Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 14th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Good questions there, Mr. Louis.

Mr. Champoux, for two and half minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My questions are for either to Mr. Bélisle or his colleague from the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization.

Aren't the rules a bit strict when it comes to certifying museums? There is a museum here in Drummondville that I think is magnificent, the Musée national de la photographie. However, it does not have museum certification, which would probably give it easier access to various forms of assistance.

Is this an isolated case or are there several that you know of?

What is your opinion on this?

[Jean-François Bélisle]

Alexandra, do you mind if I go ahead?

[Alexandra Badzak]

Yes, go ahead, absolutely.

[Jean-François Bélisle]

In Quebec, the museum certification to which you refer is managed by Quebec's ministère de la Culture et des Communications. This certification is not very difficult to obtain, but it involves a lot of paperwork.

In fact, one of the lessons learned with respect to this certification, which I think is important in the transformation that has taken place as a result of the pandemic, is that it was created, initially, by officials in Quebec City who were not in the field. In talking to museum directors across Quebec—who can be easily reached through the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization, or CAMDO—these federal public servants found that they could get information showing that some of their basic ideas were perhaps not appropriate or not right.

I think that CAMDO is a really good partner; it allows the exchange of ideas with the people who will set the future rules for this kind of institution.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

In fact, it's a pretty essential relationship in this case.

Thank you, Mr. Bélisle.

I will now address my questions to Ms. Sandmeyer-Graves.

Earlier, you mentioned a ratio that also made my hair stand on end. It applies to women's amateur sport, which receives only 4% of funding, apparently.

Does this ratio represent the participation rate of girls versus boys? This split seems completely disproportionate to me.

[Allison Sandmeyer-Graves]

I would certainly echo your point about unfairness.

I think what we're dealing with is historical bias towards men's sport. In fact, women have had to fight many battles for recognition and respect and support for their participation in sport as well.

Certainly, we're encouraged by the fact that it is increasingly becoming the norm that people believe that women should be supported in sport. Sport leaders are increasingly committed to pursuing gender equity, but there is a long history of men's sport being funded substantially in comparison with women's sport.

We are in catch-up mode. We're in catch-up mode financially. We're in catch-up mode in terms of the competency of delivering sport that's effective for women and girls. It's a big capacity issue for the sports system. We're optimistic. We're seeing signs of progress. Investment from the federal government has certainly been helpful. It is a long game not a short game.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you for your answers.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Martin.

Now I'm going to go to Peter Julian for two and half minutes.

Peter.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My questions are for Ms. Morse.

Ms. Morse, I thank you for your work. I will ask you two questions.

First, we know that some sectors are currently facing difficulties and challenges. Are there models in other countries that would be interesting for Canadian artists?

Secondly, the NDP raised the issue of a guaranteed basic income. This would allow artists to continue to practise their craft and cultivate their talent without having to worry about not being able to pay their rent. A basic income would therefore give them more security.

What are your views on some international models, and what do you think of the idea of a guaranteed basic income?

[Rachel Morse]

In fact, several examples have emerged quite recently elsewhere in the world, such as in Scotland, and the “intermittence”—the contract work—that we see in France, in particular, is an excellent example.

Your two topics intersect, so I'll move from one to the other. The idea of a social safety net and a guaranteed basic income is obviously a huge step in the right direction. In fact, it goes hand in hand with the employment insurance issue. Given the instability and the very changeable nature of these jobs, it would provide some security for artists, who would not have to worry about being able to pay the rent. That's a lot of what we're looking for, really: to be able to forget about the basic needs of our lives to really create interesting work.

It is therefore a question of supporting artists, not only to achieve their projects, as is currently the case, or not only to support the venues, but also to provide them with a certain minimum standard of living.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you very much.

I wanted to go to Ms. Kaneratonni Diabo.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 15 seconds, Peter. Do you want to go with 13 seconds or do you want to leave it?

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

No. I'm always willing to ask a question.

What do you think of the concept of a guaranteed livable basic income for artists, including indigenous artists?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have two seconds, Ms. Morse. I guess that's a yes-or-no answer.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

It was to Ms. Kaneratonni Diabo.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'm sorry.

Go ahead, Ms. Kaneratonni Diabo.

[Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo]

That sounds wonderful.

As an artist I realize the pressure to produce and to sell work. Even for my theatre colleagues, if they have that pressure to sell seats and make sure the box office is always full, it is so important to have that time to breathe and create. That is part of the artistic process.

Absolutely, a guaranteed income would be wonderful.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Ms. Kaneratonni Diabo.

Now, I'm going to move to Leslyn Lewis.

Ms. Lewis, you have five minutes for the Conservatives.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Thank you, Madame Chair.

My first question is for Ms. Sandmeyer-Graves.

You indicated there are under-resourced communities. Can you explain why you stated that the cost to sports would increase or could increase to a point where there would be a negative impact on these under-resourced and under-represented communities?

[Allison Sandmeyer-Graves]

Frankly, the rising cost of sport was a trend before COVID. I would say that COVID has really exacerbated it. For instance, there are the costs for cleaning facilities and the protocols of having fewer participants in the space due to greater spacing requirements, and things like that. It means the costs of accessing that space has gone up. That would be one very substantial way that we're seeing that it place.

Will they go away as restrictions start to go away at the provincial and territorial level? Perhaps they will a bit, but organizations are still struggling with a massive financial shortfall. We expect that fees will go up as they have fewer participants they're drawing from and they need to still cover their costs. Those same costs are going to be then spread across fewer participants.

There are a few different things coming into play there. Ultimately, the risk that we and sports organizations are seeing is that their ability to serve folks, particularly those from the lower income communities, will go down because they simply cannot afford to provide programming at an accessible cost.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

That ties into my next question about equity.

You stated that equity should be a criteria for funding. I would like to know how you define “equity”. What are some of the groups you say are under-represented and really need to be considered in the equity profile?

[Allison Sandmeyer-Graves]

Equity really recognizes that there are groups that have encountered historical disadvantages, or that have been historically disadvantaged and have confronted many barriers to accessing what sport has to offer. Equity really recognizes that and seeks to address that. It seeks to meet the specific needs of participants so that they can access and enjoy the benefits of sport equitably and equally with others.

Within sport, there are many communities that have not been well served. They really represent similar dynamics across Canada. In the absence, for instance, of Special Olympics Canada—and even with Special Olympics Canada—folks with intellectual disabilities and disabilities more broadly in our communities are being left out of sport. The Black community has historically not had sufficient access to sport. Indigenous participants absolutely are under-represented in sport. Women may represent the largest group, but there's such an intersectional component to that. It's not all women who are equally unable to access sport; it's Black women, indigenous women, women with disabilities and LGBTQI2S.

Sport has a long way to go to improve how it serves our communities. Unfortunately, the struggles that the sports system has encountered in COVID has set back its ability to prioritize this and to invest in it going forward. This is why we believe that targeted support, which we know is going toward expanding opportunities for under-represented communities, through sport is an important approach for us to take.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Thank you.

My next question is for Ms. Sharon Bollenbach.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 41 seconds.