Canadian Heritage Committee on June 6th, 2019

[Ravi Jain]

Yes, exactly. We're representing the nation proudly; don't you worry.

Thank you for this time and thank you for that great presentation.

Good afternoon to you all. My name is Ravi Jain and I am the founding artistic director of the international company based in Toronto, Ontario, called Why Not Theatre.

When I returned to Toronto in 2007 after living and training abroad for a number of years, no institution would hire me. Even though I had a stellar international resumé, institutions were busy doing their own work, often led by a single artistic director, and their casting did not have the vision or imagination to include me.

I, like many others before me, was forced to form my own company if I wanted to make work. I founded Why Not Theatre in 2007. We are a company with an outstanding international reputation for creating award-winning, innovative, accessible theatre.

By 2017, 10 years in, we had worked on over 80 projects, touring to 30 different cities on five continents, and we slowly grew to an annual operating budget of about $500,000. We were a team of three people doing the work of six, and we struggled to not only make our own work but to also support the work of many artists who did not have the resources that we managed to grow. Even at that time, we were defying the odds.

At that time it was impossible to grow a company with the support of the councils. Funding was static, with the majority of funds going to the fewest and oldest institutions that were born out of the Massey commission.

I'm sure all of you know that the 1951 Massey commission was a landmark report, and it's generally seen as the first major steps by the Canadian government to nurture, preserve and promote Canadian culture. The commission was successful in establishing foundational institutions for the arts, but those institutions were mostly rooted in Eurocentric and colonial values.

The text of the Massey commission includes a quote that says, “The impact of the white man with his more advanced civilization and his infinitely superior techniques resulted in the gradual destruction of the Indian way of life.” The report also said that “since the death of true Indian arts is inevitable, Indians should not be encouraged to prolong the existence of arts which at best must be artificial and at worst are degenerate.” The report concludes that, “The Indian arts thus survive only as ghosts or shadows of a dead society.”

At the heart of this report, which would shape Canada's cultural voices for decades to come, is a narrative that did not imagine a world where indigenous cultures even existed. That narrative also excluded racialized people and other minority groups. Vincent Massey would never have imagined me as an artistic leader of an institution that is defining Canada's culture, which, let me be clear, I am.

The history of funding has caused a stasis in the system where the majority of funds go to the small number of the oldest organizations. Another way to look at it is that there is only one opera, one symphony, one ballet and one regional theatre in each city.

With few exceptions, it is next to impossible to build a new institution of the size and scale of the oldest companies born out of that Massey commission. For me as an artistic leader, my only option for growth is to apply to very few jobs at institutions that have perpetuated decades of exclusionary practices. I'd have to expend energy changing the vision of that institution, rather than being given the support and the opportunity to build a new institution with a broader vision of what Canadian identity could be.

Then, in 2017, as the previous gentleman said, there was a game-changer. We were awarded one of the Canada Council's 200 new chapter grants for a dream project of producing the new adaptation of the ancient Indian epic of the Mahabharata. It is one of the most important South Asian stories ever.

The $375,000 investment allowed us to create a three-part international multimedia production that will play at the largest stage at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. For the first time we now have the resources to build a show at a scale that is equal to what only major institutions get to do.

Now in our partnership with the Shaw Festival, we come to the table as equals. This is historic because this institution has served a single audience for over 50 years. This partnership will create unprecedented access for a whole new audience, many of whom have never participated in Canadian performing arts.

Then, in 2018, we became clients at Canada Council in operating funding. In our first application to the operating contest, we were awarded $175,000 in operating funding. For some perspective, we were getting $25,000 from the Ontario Arts Council and $30,000 from the Toronto Arts Council. The Canada Council's investment was a meaningful investment that propelled us into the position of leadership we were meant to be in. Because of that investment, we were able to increase other fundraising, attracting new corporate and philanthropic donors who, just two years ago, were totally out of reach.

Now we are growing on an exponential trajectory, with a $2-million operating budget and a full-time staff of nine in 2020. We're projecting to hit $3 million in 2021, and even more in years to come. Most importantly, we're able to serve hundreds of artists whose voices haven't been heard, bringing their work to millions of Canadians who have never seen themselves represented on stage.

Finally, our vision of what Canada can look and sound like is starting to be given the same weight as that of those Eurocentric institutions that came out of the Massey commission. If we were to get more support, imagine what impact we could have on what arts and culture mean to all Canadians.

The Canada Council has made one major move to address historical inequities by prioritizing equity and funding new voices with substantial investments. We need to see this change through. We need to continue to change where the support is going. Redistribute the wealth we have to offer more dynamic and innovative companies like Why Not the means to grow and become new institutions—not to replace but rather to support, to work alongside and to be equal partners in shaping our national identity.

Right now, with Why Not's growth, we're a total outlier, and two years from now, we must be the norm. It's important to note that this change and rebalancing of the scales would never have happened without the much-needed increase to the Canada Council's budget, and we can only continue to see this change with continued investment and growth. We can only make room for more if there is more to go around.

I hope the Canada Council goes further with this move. I hope they are bolder. It would not only change who tells the story. It would change who comes to see the story. I hope that the Canada Council's actions inspire Canadian Heritage to do the same, as many of the heritage programs are outdated and primarily serve those older, Eurocentric institutions.

Canadian heritage is a strange idea to wrap one's head around. Is it about preserving the past, a Massey inheritance that did not consider my existence? Or is it about shaping the future, one in which my existence is essential for the country to define our mission and voice? To me, it's clear. We have finally made one step in the right direction. Now let's take five more.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you very much.

We will now go to Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.

Kathi Sundstrom, you have the floor, please.

[Kathi Sundstrom, Executive Director, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks]

Good afternoon. I thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Kathi Sundstrom, and I'm the Executive Director of Calgary-based Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, DJD.

DJD is one of a handful of jazz dance companies in North America. Our mission is to enrich lives by engaging people in exploring, evolving and promoting the art of jazz dance. I have been in my role for 26 years, and in those years I've applied for hundreds of grants. I have also been involved with many committees, town halls and one-on-one meetings with colleagues and funders on reviewing, evaluating and dissecting how funds are awarded and what criteria are used, and I have offered many opinions on granting processes.

This is what I have learned. There is no perfect system and there will never be enough money to satisfy the requests. The asks will always exceed the resources and when you receive the letter that you are not successful, you are never happy about that. Each grant and every level of government have different criteria, different objectives and different ways to award funds.

In my opinion, the most challenging thing for government funders has been the lack of growth to their budgets and how to deal with the realities of increased demands for funds as the sector has grown, and the almost impossible and very unforgiving task of funders having to make difficult decisions to reduce funds to one organization and give them to another.

The unprecedented decision of the federal government to double the funding to the Canada Council is, in my 26 years as an arts administrator, the largest increase and vote of confidence and so-needed investment in the arts sector that I have witnessed. I applaud those who make that decision. Thank you.

You have asked me here today to comment on how council has handled managing the increases and specifically on whether the system ensures that artists everywhere have access to funding. I would like to speak for a few moments on DJD's relationship with council and our funding history.

We were founded in 1984. We became a full-time company in 1987 due to a federal Canadian job strategy grant, and we began applying for council funding in the mid-nineties. When we began to apply, they only funded three forms of dance: ballet, modern and experimental. Jazz dance was not recognized as a legitimate form, and technically we were not eligible to apply. We applied regardless. We lobbied our case. Changes were made at the council and in time our peers recognized us.

Sixteen years later we received our first operating grant. DJD came of age in the 1990s, as did many organizations, entering the quest for operating funding when governments arts budgets were not increasing. It was next to impossible for funders to make changes to historical funding patterns. The new modernized model at the council has made a monumental impact on us and on the arts sector in Canada. DJD has been designated as an institution, one of only seven dance institutions and the only non-ballet-focused company. Montreal and Calgary are the only cities that have two institutions for dance. We've come a long way since the time we weren't recognized.

Under the new priorities of assessment—artistic leadership, engagement and resilience—we have been successful in making a strong and compelling case for support to our peers. We have seen our operating budget rise from 3.5% to 13% of our budget. This increase makes a revolutionary change to our operations and the community in which we operate. We will hire more dancers for more weeks, we will invest in original creations and we will tour to eastern Canada, to name a few things we will do.

You ask about access. I outlined that in the nineties the council only recognized three forms of dance for funding. Now there would be perhaps over 30 eligible forms and the openness of the council now no longer places those old constraints of who can and cannot apply for funding, what is dance and what is not. If you meet the criteria as a professional organization or as an artist, and you present a case that speaks to the specifics of the program, you will be eligible. You will be assessed by your peers. Yes, it is a competitive process and each application has to reach a minimum standard for consideration for funding, but there is broad access to funding.

Let me speak for a moment about peer assessment. The council began this process of evaluation in the eighties and by the nineties virtually all grants were awarded this way. I have sat on two juries under the new model and on juries before the change. Canada Council demonstrates extreme integrity in the execution of the peer jury process. In my experience, council staff work very hard to have diversity in the selection of the jury. I have been impressed with the attention they give to constituting a jury with individuals who bring varied backgrounds and experiences to best review the files, and the staff 100% respects and facilitates the role of the “peer” in the jury in assessing the files.

Sitting as a jury member is daunting at times, with the degree of material to review and the responsibilities that have been vested in you. With all of the juries I have served on, I leave impressed and confident with the process, the thoughtfulness and level of commitment everyone shares to make the best decisions.

I would also add that, as an arts administrator with a small staff, I appreciate the streamlining of the application and reporting processes under the modernized model. Yes, there were a few bumps in the road in getting the portal working, but that is to be expected with a change this large. The end result, though, is an improvement over the past.

One of the factors that cannot be overlooked in Alberta is that our province and, in the case of Calgary, civic governments, have not made it a priority to renew investment in the funding of the arts and have not kept pace with the growth in the sector, nor even inflation, in allocating their budgets.

Provincially, despite Alberta's heyday of the past, Alberta Foundation for the Arts' budget has decreased in 10 years by 12.5%. In 2009, AFA's budget was $36 million. Last year it was $31.5 million. Ten years ago, our AFA operating grant was 12% of our budget; today it's 7%.

Our operating grant from the City of Calgary over the last 10 years has gone from $89,000 to $95,000, basically flat. The City of Calgary has one of the lowest per capita art spends. In 2019, though, thankfully, city council in Calgary finally increased the budget from $6.4 million to $12.4 million. We are about to enter the application process, so we are unsure how it will affect our frozen operating grant, but we trust we will see some level of increase.

It is interesting to offer a comparison on the role of government funding. DJD recently completed a $28.5-million capital campaign to build a new dance centre in downtown Calgary. Fifty-two per cent of the funds raised came from the three levels of government, with the city investing the most at 22%, the province second at 18% and the federal government via the Department of Canadian Heritage at 12%. When we look at our operating budget for 2019-20, 27% will come from three levels of government, and the order of magnitude of investment is completely reversed. The federal government will be at 14%, the province at 7%, and civic at 5%.

In the last three juries I have sat on for the Canada Council, sadly there have been very few applicants from Alberta. The federal government has made this massive reinvestment in the arts, a very wise decision. We need you to encourage your provincial counterparts to follow your lead.

The job to support the arts in Alberta is not the federal government's alone. The other two levels of government need to commit to renewed investment. If that investment was there, you would see a stronger base of artists and arts organizations in Alberta, resulting in more activity from organizations and artists who would in turn be making more applications to the council for funds.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you very much.

Finally, I will now give the floor to Mr. Martin Théberge and Ms. Marie-Christine Morin of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française.

[Martin Théberge, President, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française]

Hello, everyone. My name is Martin Théberge and I am the President of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, the FCCF. I am accompanied by Marie-Christine Morin, the executive director of the federation.

The FCCF is the national voice of arts and culture in the Canadian and Acadian francophonie. For us, the vitality of francophone arts and culture enriches the artistic, social and economic landscape in Canada.

Our network brings together 22 member organizations: seven national groups in theatre, literature, song and music, media arts and visual arts, 13 organizations working for cultural and artistic development in 11 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as a group of performing arts distribution networks and an alliance of community radios. Through its members, the FCCF oversees more than 3,125 artists and more than 150 organizations from more than 180 French-speaking communities.

First of all, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as part of your study on Canada Council for the Arts funding.

Our remarks will have three anchor points. We will first talk about the increased funding for the Canada Council for the Arts and how this is good news for our sector. We will then mention some necessary adjustments. We will conclude with a call for true collaboration with the council.

Increased funding is good news for the sector. It would be impossible for us not to welcome, loudly and clearly, the government's decision in 2016 to double the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts. This was, as many have said, the largest reinvestment in arts and culture in Canada in 30 years and across the G7.

The country's entire cultural sector was behind the efforts to persuade the government to do this. The Canada Council for the Arts could not have done it alone. We all called for increased investment with one voice. Together, we succeeded.

Finally, many of our artists will be able to access funding, and several organizations will be able to consolidate their activities, all of them aiming to advance their artistic vision and nurture their contribution to Canadian society.

To those who would question this reinvestment, we point to these times of great upheaval and identity erosion in which we are plunged, too often with violence. More than ever, we need to mobilize the creative forces within us to ensure that social inequalities are reduced and mobilization efforts are peaceful.

April 29 was International Dance Day, established in 1982 by the International Dance Council in collaboration with UNESCO. To mark the occasion, an international message written by a dance personality is broadcast everywhere. For the 2019 edition, Karima Mansour, an Egyptian dancer, choreographer and educator, received this honour. Ms. Mansour's message is as follows: “It is in dance that cultures are shared and that borders are dissolved in a place of inclusion and unity, where the silent language of universality is spoken. Dance is a healer. Dance is the place where humanity can come together.”

[Marie-Christine Morin, Executive Director, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française]

I will now talk about the adjustments made necessary by the provision of new funding to the Canada Council for the Arts.

The news of increased funding from the Canada Council for the Arts was like a balm for the entire sector. In the Canadian francophonie, there was a long way to go, for all kinds of reasons related to history, linguistic insecurity and systemic difficulties.

We see that we have made progress. Indeed, compared to 2015, that is before the injection of new funds, funding to francophone artists and organizations more than doubled. In 2018-2019, the council received 566 applications from francophone artists, a 34.4% increase over 2017-2018. Of these, 283 were selected.

Unfortunately, much remains to be done. There is still cause for concern if we look at the data a little more closely.

Historically, the number of applications from individual francophone artists has always been lower than that of their anglophone minority colleagues in Quebec. Why? Is it because there are fewer francophone artists in minority communities than anglophone artists in Quebec? Yes, but that doesn't explain everything. So what is the reason? Based on reports from artists themselves, here are some initial answers.

Some artists feel that their project will be taken more seriously if they apply in English. Others are advised to file their application in English, supposedly because it is simpler and more direct. Indeed, an artist from a minority language community must certainly make greater efforts to maintain his documentation in both languages. In addition, some people are insecure about expressing their ideas in French. For some, it is a real complex.

English being the predominant language among the peer juries, the council covers the translation costs of the applications that will be evaluated. However, translation raises very real risks that the value and nuance of the subject matter of the artistic approach being evaluated may be modified. In our opinion, it is much more beneficial to have francophone juries to evaluate francophone projects.

Other people, after having been refused several times in the past without a satisfactory explanation, have chosen not to apply to the Canada Council for the Arts again. Not all of these discouraged people are emerging creators; some have already been recognized, sometimes even on the international scene.

There are also these famous systemic barriers, these program modalities that disadvantage potential beneficiaries from minority language communities even before they have applied.

How can we explain that a visual artist's artistic experience is not recognized as professional when he or she exhibits works in a community space? However, in some communities, these infrastructures equipped with arts facilities are the only ones that can welcome these artists and allow them to present their creations to their public. In the reality of our official language minority communities, cultural and community centres are unifying places that allow people to have access to a living environment in French, including the arts.

The situation is just as complex if the artist wishes to move to professionalize himself or make his work travel. It is very likely that an artist living in a minority linguistic environment, often in remote areas, will have to travel, often at great expense, given our vast country.

Making the application process more complex, ignoring the real costs of travel, all of this limits the ability of artists and works from minority language communities to shine, here and elsewhere.

There is also a lack of sensitivity on the part of the Canada Council for the Arts to the realities of minority artists when it comes to talking about their relationship with industries. Indeed, why can't a media artist whose career path includes television experiences be recognized by the council? To live from your art in the Canadian and Acadian francophonie, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades. This means creating television works as well as independent cinematographic works.

Many of these systemic barriers are known to the council, but there is little movement, little change. We talk about issues, we talk about challenges, but often we go no further than the findings.

We need to adjust our sights. We must work to identify and eliminate these barriers that prevent the minority francophone arts community from taking its place.

By acting on these issues, the council will not only influence the artist's own ability to promote his or her artistic approach, and support a whole community ecosystem in which we invest, and in which we believe, to address this host of linguistic concerns.

[Martin Théberge]

I'll now talk about the importance of working together and soliciting true co-operation.

Midway through these investments, the Canada Council for the Arts has an opportunity to show leadership in engaging the arts and culture sector in Canadian and Acadian French-speaking communities to find solutions to ongoing concerns.

Gone are the days when organizations simply wanted to be consulted. People who do marketing, invent products or shape public policy will tell you that the process of engaging stakeholders in an initiative is now just as important as the program itself.

Instead of sending representatives to promote the programs alone, we can work with our organizations in the field to connect with artists, support them and encourage them to submit strong applications.

The transformation taking place at the Canada Council for the Arts is still in its early stages. However, two immediate measures must be taken. First, we recommend that the commitment to increase the council's funding until 2021 be upheld. Second, we recommend that a rigorous consultation and engagement exercise be carried out this year with the stakeholders involved in the funding to assess the current approach and make the necessary adjustments to the new funding model.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Mr. Théberge, your 10 minutes are up. I'd like you to wrap up your presentation.

[Martin Théberge]

I'll finish up quickly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

That's fine, thank you.

[Martin Théberge]

In light of the progress under way, but especially to ensure that the council complies with its own internal policies and its commitment to the development and vitality of minority language communities, the time has come to set the record straight. The practices related to French-speaking clients must be assessed in light of a deeper understanding of their unique characteristics. In addition, more work must be done internally to raise awareness.

Together we've managed to convince an entire country of the value of investing in creation. We're ready to work hand in hand with the Canada Council for the Arts to ensure that the Canadian and Acadian French-speaking communities benefit from these investments in keeping with their creativity, talent and ambition.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you.

As with the last panel, we will do five minutes each and we'll begin with Mr. Boissonnault.

Go ahead, please.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Thanks very much.

I'll start with Mr. Théberge and Ms. Morin.

Mr. Théberge, do you think that the francophone communities outside Quebec could benefit from a readjustment that would reflect the proportion of the population in general or the proportion of the French-speaking population? What do you think of a model consisting of regional juries, such as one jury out west, in Alberta or British Columbia, and another jury in the Atlantic region that could work together at the national level?

It would be radical. However, this model was brought up by Ms. Petrov from the Winspear Centre, a music centre in Edmonton. It's time to allocate a set overall amount to each region. There could be juries or regional groups that decide who receives the money, which may include francophones.

What you do think?

[Martin Théberge]

In addition to the regional aspect, I think that the juries should also take into consideration the linguistic and cultural aspect. I agree that there should be a jury in the Atlantic region, for example, but in that case there should be a francophone Acadian jury and an anglophone jury.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Joëlle Préfontaine from the UniThéâtre said the same thing. There's a very large francophone component in Western Canada, including a Franco-Albertan component and a Franco-Saskatchewanian component.

I'm going to go to Calgary, because I have only about three and a half minutes left. It goes so fast.

Kathi, since you've been with the company, how many times have you met with your Canada Council for the Arts rep in person?

[Kathi Sundstrom]

Do you mean in person? I couldn't tell you that. I'm sorry.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Did it happen?

[Kathi Sundstrom]

Yes.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

How many times—five, three, two, 10?

[Kathi Sundstrom]

I would say it was more than five.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

That was in how many years?

[Kathi Sundstrom]

I'm sorry, but I can't give you that data off the top of my head.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

You said that no system is perfect, but what would you say to a system that had more regional balance in it? We've heard the statistics. As Albertans, we're 12% of the population, we're 8% of the artists, we're 5% of the jurors and we get about 5% of funds.

Should the CCA be directed to take some of this new money and have it rebalance some of the regions that simply aren't getting their share?

[Kathi Sundstrom]

I see that as very difficult. From the standpoint of sitting on a jury, if we had to take a lens that so much has to go to each province, there would be.... Excellence of the applications still has to apply. If there weren't good applications from Alberta, we would be denying good applications from other regions. Regional equity is a very difficult thing.

I do believe that part of the problem in Alberta is that we don't have that base of provincial and government support. DJD would never have existed. Our first grants were always civic and provincial, so we don't have that base to create the organizations that can then graduate, for lack of a better word, to larger and different programs, to apply to the council.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Calgary is in a tougher position than Edmonton, because Edmonton's tripled its arts funding—