Thank you, Sarah.
Our membership, representing professional theatre, dance and opera companies, now numbers only 107, which in itself tells how difficult it has been for arts organizations to hang on and to get through this period of closures, unemployment and audience hesitancy. Our members tell us that they've pivoted endlessly to accommodate the measures that are required for public health, and we know this is the case for the coalition's members right across the country.
Prepandemic, the arts and culture sector contributed $6.3 billion towards Toronto's GDP annually. We know that arts and culture bring health and well-being to neighbourhoods in Toronto and in fact right across Canada. Although 89% of Torontonians believe that the arts make Toronto a better place to live, work and visit, Torontonians have not had access consistently to live theatre, dance and opera on Toronto stages for nearly two years. I can report the impact to date in Toronto with some numbers: 25,000 cancelled or postponed public performances, over $900 million lost in revenue and 20 million lost audience members.
Placing a dollar-value loss for this stagnation of cultural identity is inherently difficult. Understanding and extending empathy to those who indispensably shape our culture, often selflessly, should be more easily quantifiable.
Emerging artists have been stopped before even beginning. Mid-career artists are hobbled at a time when their past dedication to the craft should be blossoming, and senior artists have experienced a perhaps premature ending to their careers. What's been happening in Toronto is happening right across the country, and not just for those artists and organizations in the performing arts. Visual artists and craftspeople have also been affected. If those artists are indigenous, if they're racialized, deaf, disabled or otherwise marginalized, they've been even more challenged.