Evidence of meeting #9 for Canadian Heritage in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was festivals.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Catherine Cole  Principal Consultant, Catherine C. Cole & Associates
Clément Turgeon Thériault  Director General, Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants
Julie-Anne Richard  Director General, Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis
Alex Sarian  President and Chief Executive Officer, Arts Commons
Frédéric Julien  Director, Research and Development, Canadian Association for the Performing Arts
Elio Antunes  President and Chief Executive Officer, ParticipACTION

11 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

Welcome, everyone. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on October 23, 2020, the committee resumes its study of the challenges and issues faced by the arts, culture, heritage and sports sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have three witnesses to start. Before I do, I would just like to point something out for my colleagues both here and on Zoom. The official end of this meeting is one o'clock, eastern time. However, anticipate that being stretched by possibly up to 10 minutes. I say that because in the second hour we are going to experience undoubtedly some technical issues. I don't want to shortchange the second hour because of those issues, so from here going forward, meaning the next few meetings especially about this study, anticipate up to a 10-minute extension. Given the technical situations, I think that's only fair to our witnesses and to you, colleagues as well, and I hope you don't mind. Please plan accordingly in case you want to schedule meetings just after that.

That being said, we have with us from Catherine C. Cole & Associates, Catherine Cole, principal consultant.

We also welcome Mr. Clément Turgeon Thériault, executive director of the Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants, and Ms. Julie-Anne Richard, executive director of the Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis.

To our panellists, you get up to five minutes.

11 a.m.

Liberal

Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

I'm not sure if anyone else is hearing it, but I'm having a lot of difficulty with some sound quality and echoing. Judging by others nodding, and so we can fully hear the chair, is that something we could address?

11 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

By a show of hands of those of you on Zoom, are you experiencing the same problem? Oh yes, it's nearly unanimous. We'll suspend for a couple of minutes to see if we can fix and test this.

11:05 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

We're back in session. I've just received an explanation as to why this is. The audio in the room where I am is at a normal volume, which is probably what you're hearing. To remedy that we are going to try to lower the volume within this room so that you can hear it at a manageable level for those of you zooming in and on this lovely display gallery.

Let's get started, and if there are any more difficulties, please just signify with a wave of the hand that you wish to interrupt.

Ms. Cole, you have up to five minutes for your initial presentation.

11:05 a.m.

Catherine Cole Principal Consultant, Catherine C. Cole & Associates

Good morning, everyone. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.

Whether or not museum staff have been able to work on site or museums have been able to reopen varies regionally. We don't yet know the full impact of closures on the future of Canadian museums, but it's estimated that one third of all museums in the U.S. and two-thirds in the U.K. will close permanently.

Museums operate on a combination of government investment, earned revenues and private funding. Their ability to generate revenues is extremely limited at this time. Corporate sponsorships are limited because high-profile activities have been cancelled. Some private funding has been redirected towards pandemic relief. Ironically, the more successful museums have been in reducing reliance on government funding, the more seriously their bottom line has been impacted.

Where possible, museum professionals expect to continue working from home part time post pandemic. Staff who require regular access to collections or visitors have been laid off: registrars, educators and sales staff. COVID-19 has discouraged young people working in museums, while some senior staff are retiring early and others may work longer than expected due to loss of retirement savings.

Museum closures have interrupted relationships between staff, volunteers and audiences. Museums work collaboratively in and with communities, and much of this work, particularly in indigenous and migrant communities, has been disrupted and may need to be rebuilt.

Where they have had the capacity to do so, museums have developed digital resources, providing access to collections online, educational programs, virtual tours, etc. When museums in the U.K. reopened after the first closure, they found that many visitors were new to museums, having discovered them through virtual programming. Where museums have reopened with timed tickets, they now have access to a database of visitors that could be used for audience evaluation.

But not all Canadians have equal access to digital technology. People living in northern and remote communities do not share the broadband capacity of those of us in southern cities. I work in the Arctic, where meetings are held by teleconference due to poor connectivity. Low-income Canadians do not have Internet access at home or multiple computers to allow all family members to go online, as has been demonstrated by the shift to online learning in schools.

It is expected that international tourism won't reach 2019 levels until 2023. A survey conducted by Hill Strategies in May indicates that it will also take years for local visitors to return to museums: only 30% of previous visitors expected to visit immediately when museums and galleries reopen; 15% planned to return between one and five months after they reopen; 12% planned to wait six months or more, until a vaccine is available; and 42% of visitors were unsure when they will return. A follow-up study in August suggests that exhibiting organizations have lost 63% of their visitation and will not reach 2019 levels until at least 2022.

COVID-19 has highlighted other issues that have had an impact on museums. For example, the disparity between rich and poor in society underscores the need for museums to develop programming for marginalized communities. Global social upheaval has reinforced the need for museums to work towards decolonization, respect for human rights and social justice.

In the short term, the museum community would benefit from a dedicated relief fund to support lost revenues and an emergency development fund for digital activities.

In the long term, the sector needs more flexible federal funding, like that of the Canada Council, and investment in operations, including for organizations without staff to allow them to improve sustainability; programming, in addition to collections management and travelling exhibitions; cultural diplomacy, through international heritage practice; and the work of individual museum professionals in the gig economy, where, globally, nearly 30% of independent museum professionals are considering a change in career due to insecurity.

The federal government invests in few of the thousands of museums in Canada. Other levels of government often provide a greater proportion of museum budgets. The only federal funding available to most museums is through Young Canada Works, which, while valuable, could be improved. For example, the two years post-graduation and under-30 eligibility criteria do not reflect the reality of the sector. Young adults are often still looking for full-time work years after graduation, and many graduate after the age of 30.

The duration of the international internship component, with which I am most familiar, should be extended to eight months or a year, because it takes time to get settled and learn how museums work in another country. As the former secretary-general of the Commonwealth Association of Museums, I’ve sent interns to the Caribbean, Africa, the South Pacific, South Asia and the U.K., where they’ve had invaluable experiences that have benefited them personally and our Canadian museums as they diversify audiences and welcome migrants and new Canadians.

Canadian Heritage should focus on the new national museum policy, the need for which was identified in this standing committee's report, “Moving Forward”, and included in the minister's mandate letter. Canadian Heritage also has a role to play in response to the Senate report, “Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada's Foreign Policy”, which largely overlooked the work that organizations like the Commonwealth Association of Museums do, and with investment could contribute to cultural diplomacy.

The world will emerge from the pandemic a different place, and Canadian heritage organizations have an opportunity to be part of ensuring that it is a better place.

Thank you.

11:10 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

And thank you for that.

We're now going to Mr. Turgeon Thériault for up to five minutes, please.

11:10 a.m.

Clément Turgeon Thériault Director General, Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants

Good morning.

Thank you very much for giving me this time.

I'm speaking to you today as a representative of the Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants, or REFRAIN, which includes more than 80 arts festivals across Quebec.

It's March and the programming announcement season is upon us. Organizers from across Quebec have spent the last few months imagining their festival, building it and financing it. From one day to the next, our industry had to stop everything amidst the greatest uncertainty. In the meantime, our organizations have adapted, have been resilient, inventive and determined. For the vast majority of arts festivals, the main concern was to keep their resources employed in order to maintain the knowledge acquired in recent years, in addition to continuing their business relationships with the various partners and funding agencies.

The government has been proactive in providing funding through a number of programs, which has allowed businesses to continue some of their operations. There has been financial assistance for employees and rent, emergency assistance, and much more. The government has also announced increased flexibility in the accountability of several programs, including those of Canadian Heritage and Tourisme Québec.

Several members of REFRAIN have taken advantage of this crisis to reinvent themselves and to test formulas for projects that could take place during a pandemic. These include the transition to a digital or hybrid offer, performances in front of people's homes, shows with reduced capacity and mobile performances. Our members have used their imagination to continue working during this crisis. Throughout this process, some organizations have fared well, while others have found it harder to adapt, for a variety of reasons.

New festivals in existence for two years or less that did not already have government support received little or no financial assistance to get through the crisis. Organizations with limited structures and volunteer resources found it more difficult to navigate the programs and complete all the necessary applications for funding. There is also the fact that the environment in which the festival was held did not always allow for the introduction of alternative projects, and that not all artistic disciplines are recognized at the same level.

Although the more established festivals have managed to get through the crisis, several other events have been weakened, while others are questioning their existence. Many competent people have gone to work for other organizations or have reoriented their careers, leaving a big gap in the structures.

Government support has helped limit the damage, but the real challenge will come in the coming year. The future of many festivals will be decided in 2021, and the government will have a key role to play in this transition period. We can't talk about a recovery period yet, because everything indicates that the summer of 2021 will be similar to the summer of 2020.

Here are some thoughts and requests from our group.

We are asking for early confirmation, in early 2021, that federal programs will be renewed for the next year, and for a faster response to funding requests.

We recommend that multi-year agreements of three to five years be put in place to allow events to project into the future and to better plan for the recovery period, which will take a few years.

We request special funding for recent festivals three years old and under. They should be eligible for existing Canadian Heritage programs or have access to special funds during the crisis.

We would like to see a grant to support innovative pandemic initiatives modelled on the SODEC provincial grants, and the acquisition of infrastructure and equipment needed to implement health measures should be made eligible.

We also recommend more flexible evaluation criteria for existing programs, a flexibility that Canadian Heritage has already announced. There is talk of a decrease in the ratio of self-generated income and less consideration of support from local partners, all of whom are affected by the crisis.

You also need to accept the surpluses generated by some festivals during the crisis, instead of penalizing them, and recognize that these surpluses will serve as a stimulus fund and compensate for the loss of several private partners.

We are asking for an increase in the envelopes of existing programs to compensate for the loss of own-sourced revenues, but also for the loss of private sector contributions and some funding from Crown corporations such as Loto-Québec.

We suggest the creation of programs to promote projects with digital content or on-site projects.

Thanks to the contribution of our respondents—60 festivals responded to the REFRAIN survey—we have targeted concrete and simple solutions, which we are proposing. These will solve some of our problems. They will enable us to continue our activities and prepare for a recovery that should extend over the next two years.

The event industry is essential, in normal times. Arts festivals are essential to the vitality of a community and they contribute directly to the well-being of the population. It is therefore essential to understand that this event industry will be extremely important when this crisis is over.

Thank you very much.

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

Thank you very much.

Ms. Richard, you have the floor for five minutes.

11:15 a.m.

Julie-Anne Richard Director General, Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis

Good morning.

I thank the committee for allowing the Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis, or RIDEAU, to share its views and ideas on the current situation and to discuss with the committee how best to move forward.

RIDEAU has 170 members, the presenters and managers of 350 performance venues and festivals in seven distribution networks throughout Quebec. In normal times, it offers 3.5 million spectators 14,000 performances annually.

Show presenters play a central role in their communities by allowing citizens to have access to a professional, affordable, rich and diversified cultural offer throughout the year, throughout the territory of Quebec.

Our sector is certainly going through its worst crisis ever. In March, it will be one year since almost all the theatres have been closed throughout the province. Obviously, the survival of several organizations is threatened.

The distribution activities of the RIDEAU members generate annual revenues estimated at $155 million. The business model on which distribution is based in Quebec includes only 5% to 15% of revenue from grants. The remainder comes from income generated largely from ticket sales, rentals, donations and sponsorships. In March, Quebec's multidisciplinary presenters will have lost approximately $130 million in income they normally generate.

In August, employment for presenters of arts, sports and similar events was down 58.2%, and for performing arts companies it was 49.1%. This indicates how dramatic the situation in the performing arts still is, and that the recovery is likely to be very long and slow.

The numbers tell us that the performing arts and sports sub-sector has never really recovered from the first wave of the pandemic. In October, employment in this sub-sector was even lower than in April. Compared to the same time last year, employment is now 32% lower, representing 48,000 fewer workers in the performing arts.

At present, the motivation of the work teams is at its lowest. Workforce retention is difficult. Surveys tell us that until a vaccine has been widely administered, the public will not return to the concert venues.

One of the needs targeted during the crisis is predictability. Beyond the lack of the missing financial resources, what the performing arts sector is currently suffering the most from is the lack of predictability. For a multidisciplinary presenter, the development of a series of performances involves several activities that usually take place over several months or even a year. The marketing of a show alone extends over several months. Small-scale management such as we have been experiencing since the beginning of the crisis is therefore extremely difficult and exhausting.

We also know that the recovery in our sector will be a long one. This leads us to the conclusion that whatever support measures are put in place, they should be in place for at least two years to allow the sector to plan its recovery over as many seasons.

Distribution is one of the shortcomings of the $500-million emergency fund to support cultural, heritage and sport organizations. Unfortunately, for the multidisciplinary presenters, this program has completely missed its target. By giving more grants to those who already had a lot, it completely obliterated the idea that it was the less subsidized presenters that were most weakened by the crisis. The latter have seen their autonomous revenues shrink by 90%.

In terms of the best support measures, we believe that unilateral measures should be avoided, as was the case when the emergency fund to support the cultural organizations I just mentioned was allocated, including the amounts allocated through the Canadian Heritage and Musicaction programs.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy was a flagship measure for arts presentation organizations. Its extension beyond June 21, 2021, for the performing arts sector seems to us to be fundamental as the recovery will be long. This is consistent with the need for predictability expressed by the community.

In keeping with this need for predictability for organizations, it is becoming urgent and necessary that the two-year investments in the Canada Arts Presentation Fund made by the federal government in Budget 2019, which runs until March 31, 2021, be made permanent.

In terms of structuring measures, we first recommended a program to compensate for losses associated with ticket sales, such as the program currently being provided by the Quebec government. This is the biggest issue facing presenters.

Second, tax incentives for sponsorships and donations would also help large companies get back on their feet. In addition, support for the boldness and circulation of shows will certainly be essential.

Lastly, we propose that funding be allocated to professional coaching and training for our managers, who must navigate through choppy waters in the coming months and years.

Thank you.

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to our rounds of questions.

We'll start with you, Mr. Aitchison, for six minutes, please.

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

Scott Aitchison Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON

Thank you very much.

Thank you to each of the presenters. That was excellent.

From what I'm hearing not just from the presenters today but from multiple presenters we've had at previous committees, it feels like many of the programs the federal government has put in place have helped. They have helped to keep the lights on, at the very least. There's a definite need to extend some of those programs. But it feels like I've also heard about expanding different programs. I guess I'm wondering specifically, because recovery will take some time, which I've heard a number of times as well, if as part of that recovery there are specific recommendations for any new programs to help.

Ms. Cole, I'm thinking specifically about museums. Going back to my experience in small-town politics, we had a little museum in Huntsville that we were always struggling to make more viable. Are there ideas for new programs to help museums specifically adapt to not just the pandemic but maybe a new reality for museums in general? I'm wondering if maybe there's a better way to approach government funds for these kinds of things.

11:25 a.m.

Principal Consultant, Catherine C. Cole & Associates

Catherine Cole

I certainly think there are better ways of going about it. One is just recognition of the fact that this is a three-tiered funding structure. It's federal, provincial and municipal. They all depend on one other, yet they don't seem to communicate very effectively between one another. Each program has different deadlines and different reporting requirements. It just makes it way too much work for small museums to participate in all of this when the possibility of return is so low.

The federal funding specifically is really limited to very few museums. Most small museums in the country are not eligible for it and would never be able to get any funding from the federal government, except for Young Canada Works. That seems to me to be unfair towards the heritage sector when in the arts sector, through the Canada Council, organizations large and small, collaboratives and individuals and everybody, can apply. They don't necessarily have to be arts events that are of national historic significance. It's a different criterion for the two.

When the last national museums policy was introduced 30 years ago, it wasn't resourced effectively at the time. Now we're that much further back. I mean, 30 years ago was pre-Internet. Just think about how much the museum world has changed as a result of that. Yes, there is funding available for digital technology things, but again, that's also very difficult to access. I think greater flexibility is absolutely critical to all of this, as is less reporting. For Young Canada Works, the amount of reporting you have to do is just ridiculous. So much of it is repetitive. It's a huge amount of work.

The other issue is that a lot of these small community museums are as much senior centres and drop-in centres as they are museums. They play a really strong and important role within the community as a place for people to acknowledge their heritage, to have a sense of identity, to have a sense of belonging and all of that. They don't necessarily meet the international standards of museum professionals, so they're being judged for something that they're not even trying to be. Again, that's also an unfairness issue.

The other thing I'm very concerned about is the whole nature of volunteerism, which I know is much bigger than this committee. I think our current board structure is failing. It's failing in the arts, it's failing in heritage and it's failing all over the place. Too much is expected of board members and volunteers. Again, society has changed so much in the last 30 or 40 years that we no longer have that kind of time to dedicate to these organizations. The expectation is that volunteers will just pick it up. I'm afraid that after the pandemic, volunteers won't be there to pick it up. That's one of my biggest concerns, really. It's not a money issue but a governance issue.

11:25 a.m.

Conservative

Scott Aitchison Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON

Thank you for that.

I'm wondering if you could expand a little more on volunteerism. That's something I haven't heard yet. You're right. I think there's a generational gap in some ways when it comes to volunteerism. I think about smaller rural communities, as well, where it was far more common and it's less common now. Do you have some thoughts on what we might do with governance of these smaller museums, like the Muskoka pioneer village in Huntsville, for example?

11:25 a.m.

Principal Consultant, Catherine C. Cole & Associates

Catherine Cole

I think the expectation is that the boards will provide that governance function and the accountability. They are there as a buffer for the government to know that the money's not being just walked away and that people are behaving appropriately.

The actual professional standards in this field are incredibly high, and the risk and liability issues are very high. It's really too much for volunteers to take on.

What is the solution? I've been struggling with that for a long time. When I was secretary-general of the Commonwealth Association of Museums, it was a volunteer role. For seven and a half years I was running an international development organization on top of my consulting practice, and I just got burned out. I'm sure you as MPs experience this, but there are only so many weeks in a row that you can work 90 hours without feeling it.

I honestly don't know what the answer is, but I think smaller boards and more funding to be able to hire paid staff. Most of these very small museums we're talking about have no paid staff during the winter, which is when most museums that are seasonal institutions are trying to raise the money. That's when you're doing your program planning, developing new activities and raising money. These programs tend to fund people to mow the lawn and keep the doors open.

11:25 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

Thank you.

I'm sorry. I have to stop it right there. We've run out our time of six minutes.

I'd like to welcome you, Mr. Lauzon.

You have the floor for six minutes.

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all the witnesses. Art and culture are important to our government.

Mr. Turgeon Thériault, thank you for giving me a brief overview of the programs set up by the government to try to support this sector. Nothing is perfect. As we know, a pandemic of this nature doesn't come with an instruction manual. However, you didn't talk about sponsorships for small events, such as independent arts festivals.

How is the relationship with sponsors in this pandemic period? Has this factor affected you?

11:30 a.m.

Director General, Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants

Clément Turgeon Thériault

Yes, it has affected us. It was less serious last summer, because some of the sponsors, private companies, hadn't yet assessed the effects of the pandemic. We still managed to carry out some of the events with a budget that made sense. Some events lost almost all their partners last summer.

I also represent festivals in the regions. Festivals that take place in smaller communities sometimes rely on businesses that have fewer resources. These businesses may be garages or supermarkets, for example. However, all these businesses in small communities are extremely weakened. We can already see concrete evidence of this. Some partners can no longer fund an event because their losses are too significant. Obviously, their priority isn't to maintain the sponsorship, but to pay their employees and contribute to the recovery. Although we don't yet know whether this area will be affected, we're even thinking of companies such Loto-Québec, a major partner in the festival industry.

Currently, casinos and bars are closed almost everywhere. Large companies of this nature are unable to generate a significant amount of revenue, which can affect festivals. I'm talking about small businesses, but this also applies to large companies. This is a major issue. We're already losing a great deal of box office revenue. I'd say that this loss amounts to 80% when we put on shows with limited capacity. In a pandemic period, we sell little, if any, beer. However, beer sales generate a fairly substantial amount of revenue. If we also lose sponsorship revenue from the private sector, there are consequences.

11:30 a.m.

Liberal

Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC

I also wanted to ask you this question. I want to hear more about the revenue generated on site. Apart from beer, there are the admission tickets. You're affected because of the revenue tied to the events. However, in terms of funding, you receive assistance from the municipalities, RCMs and the Quebec government, which has related programs.

I want you to tell us what you think would help the most to get the economy moving again quickly.

In your opinion, what would be the key way to revive festivals and to keep them running?

11:30 a.m.

Director General, Regroupement des festivals régionaux artistiques indépendants

Clément Turgeon Thériault

To quickly answer the first question, which concerned how this affects other types of revenue, such as box office revenue, I'll share the example of our festival, the Festif!, in Baie-Saint-Paul. We obviously have box office revenue, which constitutes our core revenue, and our bar revenue, which is the revenue from the sale of beer and non-alcoholic beverages. In small communities, such as Baie-Saint-Paul, there's no accommodation available, so we organize campgrounds on site. We generate substantial revenue. However, when things aren't as busy, we can't set up campgrounds, and we lose this revenue. We lose rental income from food stands, for example, or merchandise stands. There's all this revenue on top of the box office and bar revenue.

There are several short-term solutions. I spoke about the assistance for innovative initiatives provided by the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles, or SODEC. A number of festivals have submitted an application. This type of program, which provides new money, focuses on innovation. It asks event organizers to rethink their approaches. This has enabled us to keep a number of people employed. We've run micro festivals, which are small-capacity festivals. This funding made up for our loss of box office and bar revenue.

We can also talk about increasing grants. I'm thinking of the program implemented to compensate for the loss of box office revenue. This model could be applied to festivals. It could involve introducing a percentage increase for existing grants, similar to what was announced, to compensate for some of the loss of box office revenue. I'm thinking of building communities through arts and heritage, or BCAH, a Department of Canadian Heritage program. For example, if I have $75,000, the government could increase its support by 10% or 15% automatically for festivals that have already submitted an application. The government could establish funding so that new festivals and festivals that couldn't access the Department of Canadian Heritage support would be able to access it for the next few years.

There are different approaches. Some models have worked. You have already implemented a very effective emergency assistance program at Canadian Heritage. There are measures in place, so a basic solution would be to maintain and improve them. We can also talk about compensation for the loss of private income. There are different approaches. We shouldn't talk about figures, but rather about an analysis procedure, so that the funding—

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC

I don't want to interrupt you, because this is very useful. However, I want to know the difference between festivals in major centres and festivals in rural areas.

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Scott Simms

I'm sorry, Mr. Lauzon, perhaps you'll get some time later.

Mr. Champoux, you have the floor for six minutes.

11:35 a.m.

Bloc

Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to inform you that I'll be sharing my time with my colleague Ms. Desbiens, if you agree.

I want to thank all the witnesses who have taken the time to come and meet with us today and answer our questions regarding this very important issue.

Ms. Richard, I want to speak to you because you raised a very good point in your opening remarks. You spoke about the government's $500 million fund, which the multidisciplinary presentation sector hasn't been able to access. I'd like to hear more about this matter.

What shortcomings have prevented these presenters from accessing the money?

11:35 a.m.

Director General, Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis

Julie-Anne Richard

It's actually quite simple. Multidisciplinary presenters in Quebec basically receive their grants from the Canada arts presentation fund. However, the grants awarded to presenters are extremely small.

It should also be noted that, apart from the slight increase in 2018, two budget years ago, the funding has remained stagnant since 2008. The Department of Canadian Heritage chose to increase by 25% all the grants awarded to organizations that it was already funding. The same applies to Musicaction, which was able to receive part of this funding. On a unilateral basis, everyone received an additional 25%.

That's good for organizations that had large grants. They received an additional 25% in funding. However, we know that the pandemic has deprived both organizations and presenters of their self-generated revenue. The grants helped all the organizations keep running their operations. That said, for some organizations, grant revenue amounted to only 2% to 3% of their sales figures. These organizations have been the hardest hit by the pandemic.

To give you an idea, I can tell you that one major presenter with $5 million in sales received the equivalent of 0.2% in assistance from the emergency fund. We're talking about $11,000 for $5 million in sales, which practically collapsed with the pandemic. As a result of the decision to not conduct a more detailed analysis of the sector's needs, the mark was missed for presenters in particular.

11:35 a.m.

Bloc

Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC

Do you think that the presenters can weather the storm for a long time to come? In your opinion, what should be done in the coming months to adapt everything, apart from, of course, maintaining and ensuring sustainable funding to avoid falling back to the 2008 levels?

I may be giving you the answer to a certain extent, but do you think that some presenters will be spared the consequences?

11:35 a.m.

Director General, Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d'événements artistiques unis

Julie-Anne Richard

One obvious source of stress for presenters is not knowing whether the $16 million allocated to the Canada arts presentation fund for two fiscal years will be renewed, or whether it will be made a permanent part of the program. These amounts expired on March 31, 2020. Presenters have nonetheless counted on this revenue. Some presenters that were unable to access the program because the funding was too limited could be completely excluded from the program. We must quickly find out what will happen to this money in the budget.

I'll address the Canada emergency wage subsidy. It has really helped keep the presentation organizations running. We know that the economic recovery will take a long time and that, for now, the timeline is extended to June 2021. However, I want to point out to the committee members that it would be useful to adjust the wage subsidy based on the recovery of the various sectors.

Once again, the situation isn't consistent from one economic sector to the next. Some sectors have been able to benefit more from the recovery, which has been slow to start. However, in the arts sector, we can see that everything is still closed right now. The situation varies from sector to sector. This astute implementation of the grant would be an important part of the assistance that we could receive.