Canadian Heritage Committee on March 9th, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Welcome, everyone, to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, meeting eight. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are here for a strategic review of arts and culture program expenditures.

Today, during our first hour, our witnesses will be as follows: from the International Exchange for the Performing Arts, Alain Paré; Conseil québécois du théâtre, Martin Faucher; Canadian Dance Assembly, Shannon Litzenberger, executive director; and La La La Human Steps, Édouard Lock, artistic director.

Welcome. We will ask each of you for a short presentation, please, of around five minutes, if we can keep it to there. Then our questioning will be in five-minute segments.

Mr. Paré, would you like to go first, please.

[Alain Paré, President, International Exchange for the Performing Arts]

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.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you for that.

Mr. Faucher, please.

[Martin Faucher, President, Conseil québécois du théâtre]

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

My name is Martin Faucher and I am a stage director. I am also Artistic Advisor to the Festival TransAmériques in Montreal. Today, however, I am speaking to you as President of the Conseil québécois du théâtre.

A product of the States General on Professional Theatre held in 1981, the Conseil québécois du théâtre, or CQT, was officially established in 1983. The mission of the Conseil québécois du théâtre is to rally and represent Quebec's professional theatre community.

International exposure of Quebec theatre provides a means to promote and present our art and our culture to others. It means naturally extending the life of our theatre works and fostering artistic encounters that often are the starting point for new projects.

Thanks to the creativity of artists like Robert Lepage, Denis Marleau, Wajdi Mouawad, Suzanne Lebeau, Michel Marc Bouchard—and I could name dozens of others—there has been a remarkable increase in the number of Quebec theatre productions being shown around the world in the last 20 years. That success is due to the tireless work of high-level artists and cultural workers.

By expanding opportunities to present theatre works and working on co-productions with solid foreign partners, Canada gives artists and cultural workers a chance to increase their income. The Canadian market for theatre is very small. Thus, tapping into world markets is essential to the prosperity and longevity of many Quebec theatre companies. On average, about 30 Quebec theatre companies have performed year after year on five continents, either through invitations to appear at prestigious festivals, or as part of the regular season.

The Canadian government has primary responsibility for the theatre arts sector, which has both an artistic and economic component, and thus it must take appropriate action to ensure that our artists have a significant presence on the world stage.

The unflinching efforts of Quebec artists and cultural workers over more than 20 years have helped build networks that require effort to maintain. International outreach is the result of work carried out over an extensive period. Any absence from the world stage—even for just six months—would jeopardize those networks.

The Festival d'Avignon, which is considered the most prestigious theatre festival in the world, has invited Wajdi Mouawad, the Artistic Director of French Theatre at the National Arts Centre, to be an associated artist at this summer's festival, in 2009. This extraordinary honour will enable Mr. Mouawad to present two major works during the festival. As a result of this invitation, other Quebec theatre and dance artists will also be performing at the festival. These feature performances by Quebec companies in Avignon are the culmination of ongoing support from the Canadian government's cultural diplomats.

Without a program in place to support international performances by its artists, it is unthinkable that the Canadian government would be in a position to keep the current momentum going. Every industrialized G-8 country provides strong support for its artists by fostering international outreach. The examples that spring to mind are England, with Arts Council England, Germany, with the Goethe Institute, and France, with Culturesfrance.

Until recently, with resources that can best be described as modest, Canada supported the international activities of Canadian artists and artistic companies through the PromArt and Trade Routes programs. Despite the inadequacy of the available funding, no theatre company ever complained about those two programs—quite the opposite. What, then, is the rationale for abruptly cancelling the PromArt and Trade Routes programs? On the basis of what criteria was the decision made to eliminate them?

Furthermore, the top priority of the Government of Canada's International Strategic Framework is international cultural promotion and cultural trade development. Why, then, would the federal government want to abolish these two programs, PromArt and Trade Routes, which were specifically aimed at meeting that key priority?

We also want to take this opportunity to remind the committee that international arts festivals, such as Le Festival TransAmériques, Les Coups de Théâtre de Montréal—a festival aimed at children and youth—as well as Le Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec complement the international touring program and thereby foster the growth of Quebec theatre.

Funding for these festivals is provided under a number of programs, including Arts Presentation Canada, whose budget will be sharply cut, by almost 50 per cent, starting in fiscal year 2010-2011.

This would also be a disaster for the international development of Quebec theatre.

In conclusion, in an international environment where trust is the basis for any relationship, it is essential that companies be in a position to honour their commitments, ensure reciprocity within international artistic presentation networks and continue their efforts to take their works beyond our borders.

The Conseil québécois du théâtre therefore recommends that:

- the Department of Canadian Heritage restore the PromArt and Trade Routes programs as quickly as possible, so that companies do not find themselves without the means to tour internationally after April 1, 2009;

- that the funds cut from the PromArt and Trade Routes programs be reinvested as quickly as possible in the Canada Council for the Arts, an exemplary federal agency that is soundly managed and has the absolute trust of the Quebec theatre community, and that this funding be increased and earmarked exclusively for international touring support;

- that the role of international theatre festivals as a catalyst for the international exposure of Quebec theatre be acknowledged and that such festivals receive adequate recurring funding.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you for that.

Ms. Litzenberger, please.

[Shannon Litzenberger, Executive Director, Canadian Dance Assembly]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for inviting me to speak to you today.

I'm the executive director of the Canadian Dance Assembly, the national association representing Canada's professional dance sector. Our membership includes over 350 professional dance organizations and individuals from all regions of the country, including performance companies, training institutions, presenting organizations, dancers, choreographers, educators, agents, and managers. We are a founding member of the Performing Arts Alliance and a member of the Canadian Arts Coalition and the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

I'd like to speak specifically about the sector-wide impact of recent cuts to PromArt, Trade Routes, and the Canadian arts and heritage sustainability program. As you know, decisions to remove or reduce investment in these and other programs were made without consultations with the stakeholders that they impact.

In the case of PromArt and Trade Routes, claims of the programs' administrative inefficiencies in no way support the conclusion to retract investment from critical areas of activity that enable dance and arts organizations to remain competitive in a global economy. For many dance organizations from Vancouver to Moncton, international export is a vital component of a sound business strategy that ensures the investments made in the creation and production of Canadian works will leverage revenue returns through business development in foreign markets.

Since it is an art form that is not connected to another major commercial cultural industry, touring is the only form of distribution for dance. Touring internationally provides added work weeks for artists and production staff and leverages revenue returns through performance fees that are substantively higher in foreign markets than they are domestically.

As you've already heard from several witnesses, the impact of these cuts means cancelled tours, stalled contract negotiations, lost work weeks for artists, and the ultimate disappearance of Canadian art from the world stage.

Furthermore, these cuts have sent a clear message to foreign buyers, whose ability to present Canadian work is compromised by the fact that Canada will no longer cover travel and shipping costs for their artists to perform abroad—a universal industry practice among exporting countries.

This government claims to be investing $13 million in touring through the Canada Council for the Arts. I'd like to clarify for this committee that in fact the council invests primarily in domestic tours through programs that were designed in complement to PromArt and Trade Routes. It was not until very recently that the council introduced a pilot program that distributes a very modest level of investment to support international touring, in response to reductions to cultural export investment by the federal government in 2005 and in 2006.

To reinforce this point, I've compiled some figures to help illustrate the real situation in dance. In 2007-08, dance companies received less than $400,000 in total support for international touring and foreign market development from the Canada Council for the Arts. In the same year, PromArt and Trade Routes invested a combined total of over $1.3 million in support of over 650 dance performances abroad. As you can see from these numbers, failure to reinvest funds cut from PromArt and Trade Routes effectively evaporates support for international export and the promotion of artists abroad.

As we are all well aware, the economic environment has drastically shifted since the time these cuts were made. The government articulated in the January throne speech that old assumptions must be tested and decisions must be rethought. Like the government, the priority of the dance sector is to protect jobs and to ensure that companies can remain stable and sustainable over this volatile period and beyond. The demand for Canadian cultural product abroad during this period of recession is a testament to the excellence of Canadian artists and their work. Preventing this sector from responding to this demand by retracting funding is both irresponsible and illogical.

But I'd like to stress that we do value this government's expressed commitment to arts and culture, in particular through recent investments in the Canada Council for the Arts, national arts training, cultural spaces, and festivals. We do recognize that levels of investment have increased and we know that the government must make choices. However, despite these good efforts and intentions, I am here to tell you that failing to replace investment in international touring will compromise the effectiveness of other funding commitments and the ultimate viability and sustainability of the sector as a whole.

On behalf of the professional dance sector, I am therefore recommending to every member of this committee that you advocate for a minimum of $12 million in new federal investment specifically to support international touring and foreign market development, enabling arts organizations to remain competitive in the global economy.

I also wish to recommend that this committee support renewed federal commitments to organizational sustainability measures, through the Canadian arts and heritage sustainability program. Specifically, I recommend the renewal of the endowment matching program and renewed investments in capacity-building measures for small and mid-sized organizations.

The capacity building program, which was cut by $1.8 million, has allowed dozens of primarily small and medium-sized dance organizations, such as the Mile Zero Dance in Edmonton, Sampradaya Dance Creations in Mississauga, and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre in Moncton, to take important steps forward in their development, building organizational capacities not otherwise possible through regular operational revenues.

Finally, I cannot leave today without reinforcing the need for new substantive investment to the Canada Council for the Arts. The Canada Council is the most effective deliverer of federal investment for the arts, and I recommend that this committee advocate for $100 million in new permanent investment to the council.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you very much for that presentation.

Now we turn to Mr. Edouard Lock, please.

[Edouard Lock, Artistic Director, La La La Human Steps]

Hello, everyone.

My name is Edouard Lock, and I am the Artistic Director and founder of La La La Human Steps. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for inviting me to appear today. I intend to primarily address the impact on the performing arts community of the cancellation of the PromArt program.

My company, La La La Human Steps, began in June, 1980 in a small theatre, Leskabel, in Saint-Henri in Montreal. The theatre had 75 seats and the run lasted three weeks. After that, we presented the same show in New York, for an additional week, in a similar sized theatre, but one which, at the time, was a hub for contemporary American dance. In all, we had three weeks of local performances and one week of international touring. Twenty-nine years later, touring has increased from one week to two years. We now perform in theatres such as le Palais Garnier and le Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. The theatres where we now perform have between 1,500 and 3,000 seats, and one dancer now earns ten times more than the company's entire budget back in 1980. But those are just some statistics intended to illustrate the impact that international touring has had on our development.

What I came here to talk about is the process that led to this, what I have observed along the way, and the effects of the cancellation of the PromArt program on myself and my colleagues. An international career is built through a coming together of many subtle influences: the international community's response to an artist's work; the reaction of artists and the media in the cities where the performances occur; box office success; the feedback provided to presenters and promoters by spectators and subscribers; the personal tastes of presenters and their own observations with respect to how well the show is received in their community.

Then, over time, a dialogue develops and leads to better recognition of the artist's work and his history. That, in return, makes it possible to develop long-lasting relationships that mean a steady touring schedule. This process takes time and, in our case, as for many others, it has taken decades to achieve. On this tour, we reached an audience of close to 140,000. When one thinks back to the first international tour by our company, where The Kitchen, in New York, was the only presenter, you can see just how far we have come. The investment in both time and resources is staggering. Yet, if Canadian artists are unable to continue to move these relationships forward, everything that has been achieved will be lost, and the world will forget us. That loss will in turn lead to stagnation among some of the most successful arts organizations this country has produced: its dance companies and dance artists.

In order to avoid that, integrating the work of our artists into the broader context of the global cultural community is vital. The mark of any civilized country is its ability to have a dialogue with other cultures. Our artists are windows into who we are, and what we believe in. Distinctive and unique Canadian perspectives are precisely what international presenters are looking for. Believe me, invitations from leading international presenters are not just paternalism. Their invitations are not designed to support us; they invite us because nothing equivalent is available at home. Inviting an artist from another country to perform is an expensive proposition that can only be justified by the quality and uniqueness of what the guest artist has to offer.

We know that money is tight, and that more grant money for many companies and young artists will be difficult to come by—hence the importance of maintaining access to international markets and foreign investments. As touring has increased for us and other companies, investments from abroad have become de facto forms of subsidy. Amounts generated through co-productions and performance fees amount, in our case, to more than the total amount of operating grants we receive from the three levels of government—federal, provincial and municipal. Therefore, to lose access to these revenues would be disastrous.

Another point I want to raise relates to the fact that most dance companies do not have long local seasons and therefore depend on international touring to maintain their revenue streams. Although national tours are pivotal, there are not enough performance opportunities to compete with extensive international tours which, once again, confirms the need to preserve them. It is clear that money alone cannot guarantee the success of an artistic endeavour and money alone cannot create an artist. But when success does occur, it must be recognized quickly and encouraged. And that is precisely the beauty of the PromArt program. That program does not create success; it supports and rewards success. It does not create opportunities; it lets the artist and presenters do that. It does not have to wonder about an artist's potential; it lets the international experts determine that and then responds based on their judgment.

It is a fundamentally smart program, in that it doesn't burden itself with subjectivity; rather, it lets the world's cultural institutions do the work and then facilitates the artists' access to the opportunities they themselves have generated through their talent and hard work.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you very much.

We'll have the first questioner. Please try to keep the questions and answers as short as possible. You have five minutes.

Mr. Rodriguez.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

As always, Mr. Chair, merci beaucoup.

Good afternoon and welcome to all our witnesses. I am very pleased that you have been able to join us here today. I only wish that the circumstances could have been different.

I have a great deal of admiration and respect for the work that each of you do. I would have liked to be able to talk about dance, theatre, Quebec and Canadian success stories overall, and international touring, but instead, we have to talk about cuts. That is why you are here today—to talk about cuts that I, personally—I have said this before—describe as savage and unjustified, and which I am very upset about. They hurt our artists, and they hurt us as well, in terms of our international reputation.

To begin with, I would like to know whether any of you were consulted with respect to the review process and the cuts that were coming. Did you in any way participate in the process that led to these cuts?

No one was consulted.

Many of your competitors or competing countries—the international networks—have this type of support program, which often represents only a small portion of the budget. Do you not have the sense that, by virtue of the fact that you no longer have access to these programs, you will be fighting with your hands tied behind your back?

[Edouard Lock]

Our hands are already tied behind our back with the budgets we currently have to live within, compared to what is available in Europe. If, on top of that, we can no longer perform in Europe, benefit from their investments and present our work in their theatres, there is no doubt that now, we will have not only two hands, but a foot as well tied behind our back.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

A foot as well; that is bad news! Mr. Lock, I have a great deal of admiration for everything you have accomplished over the years. If I understood you correctly, you were saying that the Canadian market simply isn't large enough for you and your company.

[Edouard Lock]

The Canadian market does represent a certain percentage of our touring, but Canada just doesn't have the population density to sustain the kind of touring that the international stage as a whole can provide to dance companies here.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

So, for you, the international component--

[Edouard Lock]

It is very important; it represents almost 80 per cent of our revenues.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Then it is more than important; it is absolutely key.

[Edouard Lock]

Yes, definitely.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Paré, you referred to 327 international tours that have been cancelled, or delayed, which represents almost 3,400 performances. You talk about losses of almost $20 million. That is enormous in the performing arts sector.

[Alain Paré]

Yes, it is enormous and, at the same time, our figures are very conservative, because only 64 companies out of a possible 244 responded to our survey. So, if you multiply that by two or three, the numbers are likely to be even higher than the ones we have now. However, we only presented our actual figures.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

You said earlier that the house is on fire and that it's time to call the fire department. What are you looking for in a way of an immediate solution?

[Alain Paré]

Right now, we are asking that the money that was cut from the PromArt and Trade Routes programs be restored and made available as quickly as possible, so that Canadian companies can put on their tours and honour the commitments they have made for the 2009-2010 season.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

If it was reinvested in or managed by the Council, rather than by…

[Alain Paré]

The Canada Council for the Arts.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Yes, exactly, that is what you are suggesting.

[Alain Paré]

Yes.