canadian exports. The grants allocated in 2007-2008 amounted to $4.8 million, 70 per cent of which was for the performing arts, for a total amount of about $3.3 million. That amount is divided into two parts. The first is dedicated to assisting international tours, which represents $3 million, 90 per cent of which is earmarked for the performing arts. The second part is dedicated to assisting the process of inviting talent buyers from other countries to attend Canadian festivals and other international events.
Trade Routes is a Department of Canadian Heritage program. It assists export development. In 2007-2008, we estimate that this program represented approximately $7 million in funding. Of that amount, $2 million was paid out in the form of direct contributions to artistic organizations, including $500,000 to the performing arts sector. These grants provide assistance to Canadian artistic companies to allow them to participate in foreign festivals, conferences, and so on. The major component of the program, in the amount of $5 million, represented funding to pay for the services of trade experts based in Canada and abroad.
Taking a bird's-eye view of the situation, it is clear that the most significant amount to have been distributed to our artistic organizations was through PromArt's international tour support component, which had a budget of $3 million administered through the Department of Foreign Affairs. This amount covered the transportation costs involved in putting on a series of shows abroad—in other words, plane tickets for the artists and the cost of transporting equipment such as sets, backdrops and other technical material. That assistance is needed because the vast majority of foreign talent buyers do not pay those expenses. This is an international standard or practice. Without this assistance, companies simply cannot seize the opportunity provided by foreign buyers, and therefore find themselves deprived of significant revenues. Above and beyond the fact that this assistance is necessary, the money invested in PromArt is cost-effective. Every dollar invested by PromArt in an international tour brings in $5.50 in independent revenues, on average, for Canadian artistic companies. The rest of the funds distributed directly to the various companies were earmarked for export development. PromArt and Trade Routes provided annual funding of $800,000 for the performing arts for that purpose.
As in any industry, market development is essential for increased sales. This is long-term work and is part of the relationship-building process. Today, we are urging that federal funding for international touring and export development that has been cancelled be reinstated and increased, in order to save Canada's artistic companies, as well as Canada's international reputation.
In the very short term, we are calling for the immediate reinstatement of this funding to allow the tours that are planned for 2009 and 2010 to take place, so as to avoid any interruption in terms of our presence on the international market. The Canada Council for the Arts, through programs that are already in place to support international tours and market development, would be in the best position to manage these budgets.
For the medium and long term, we are calling for an increase in the budgets dedicated to the export of the performing arts, a profitable sector of our economy which is in particular need of support in times of crisis. This must be an ongoing priority for the government. Only then will we perhaps have evidence showing that the Government of Canada properly supports its artistic companies.
Up until now, Canada has been recognized around the world as an innovative, dynamic and creative country. But, how will we be perceived a few years from now?
In closing, I would like to quote an excerpt from a letter addressed to you, the members of this committee, which can be found in the folder we have provided to you. It is from the Van Baasbank & Baggerman agency in the Netherlands, one of the largest European agencies and the organization that represented many Canadian performing arts companies in the last 15 years. It says, and I quote:
If the Canadian government persists in its policy of cutting touring grants, [...] Canada will lose its leading role in the field of contemporary performing arts [...] The cancellation of the touring grants will not only have serious consequences for performing opportunities available to Canadian companies, but it will have a significant impact on the good name of Canada in general.
Thank you for your time.