I was discussing the situation of the artists the UDA represents. Between 2019, that is, before the pandemic, and 2021, the incomes of performing artists fell by 46%. I repeat: 46%. Since performing artists earn $16,000 to $25,000 a year, you can imagine what a 46% decline in income may represent.
In January 2021, we conducted a study on the mental health of our members to get a clear picture of the situation, and 61% of respondents said they had lost all interest in their artistic practice. It's very hard to maintain personal convictions when the telephone stops ringing and you aren't practising your art.
In addition, 35% of respondents had sought help because they were psychologically distressed. Sadly, 15% of them had contemplated suicide during that time and 47%, nearly half of all respondents, had considered or were still considering leaving their artistic careers in the long term. The impact on mental health is critical and, in some instances, unfortunately irreversible.
What scares us even more at the UDA is that the worst is likely yet to come. Artists were entitled to the Canada emergency response benefit, the CERB, the Canada recovery benefit, or CRB, and the Canada worker lockdown benefit, the CWLB, but we know that all those benefits will terminate at the end of February. What will happen to those artists who still need aid?
In our view, the worst effects are just starting to be felt. For example, we at the Union des Artistes see that people are making withdrawals from their RRSPs, not to deposit the money in the bank but merely to pay the rent and buy food for their families.
All of which thus brings us to potential recovery measures.
First, to ensure the transition to recovery, we believe that a widespread promotional campaign will have to be organized to bring audiences back to see their artists in poetry, dance, opera, theatre and music. Canadians have learned to entertain themselves differently in the past two years. While good habits are unfortunately lost all too quickly, the cultural sector was setting traffic and attendance records before the pandemic.
The real recovery will be made possible by direct transitional assistance to artists and by the cultural institutions and production and broadcasting organizations supporting our members' artistic works. Together we must take back our culture.
Second, recognition of the work that artists do is an inevitable prerequisite for a robust and sustainable recovery. By recognition I mean the creation of some form of employment insurance available to self-employed workers and tailored to their situation. It is essential that we create a social protection plan for artists and ensure that atypical and contractual workers are entitled to an adequate social safety net…