Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 9th, 2022

[Michael Rubinoff]

Mr. Nater, I'll briefly add to that.

The other issue around that in terms of stimulating this industry is competitiveness. We are competing against New York state, the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, Louisiana and Ohio, which have implemented robust tax credits of 20% to 25% for labour and capital costs. That makes us a very unattractive destination to invest private money to start productions here, which could start with employing a number of Canadians.

We're at a competitive disadvantage. The state of New York has a proposed $200-million tax credit to help come out of COVID-19 for commercial theatre productions on Broadway because they see the need to continue to make New York a destination. That's another challenge we face.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Thank you for that, Mr. Rubinoff.

That actually leads into my next question about the tax credits we see here in Canada for television and film productions that aren't available for live performances, whether it's the commercial theatre sector or the not-for-profit theatre sector.

Would aligning tax credits and providing tax credits similar to those that are available to film and television allow the commercial theatre sector to have at least a little bit more certainty going forward?

[Michael Rubinoff]

It would make a huge difference. We've seen the incredible film and television business that's done in this country because of provincial and federal tax credits. It's a world leader, and it's getting stronger and stronger. We know we're a small sector. We're trying to continually expand, and that tax credit would make an enormous difference to getting Canadian stories not only on our stages but launching them around the world, beginning them at home.

That's not just good for our industry; it helps drive tourism. We've seen what Come From Away has done for tourism in Newfoundland and Labrador. If we could find a structure that's similar to film and television that could either extend or complement the commercial theatre sector, I think that would be an incredible start.

We all know that these commercial shows can revitalize our cities and our smaller communities, and I think it would drive a lot more Canadian stories like Come From Away originating from this country and going out to be an international success.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Talking about that economic impact, for every dollar that's spent on a ticket sale, how does that translate into economic impact within the community where that production takes place?

[Kendra Bator]

It translates into an additional $10 in spending. For every dollar spent on a commercial theatre ticket, an additional $10 is spent in the local economy, which translates over time into billions of dollars in economic activity.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

To Mr. Stacey, you mentioned the underfunding in the past because certain of your member theatres—some of which are in my riding, Drayton and Stratford—hadn't in the past received funding through the Canada Council for the Arts. In a few seconds, could you elaborate on how it has put theatres at a disadvantage if they hadn't previously received funding through that mechanism?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have seven seconds to elaborate.

[Boomer Stacey]

I'll say quickly that there are so many companies across the country that can't access that funding because they traditionally haven't had access to it. Those that have received funding in the past are much more likely to get that money, so companies that were already behind prepandemic are further behind now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

That's the end of that round.

I will move to the Liberal Party of Canada and Tim Louis for six minutes.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here today and for this important conversation and the impactful statements you've already made.

We know that the arts sector is going to be one of the last to recover, and the cruelty is that by nature artists are what brings people together. That's the sector that does that, and a pandemic is still preventing it.

I'd like to start my questioning with the Canadian Live Music Association, which everyone thinks of as the musicians themselves, but it's also the venues, the festivals, the clubs, the performing arts centres, the promoters and the agencies.

In the beginning, it was the CERB and the wage subsidy. We had CEBA for interest-free loans, then the relief and recovery fund for funding as well, and we want to make sure we can continue that funding. Recently we announced the Canada performing arts workers resilience fund, which is going to go to organizations to help support especially those independent and self-employed workers in the sector itself. Can you explain how you can get that funding to the ground as organizations for arts workers and get that to the self-employed and gig workers in the live performance sector?

[Erin Benjamin]

Absolutely, thank you for the question and for that $60 million through that fund. As I understand it, Canadian Heritage's plan is to receive applications from organizations with capacity to deliver. I convened a meeting of the music industry on Friday to talk about the concept of submitting a super-application. I strongly believe that the fewer applications go into this program, the better, so the vast majority of the money can be spent in the community and not on administration costs and that we can relieve the potential burden of double-dipping, etc. The schematic of the program will be sound as long as we are all working together.

I'm looking at some of my theatre colleagues on this call like Boomer, because I know there are other large organizations working to support their disciplines. In the music industry, we're hoping to work with the Unison Fund and certainly Quebec partners as well. Perhaps Quebec partners will submit their own application, whatever makes the most sense for the artists and the workers. The plan is to make these applications by the March 4 deadline with a really strong plan and as soon as possible start administering that $2,500 per worker.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you for that.

I'm going to try to bounce my questions around and go to Ms. Reeves now.

It's very interesting, the Arts Response Tracking Survey. Previous witnesses have talked about obstacles to participation as we get back into the theatres and about how people need to have that confidence. Mostly right now, as the survey says, safety, as in not being exposed to the virus, is the top obstacle, and the precautions that people are going to need in order to feel safe.

Can you give some examples of how we can help with the messaging and how we can help with funding? When the time comes that we can get back, what can we do to help out?

[Aubrey Reeves]

We do find that people want to continue to have masking and social distancing. These are key for people's comfort level. But a large percentage still want to see a lower case count of COVID. That will determine when they feel comfortable returning.

In terms of being able to start that messaging around the safety of these venues, I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One, the arts community knows their own audience. If there are funds to be dedicated to marketing and PR efforts, I think it should be an industry-led approach so that those funds can be allocated and targeted at niche audiences.

There is also an existing annual national public engagement and awareness campaign about the value of arts and culture, called Culture Days, which could also receive more resources and support for a more blanket Canada-wide approach.

The third point is that I think it's really crucial to keep in mind that most Canadians really trust our public health officials. Hearing them talk about the safety of arts and culture venues would have a big impression. As well, if there was an emphasis on the value to our well-being, to both our physical and mental health, from public health officials, that would carry a lot of influence.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Fantastic. Thank you.

I'd like to talk quickly about the partnership between private businesses and the arts. I know that you're promoting a program called “artsvest”. Can you explain the ways in which we could help leverage private sector support for the arts?

[Aubrey Reeves]

I'm glad you're aware of our artsvest program. It is a national mentorship training and matching fund program. Annually, more than 350 organizations from across the country participate in that. They receive one-on-one mentorship, group training and peer training. They're also paired with a small matching fund that they can use as an incentive to go out and develop relationships with businesses in their local community. Through that program, which receives funding from Canadian Heritage, we have produced 20,000 hours of training, and 5,000 organizations over 10 years have participated. It has had a really huge impact.

Yes, those kinds of programs where we foster and develop collaboration and partnership between the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors can really help to create market-driven solutions to the problems.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

I will go now to the Bloc Québécois.

Monsieur Martin Champoux, you have six minutes, please.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

First, I'd like to highlight the remarks that Ms. Bator made earlier in response to a question from my colleague Mr. Nater.

Ms. Bator, I very much appreciated the fact that you discussed the economic impact of culture. That's something we don't talk about or emphasize often enough. Culture isn't an expense; it's a treasure. I very much appreciated the fact that you discussed the actual economic impact of an investment in the cultural sector and the multiplier effect of a dollar spent by culture consumers.

Thank you for asking that question, Mr. Nater.

I'd like to speak briefly with Ms. Prégent, from the UDA.

Ms. Prégent, I was shaken by your opening remarks. The figures you cited are obviously quite startling. You mentioned artists' declining incomes, in particular. You also discussed the distress suffered by UDA members and all cultural workers across Quebec and Canada.

You said that 15% of the artists who responded to the surveys you conducted during the pandemic had experienced suicidal thoughts. I'd like to add a number to illustrate that figure more clearly. That means that nearly 2,000 of the 13,000 members you represent at the UDA had suicidal thoughts. That's a stunning figure. I don't want us to indulge in sensationalism, but that is truly very worrying.

You also discussed the promotional campaign that should be conducted to encourage people to enjoy cultural products once again. I found that remark somewhat encouraging because, the last time we spoke in this committee, we were discussing the crisis in which we found ourselves and the measures that should be taken to get through it. Even though the picture isn't rosy, I can see we're now thinking of ways to revive our cultural industry.

Do you view the situation in somewhat the same light, or do you anticipate a bleak future?

[Sophie Prégent]

Fortunately for us, the situation is changing. Performance venues started opening up again last Monday. On February 28, arts and culture venues will operate at full capacity as they did before the pandemic. Although masks and vaccine passports will still be mandatory, we'll still be able to fill our venues. We definitely think that's a good thing.

However, we won't necessarily fill theatres simply because we can. That's why I mentioned the promotional campaign. In the past two years, people have become used to spending their money on culture in different ways, via digital platforms. We'll have to become extremely appealing and seduce pre-pandemic audiences into coming back.

That's why we'll need government assistance in all sectors: dance, opera, lyric singing, poetry and so on. Why? As I said, the healthy habit of going out and embracing our culture has quickly been replaced by a habit of easily consuming culture via telephones and screens.

I think it's essential that we take back that culture.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Earlier you said that aid programs were coming to an end and that this was a major cause for concern in that we want to renew artists' interest in their occupation and rekindle their desire to continue practising it and to earn a living from what they love doing. We know very well that artists worrying about their financial situation won't produce in the same way.

We'll probably have to strike a balance. That's somewhat the aim of the study we're conducting. We're seeking recommendations on ways to ensure that artists can get through the rest of the pandemic—let's hope it's almost over—and set themselves up for a new start. I imagine that's partly the gist of your recommendations.

[Sophie Prégent]

Exactly.

If we have a talent exodus, that means we'll unfortunately be suffering the worst consequences of the pandemic over the next few years. One of the first things that should be done is to retain talent, the artistic and creative potential of our artists. We have to convince them to stay in the sector by giving them hope and predictability. Consequently, we need to support them financially and enable them to create again.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

As regards financial support, earlier my colleague Tim Louis discussed the Canada performing arts workers resilience fund, which has been announced.

How will UDA members access that program and funding? Have you started looking into that?

[Sophie Prégent]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute.

[Sophie Prégent]

The question is how this $60 million is going to be spent and to whom it is going to be paid. It's very difficult to assess that right now, because I don't know who is going to submit an application or how much will be distributed.

The Fondation des artistes is an essential resource for the Union des artistes. It's not only there to serve our members, but the entire creative, performing arts and audiovisual sector.

With the Fondation's help, we'll be able, among other things, to assist a very broad spectrum of artists who currently need support.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Can you tell me very briefly whether there have been many applications submitted recently?

As we know, artists have been without any financial support for months now.