Canadian Heritage Committee on June 6th, 2019

[Boomer Stacey]

I would never say no to an extra pot of money. If that were possible, we would say yes to that. What I would add is that I think it is a challenge, whether it's rural companies, small independent companies.

We try to talk about that with regard to the well-written application. If you're a small company without the capacity to hire a professional grant writer or to have that person exist within your theatre, it's a challenge to write a well-written grant, especially if you're existing outside of the colonial context.

That, for us, is a concern, and it's part of why we want to talk about the merit of “well written”. What does “well written” mean? Whether you're from northern Canada or exist in a small rural context anywhere, or in an independent context—an indigenous context, a multicultural context—I believe there are challenges to completing that application.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Does your association help with the grant application process, or do you give any courses to help out? How far do you go with your association?

[Boomer Stacey]

We have professional development for our members, so we lead some sessions ourselves. We also promote.... There are many across the country that do grant writing sessions, such as the Canada Council. Most of the provincial granting organizations and municipal associations are also doing professional development to that end.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Going back to the northern communities, how many members come from isolated communities, like further north in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and those sorts of areas? How many members are there?

[Boomer Stacey]

I don't have an exact number for you, but we have a rural caucus that is made up of companies from across the country, which has over 25 members out of our 150. It's a very strong, very engaged caucus.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you.

My next question goes to Mr. Palmer.

You have a unique sort of workshop. Where do you get your funding from, primarily? Do you get municipal funding, funding from industry or commercial funding? What percentage of your budget is from the grant application or from the Canada Council?

[Judd Palmer]

We receive operating funding from all three levels of government. Occasionally, we also access funds from private foundations, such as the Calgary Foundation. We're not of a scale of organization that's particularly well suited to achieving sponsorship or corporate dollars, but we're well supported by public funders.

The proportion of our operating budget over the past few years that has come from the Canada Council has changed. Prior to the new funding model, it was around 20%, and now it fluctuates between 40% and 50%.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

I've heard many people say that it's a challenge just to start to get funding. The application is difficult and they're not really sure how to write the application.

After you get your first grant, does it become easier to secure funding in the following years, or is it the same challenge year by year?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Could I ask for 30-second answers?

[Judd Palmer]

I think a track record is helpful, absolutely. Any public funder has to have a sense of trust with regard to the recipients of the grants—that they're going to do what they say they're going to do with it. It's something that can only be established through a history of practice.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Nantel now has the floor for five minutes.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses.

Our chair has gotten us all used to always giving priority to witnesses who appear by video conference, in case we lose the signal due to a technical problem. So I'm going to ask you a question right now, Mr. Palmer.

It was interesting to hear you talk about your journey, how it started and how the Canada Council has helped you at various stages. You also gave us a good explanation of the difficulties you encountered. I think the adventure of puppet shows in the trunk of your old Volvo was really great.

Do you feel that the Canada Council's programs have evolved in a way that reflects reality?

The Canada Council for the Arts wanted to revise its programs and also received this incredible manna that allowed it to meet the needs and ambitions of artists.

In today's market, there is a lot of electronic competition, and fewer companies. Indeed, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to provide for themselves. Here, I am thinking, among other things, of record companies and the fact that artists are becoming more autonomous.

In this context, do you have the impression that the Canada Council for the Arts has been able to modernize over the years?

I would also like to hear the opinions of Mr. Stacey and Ms. Tracey.

This may have been a strange time to receive twice as much money, just as the Canada Council for the Arts was redesigning its network. I think you made that point, Mr. Stacey.

Is the evolution keeping pace with creators' needs?

Do you think it was an odd time to get all that money, while they were redesigning the organization?

[Judd Palmer]

It's actually transformative. The funding has changed our capacity to do our work and our capacity to reach Canadian audiences at an unprecedented level.

Also, I think it has been an immensely challenging time for the Canada Council in modernizing its grant-making systems and procedures at the same time that the budget received this great increase. There will be challenges, but in my experience, I believe they've handled them well and, by and large, the Canada Council is responding well to the creative needs of the country.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

That's great news.

Ms. Tracey, I understand you work in the field of children's theatre.

[Nick Tracey]

Yes.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

The Canada Council for the Arts has obviously sought to adjust its new funding programs, particularly for First Nations. I'm a little off topic, but I'd like to know if children's theatre is part of a subdivision of the six grant programs and if it receives special attention from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Mr. Stacey, I believe that getting such a fantastic budget increase at a time when you're redesigning the system is almost like receiving a poisoned gift. I'd like you to come back to that.

[Nick Tracey]

For the company that I work for, which is Young People's Theatre in Toronto, Canada's largest and oldest national professional theatre for young audiences, it has been an extremely generous gift for us. Not only has it has allowed us to stretch our programming, it has also allowed us to work on areas that have become very important to us over the last few years.

Absolutely, indigenous programming is one of those, but accessibility is also, and not just from a financial perspective of bringing in kids who are unable to access programming. It's also accessibility in terms of ASL, audio description and relaxed performances.

When we put in our last grant application for this four-year core funding, that was a key component of what we talked about. We felt very much like the Canada Council heard us and realized this was something that was core to our business, possibly not to every theatre company's, but they took us for who we were and what it was that we needed and how important that was to us. We've been very pleased with the change, at least in terms of how that's been viewed for us at YPT.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

I'm just going to jump in here.

Unfortunately, we're over time. I can give you a quick moment to respond in a very quick fashion, please.

[Boomer Stacey]

Sure.

If I understood you, you're asking about the timing of the shift and the doubling of the money. As far as we understand it, it has been part of a five-year strategic plan, so we understand that there are going to be some challenges as we all grapple with what those changes mean. However, the fact that it is part of that strategic vision, for us, gives us hope that this is the right direction as we all learn what those new boxes are. To go from 150 boxes to six boxes, that's a lot of change, which we're all grappling with, but we feel that it's in the best interests of modernizing the entire system.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you.

Thank you to all the witnesses.

It's been really interesting to get your feedback and some different perspectives on the programs.

We're going to suspend briefly. We have several people coming in on video conference, so I'm going to need a few minutes to transfer over to the next panel. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

We are going to start again. We have a new panel with us now. We do have three people joining us by video conference.

I'm going to ask that, when I call out your name or the name of your organization, you put your hand up to let everyone know who you are.

We have, from Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Kathi Sundstrom.

We also welcome Mr. Martin Théberge and Ms. Marie-Christine Morin, of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française.

From Miami, Florida, we have Why Not Theatre, with Ravi Jain and Owais Lightwala. From Whitehorse, Yukon, we have the Yukon Arts Centre, Casey Prescott.

Let me go to our witness from Yukon. We have three by video conference and I'd like to go with you first in case we have any technical difficulties.

We'll work our way up the list, starting with Casey Prescott from the Yukon Arts Centre, please.

[Casey Prescott, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Yukon Arts Centre]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'm here to represent the views and experiences of the Yukon Arts Centre with regard to the new Canada Council funding increases and the administration and delivery of these new resources to create more balance and equity on the distribution of funds to the Canadian arts community. I will also share some thoughts and observations on the different experiences that others have had with the introduction of these models and guidelines in the Yukon.

As way of background, the Yukon Arts Centre is one of Canada's most unique and impactful arts organizations, serving a broad presentation, programming, training and community engagement mandate to promote the health and vitality of the arts sector in Yukon territory. YAC focuses on building bridges and opportunity for diverse northern artists and artisans to produce and present their work in all disciplines for both local and tourist audiences, to help artists disseminate their work and invest in their practice, and to promote and share their stories with the world.

The Yukon Arts Centre Corporation was created by the Arts Centre Act, an act of the Yukon legislative assembly, in 1988. The arts centre itself opened in 1993, and since then, the centre has grown to a multi-venue organization playing a key role in supporting artistic programming in the territory. It is the largest arts centre north of 60. lt has a 420-seat main stage theatre, an industry-standard public gallery, a community gallery, a youth gallery, a downtown multi-use venue called “The Old Fire Hall”, an outdoor amphitheatre called “The Wharf” and a seasonal visual arts house in the outlying community of Carcross.

Yukon Arts Centre programming includes an average of 32 visual arts exhibitions per year, a robust interdisciplinary presentation series averaging 30 to 35 performances, over 70 community events per season, a children's festival, a monthly children's arts workshop, a performing arts touring program that brings visiting artists to the territory's communities, and the management of the N3 network, which encourages and steers the continued development of touring arts networks in northern Canada.

The Yukon Arts Centre has also supported intern programs in visual arts curation and technical theatre since 2007, offering opportunities for the next generation of arts leaders to hone their skills and create career momentum and networks in a dynamic northern artistic environment. The Yukon Arts Centre also offers several artist residency programs where artists can develop and showcase their artistic vision, including the YAC performing arts residency program, Chilkoot Trail residency, Jenni House residency and the Chu Niikwän residency. Embedded in all of our programming—design and planning—is the active cultivation of relationships, synergies, trust and partnerships that serve the needs of all 14 Yukon first nations.

lt goes without saying that the role of the Canada Council for the Arts in the national arts ecology is extremely significant. Without it, our vibrancy and momentum cease. I do applaud the efforts and the courage of the council's administration to tackle reform and seek deeper equity, transparency and access to its programs. Even a doubling of funding only goes so far when you are dealing with a country with so much rich creative output and potential. I also realize that addressing something of this nature will almost undoubtedly be a polarizing exercise for the community it serves. The status quo is disrupted for those who benefited and relied upon it. Others see no increases where increases were anticipated, and some experience unanticipated increases.

This is where we fall in. The Yukon Arts Centre has benefited enormously from the new program restructuring. Previously, we were only eligible under the old guidelines to receive operating money for our gallery, but with the new program we were eligible to apply as an interdisciplinary arts organization. This change in status allowed us to see a very significant increase in our core operating funds, which has allowed us to invest in our community and expand our programming in the north in many exciting ways. lt has been a game-changer for our organization and allowed us to flow new and consistent support back into our community, which has had a ripple effect across the territory.

However, most of the council's northern constituents are in much smaller organizations or are independent artists. I have listened to some of the earlier testimonies from my colleagues and echo some of the points that have been made in terms of application feedback—questions of merit and excellence, and ultimately how these comments intimidate and become a barrier for future applications. I have heard this from artists in the Yukon and how it has negatively affected them personally. More needs to be done with the council's communication style and it should not only be reactive but be part of an ongoing, fulsome plan to engage with the north.

I understand that Simon Brault will be travelling to the north this summer to tour and consult. This is a very positive development. Canada Council for the Arts senior leadership need to be present more consistently to help their programs adapt to the needs of all Canadian northern territories. Our challenges are very real and unique to the rest of Canada.

Here are some further recommendations.

Do not underestimate our geography. Even in the digital age, northern Canada is a long way from Ottawa. You must be physically present. You must engage and listen. You must devise an outreach schedule that goes beyond info sessions.

Your engagement with Yukon first nation communities needs to be personalized, genuine and proactive. Meet and share in their culture. Be present at significant cultural events and look for ways to have your funding respond. Presence and trust are key to encouraging their participation.

Decentralize. Look to Canadian Heritage as a better model of having regional offices. The north requires council representatives on the ground who are building relationships with our artists and advocating for the arts sector in the north on an ongoing basis. I think that this could go a long way to increasing funding equity and participation across the country.

Have a plan for rural artist engagement. Be encouraging and accommodating in all of your communication with these remote communities.

Finally, reconsider thematic funding. I am not a personal fan of the digital strategy fund. I find its criteria far too academic and not practical enough for most arts organizations to participate. It is a big pool of money that could have been more useful to the sector in a different form. ln future, keep all of your criteria practical, inclusive and connected to the real needs of Canadian artists and arts organizations.

In summary, I see the transition of this new funding model as a process—one that we are in the middle of—of which this session is a vital part. I would like to think that we are all here to encourage and make the program stronger as we are all building this for the next generation of Canadians.

My thanks to the committee for giving me the opportunity to speak here today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you very much.

Now we travel all the way south to the Why Not Theatre, please.

[Ravi Jain, Artistic and General Director, Why Not Theatre]

Hi.

We're in Miami for a conference. We're actually based in Toronto.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

I figured you were. I would have other questions about the Canada Council funding otherwise.