Thank you for the question.
Indeed, major festivals have their own reality. That's the case for the smaller ones, too, but generally speaking, many of them deal with the two existing programs I mentioned, the Canadian Heritage program and the Canada arts presentation fund. Many small festivals that are created in communities are created through them.
For efficiency and given the current urgency, we can use these two programs to better support both small and large festivals with more funds.
In terms of regional economic development agencies, I know that some agencies in Canada haven't made the festivals and events sector a priority. In fact, they are rather reluctant to get involved in the arts and culture sector. However, this isn't the case with Canada Economic Development, which supports festivals and events.
For example, particularly in Quebec, this agency supports REMI members to the tune of about $4 million each year. However, outside Quebec, it's quite difficult to get support from economic development agencies. It's done somewhat in Ontario, but with the exception of Ontario and Quebec, it's quite rare.
We are indeed proposing that economic development agencies be more engaged and implement this updated version of the marquee tourism events program, which existed in 2009 and 2010. Thanks to the support of regional economic development agencies, we could therefore also intervene with smaller festivals.