Thank you, Madam Chair.
I agree with this motion for a number of reasons. I wake up very early in the morning and I read all newspapers in this country. I can tell you that what is happening before our eyes is a disaster.
In London, the Home County Music and Art Festival has been cancelled. Taste of Saskatchewan is cancelled. Hot Docs and Toronto Fringe Festival have major cutbacks. Just for Laughs is eliminated in Montreal and Toronto. Taste of the Danforth is cancelled this year. Toronto arts and food festivals are all cancelled this year. I can go on and on.
I'm very disturbed at what's going on in the culture. This is worse, believe it or not, than we saw during COVID. Many of these organizations were looking forward to relief after COVID, but this is worse now. They're hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
Nobody has the capability now of going to these events. Attendance has been well down in 2023 right across the board, from the Atlantic provinces, Madam Chair, to your province in B.C. They're not drawing the interest they once did, and I believe it is because of the carbon tax. People in this country don't have the disposable income to really give the arts and culture in this country the financial boost that they need.
In the last three months alone, in 2024, many of these organizations have had to make major announcements in January, February, and March. They're usually booking people at this time to perform in June, July, and August, and they've decided to just close up shop.
I've mentioned a few here, but there are many more, coast to coast, that just can't afford it anymore. They're very disappointed, because, as you know, people in the arts community don't make a lot of money. They go from city to city just to eke out a living and make a name for themselves. Because of the carbon tax, the year 2024 will be disastrous in the arts community in our country. They just don't have the disposable income that they once had.
Thank you.