Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 14th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number six of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

We have a little housekeeping to do before we get started. The Minister of Canadian Heritage has confirmed that he will be available to the committee on Monday, February 28, from 3:30 to 4:30, and that the 4:30 to 5:30 slot will be filled by his officials. On Wednesday, February 16, we will proceed to the study on Rogers Communications' takeover of Shaw, which is a one-meeting study. For that meeting, if the committee is in agreement, we will have two one-hour panels.

Pursuant to the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, January 31, 2022, the committee is meeting with witnesses about the challenges related to the recovery of the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors, which have been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. That means there are some people in the committee room and there are some people at home.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in the light of the recommendations from Health Canada, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on Tuesday, October 19 to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person are to maintain two-metre physical distancing and must wear non-medical masks when circulating in the room. It is highly recommended that the mask be worn at all times, including when seated—I always like to add “including when speaking”. We must use the hand sanitizer in the room. As the chair, I will be enforcing those measures for the duration of the meeting.

For those participating virtually, I want to outline a few rules. You may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation services are available for the meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of the floor, English or French. If interpretation is lost, please let me know immediately and we will ensure that interpretation is restored before returning to the proceedings. Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. I also hope that you will mute your microphones at all times. When I call your name, you will unmute it and you'll speak.

With your permission we will begin, starting with witnesses from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization, Canadian Women and Sport, the Conseil québécois du théâtre, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance and Special Olympics Canada.

The witnesses will all have five minutes to speak. At the one-minute mark, I will indicate that you have one minute left. Do not be distracted; I'm just giving you a timeline so you can wrap it up if you can. If you can't finish everything you wanted to say, you will have an opportunity during the question and answer session with committee members to be able to answer some other things that you felt you wanted to say at the time.

We will begin now with the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Shelley Falconer for five minutes.

Go ahead, Ms. Falconer.

[Shelley Falconer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Art Gallery of Hamilton]

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to present today. I'm honoured to be here with all of you and with my colleagues from the sector, including my fellow CAMDO members, Jean-François Bélisle and Alexandra Badzak.

I will be speaking to you today specifically about the impact of the pandemic on the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and then relating it to some of the broader sectoral needs.

First, I'll give a little background. At 108 years old, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is Ontario's oldest municipal art gallery and the province's third-largest public art collection, with a repository of over 10,000 significant works by regional, indigenous, national and international artists. Of course, we are located in the city of Hamilton, which is one of Ontario's and Canada's fastest-growing cities.

We are indeed part of Ontario's arts, culture and heritage sector representing, before COVID, almost $28 billion or 4.1% of the province's GDP and over 300,000 jobs. In fact, the arts and culture tourist spends more, stays longer and engages in other sectors of the economy, generating almost $4 billion annually in GDP. This of course is in addition to an annual educational value of $3.1 billion across Canada. The AGH's actual economic impact locally is $18 million, and almost $24 million to the provincial economy.

I mention these facts not to justify the arts on economic terms alone but to underline the fact that our cultural institutions must be seen as more than repositories of objects bringing important cultural, educational and social value. We also represent a significant economic driver in and of itself. We provide a variety of direct and indirect economic benefits and serve a crucial intellectual resource that cannot be replaced by other activities or institutions.

Today, like many arts institutions, our institution counts on a tremendous amount of private support. However, the AGH relies on this private support more than most. In fact, close to half of the AGH's operating revenue in 2019 came from individuals and corporations. With the average revenue for an art gallery in Canada being at 33%, we typically double that number. For example, in 2019, prepandemic, we exceeded 70%.

Although the AGH receives government funding, unlike our national, provincial and municipal counterparts, we remain, for our size of collection and building—we're at about 88,000 square feet—one of the least government-funded art galleries in the country.

What has been the impact of COVID? As it has for everyone else, the pandemic has disrupted most of the AGH's activities and our plans for the past two years—and I think probably for the next few years. Our earned revenues have been severely impacted to the tune of several millions. Our sponsorships, donations, memberships and admission have been eroded. However, our ongoing commitment to community engagement remains powerful. We were one of the first galleries to quickly pivot to online programming, supporting a number of the curriculum educational needs with very close relationships with our local school boards.

We're also deeply engaged in supporting wellness through the arts with our award-winning programs. Of course, I think we are all well aware of the much-needed and dramatic increase in terms of mental health needs in our communities. We're deeply grateful for the support of the federal dementia strategic fund, which is supporting us with a national program. We're also very deeply grateful to the government for the ongoing federal programs that have allowed us to maintain much of our staff and to continue to do the programming we do.

Although we're deeply grateful, I would like to draw your attention to some areas of concern in order to see the sector survive. Long-term operating support for the sector has not grown in keeping with the rate of increased expenses. We have seen year over year declines in government support at all levels. Considering the current rate of inflation, this is a concern.

Across Canada as a whole, the 2019 survey of heritage institutions indicated that 43.6% of our Canadian cultural organizations have aging infrastructure—fair, poor, or requiring attention. This will be an ongoing concern. Certainly, the last few years have only made all of these concerns much deeper.

We remain confident that with your government's renewed commitment to the sector, you'll recognize and support the essential role that institutions like the AGH play in bringing art collections to the public so that we can help build a strong, vibrant economy in years to come, a sense of well-being and identity, and a place for all of our citizens.

Thank you for the opportunity to present today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. That was very efficient.

I will now move to the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization. We have Alexandra Badzak, president; and Jean-François Bélisle, vice-president.

You may split your five minutes, or however you wish to speak.

[Alexandra Badzak, President, Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization]

I think that's the plan, so we're going to go back and forth a little bit.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and members of the standing committee.

Thank you for inviting us here today.

It is a privilege for CAMDO-ODMAC, the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization to address you today on this important topic.

CAMDO-ODMAC has existed since 1964 to really strengthen the ability of Canadian art museum directors to champion art and its significance in society, and to help people imagine and create a better world.

Our members are cultural leaders and champions, like Shelley. We have over 80 individual directors who oversee Canada's visual arts museums and public art galleries from coast to coast to coast and on various treaty lands and unceded territories, including the Haida Gwaii Museum on the west coast, the Yukon Arts Centre up north, and The Rooms in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

We present and engage art with our communities across Canada, with budgets ranging from $300,000 to $55 million, and our organizations range from international destinations like the Art Gallery of Ontario to the provincial institutions and municipal art galleries like the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, and university galleries as well.

CAMDO-ODMAC really does facilitate regular peer discussions and activities with their members. Therefore, we feel very confident that we have the pulse of their pandemic experiences, which is why we're here today.

Jean-François.

[Jean-François Bélisle, Vice President, Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization]

Although art museums across the country were severely affected by the pandemic, they reinvented themselves on numerous occasions to continue their role as arts and community leaders across Canada. They have made an important contribution to the lives of Canadians throughout the crisis. Federal support, primarily through the Canada Council's and Canadian Heritage's wage and top-up subsidies, has been essential to the survival of Canadian museums. We are extremely grateful. Thank you.

This financial support has helped us, among other things, to reinvent ourselves on many occasions over the past 24 months. We have transformed our activities and migrated our community and educational actions to the web with a very high success rate. However, this has come at an immense financial and human cost. The lessons learned over the past two years will positively shape the future of museums and galleries in Canada.

However, Madam Chair, our members are still hurting.

Most art museums were closed for a minimum of seven months last year. Some still are, like the Ottawa Art Gallery and many university galleries.

As you know, varying provincial guidelines and the inability to forecast COVID-19 variants and waves have seriously affected all of our members. The main revenue-generating activities of our members died in 2020 and never came back. That includes educational and community activities, event room rentals, philanthropic activities, corporate sponsorships and membership fees.

The pandemic has forced all museums to shuffle their programming at the cost of cancelling exhibitions, closing others early, and cancelling tours in Canada and abroad. Adapting to a shift in visitors, now primarily regional and virtual, has also been a great challenge. Less tangible, but highly important, are the human resource impacts, which is a sector challenge even in the best of times. The pandemic has further exacerbated this with employee loss, retention and attraction challenges, impacts on the mental well-being of employees and communities, and remote and hybrid work adaptations.

The future does not look bright financially, as it will take months, if not years, for revenue-generating activities to reach their 2019 levels again. We're actually working on a three-to five-year horizon to achieve this.

[Alexandra Badzak]

Madam Chair, this brings us to how the federal government can help our members move forward.

We have a few recommendations.

Number one, as key tourism anchors in our communities, our members, art galleries and museums need to be able to access the “$1 billion over three years” promise to the tourism sector recovery. This will require some changes to the current financial criteria—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute left.

[Alexandra Badzak]

—to reflect cultural not-for-profits.

Number two, we need to diversify our revenue streams in order to be resilient and sustainable in the long term. This way, we want to really engage in the already existing Canada cultural investment fund. It's designed for the performing arts, but the visual arts need it too.

Number three, we know digital funds are essential to our future, but the time has come for us to invest in in-house capacity-building, no longer strategic planning.

Number four, the CEWS wage subsidy has worked really well for so many of our members, but it needs to be extended. We're not getting out of this anytime soon.

The proposed recovery fund, the arts and culture recovery program, is not going to assist museums and galleries that offer free admission like the Ottawa Art Gallery. We have, like Shelley, a lot of other significant revenue streams that have dried up during the pandemic, and so these, too, need to be eligible.

In conclusion, Madam Chair and members of the standing committee, as beleaguered citizens emerge from the pandemic's hold, they'll seek the life-affirming inspiration offered by art museums and galleries. Our organizations tell wonderful, complex stories of our communities and we contribute to the well-being of our citizens.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Ms. Badzak.

I'll now go to Canadian Women and Sport. I think we have Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, chief executive officer.

[Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Women and Sport]

Hello.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, and I'm the CEO of Canadian Women and Sport. Our 40-year-old organization is committed to building an equitable and inclusive sport system that empowers all women and girls, within sport and through sport.

I'm here today to speak to you about the sport sector's recovery from COVID-19 and to share our recommendations for your consideration.

In short, the pandemic has had serious, and potentially lasting, negative impacts on access to sport in every community in Canada. The effect of this children and their families is deeply concerning. Without access to sport during COVID, children report that they have found it hard to reduce stress and anxiety, and parents are reporting that their children are already less physically fit. On top of this, more than 17,000 jobs have been lost in the sector over the past two years. We are grateful for the support of government—federal, provincial and territorial—to help provide relief to the situation; however, it's clear that ongoing government support for the recovery remains important to the long-term viability of the sector and its ability to serve Canadians.

Today my comments will focus on two elements that we believe should be prioritized by the government as we move forward: the community level of sport and equity in sport.

I will share a few highlights of some reports that have been shared with the clerk. Canadian Tire's Jumpstart charity's “State of Sport Report”, released in March 2021, indicated that three in 10 community sport organizations were temporarily or indefinitely closed; already a third were bankrupt or approaching bankruptcy; and those that were not yet permanently closed were fearful that it might be the outcome for them. These findings really highlight the acute challenge faced by community sport and the potentially long-lasting effects of the pandemic on the sector overall.

The underlying challenges are multiple and complex, including financial shocks when revenues plummeted and costs simultaneously went up; disruptions in access to facilities; a loss of volunteer coaches at all levels; loss of staff, as mentioned; and loss of participants. Our own research shows that one in four girls are considering not returning to sport as it resumes.

This loss of capacity to deliver sport in Canada will impact Canadian kids and their families from coast to coast to coast, and kids from under-represented communities will lose the most.

With scarcity comes fewer opportunities to play and rising costs to participate, and with it, some very serious equity questions. Who gets priority for the spots remaining, whether it's access to ice time or access to a team? Are we comfortable with more and more kids being left out because their families cannot afford the fees?

Every child in Canada should have an opportunity to play quality sport, but unless we prioritize equity in the recovery, the risk is high that the kids who could benefit most from sport are left on the sidelines.

With that, we have two recommendations to continue the support for the sport sector to bridge from relief to recovery and beyond.

The first recommendation is that the Government of Canada strengthen and expand mechanisms for providing funding to community sport, now and into the future. The “community sport for all” funding announced in budget 2021 is an excellent start, but it cannot be the end. Community sport serves the most Canadians and creates the greatest public good, yet it has the least access to government dollars. If community sport isn't strong and sustainable, the system above it starts to crumble. Recovery funding should be for operations and infrastructure, not only for programs. A sustainable mechanism for directing government funds to community sport should be established as an outcome of this.

The second recommendation is that the Government of Canada make equity a core strategy and criterion for all investments in sport by the federal government. Directing more funding to community sport will contribute to alleviating the COVID-induced inequities but will not go far enough. Sport organizations typically lack the necessary know-how to address inequity and to expand inclusion in their policies, programs and operations. To that end, we would like to see more targeted funding for sport organizations led by and directly serving under-represented Canadians, as well as ongoing investments in capacity-building for mainstream sport organizations—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 35 seconds remaining.

[Allison Sandmeyer-Graves]

—to increase their understanding and competency for inclusion.

Addressing those two points will be essential to the recovery and the long-term viability of the sport system to serve Canadians inclusively and well.

Thank you for your time and consideration today, and of course, go Team Canada!

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

We now move on to Conseil québécois du théâtre with Rachel Morse.

[Rachel Morse, Co-chair, Conseil québécois du théâtre]

Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.

Today, I am speaking as co-chair of the Conseil québécois du théâtre. This non-profit organization brings together and represents Quebec's theatre practitioners and professional organizations to promote the development and influence of the art of theatre in all its diversity.

Over the past two years, we have been assisting our community through this historic crisis, in order to support as best we could a sector of activity that was extremely fragile already. We were ill-equipped to face the storm that hit us, and we are starting the recovery with exhausted and psychologically shaken troops, and a growing feeling of precariousness.

In recent days, the Quebec government of François Legault has announced that the reopening of theatres at full capacity will take place on February 28. Although we hope that this date marks the beginning of the end of the crisis, it seems inevitable that it will continue to plague us for many years to come. The challenges ahead of us are many, touching on many areas of artistic practice, and we very much hope that the dialogue established with the governmental authorities will continue.

Needless to say, the fifth wave was a real blow to the professionals in the sector, who thought they could finally start thinking about the future. This unfortunate situation only accentuated a feeling that had become permanent among the people in the sector, namely the fact that their profession was hanging by a thread. That is why I want to express to the members of this committee the need to see the recovery as a reconstruction. It is imperative that we use the lessons learned from the pandemic so that arts and culture can enjoy a balanced and prolific ecosystem. Given the complexity and richness of the theatre community, the collaboration and understanding of decision-makers will be necessary to bring about those major changes.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a significant amount of public support has been provided through agencies and institutions. While we applaud the federal emergency assistance programs for individuals, particularly the Canada emergency response benefit, we must highlight those for whom it will be extremely difficult to recover, namely artists, creators and craftspeople. These people, who form the basis of the creative chain, have had their shows cancelled many times, and have suffered from the lack of predictability; and those who make up the next generation sometimes have not even had the chance to enter the labour market. In this regard, I encourage the members of this committee to increase funding to the Canada Council for the Arts so that special attention is given to individual artists and emerging artists.

Moreover, if we wish to retain the rich expertise of our creators and professionals, we must be able to offer healthy and competitive working conditions. We also welcome the consultations on the reform of the employment insurance program that take into account the specific realities of self-employed cultural workers in the context of the modernization plan. This update is an example of an issue about which our sector's representatives and associations have been sounding the alarm for many years.

We are nevertheless relieved to note that, by accentuating the urgency of this systemic shortcoming, the pandemic has facilitated adjustments. In this sense, I hope that the members of this committee will continue to follow this issue closely, while ensuring that the changes will be applicable as quickly as possible and that these reforms will take into account the specificities of the cultural sector.

For the recovery, we hope that audiences will quickly get back into the habit of going to the theatre. Presenters' reopening plans will need to be supported. They know best how to reach their own audiences. After months of scarcity, risk-taking can be terrifying, and all presenters should be encouraged to dare to present all types of shows.

In addition, the repeated cancellations and the absence of programming for many months have created a funnel effect that leaves little hope for some producers, particularly those of the next generation. I must therefore stress to the members of this committee the importance of developing alternative modes of presentation while providing greater support to the teams that coordinate their feasibility.

In summary, we believe that we need to support individual artistic careers in a sustainable way by allowing support for artists through Canada Council programs and by recognizing their work status under the employment insurance program. We must also support the presentation of performances by allowing presenters to assume more risk than ever before—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Could you—

[Rachel Morse]

I'm sorry?

I'll wrap up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Yes, thank you.

[Rachel Morse]

It will also be necessary to support the presentation of performances by allowing presenters to take on more risk than ever before, to launch initiatives to promote audience return and development, and to consider alternative modes of presentation to counteract the funnel effect.

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I hope that the concerns and solutions that have been presented will be reflected in your upcoming recommendations.

On behalf of the Conseil québécois du théâtre, I sincerely hope that the next government programs and funding will ensure a sustainable recovery and that this recovery will act as a new beginning for the performing arts sector.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Ms. Morse.

I am now going to the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance with Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo.

You have the floor, Ms. Kaneratonni Diabo.

[Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, Chair, Grand Council, Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[Witness spoke in Mohawk as follows:]

Shé:kon, Kanerahtón:ni ióntiats. Kanyen’kehá:ka niwakenakerahserò:ten. Kahnawà:ke nitiwaké:non tánon Tiohtià:ke nón:we kì:teron.

[Witness provided the following translation:]

Hello. My name is Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo. I am from the Kanien’keha:ka nation, the Mohawk nation, of Kahnawake and I now live in Montreal.

[English]

I am here representing the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, or IPAA. We are a national, multi-faceted, not-for-profit organization that works with indigenous performing artists, arts organizations and our allies.

Regarding Canadian heritage, what does the word “heritage” mean to you, members of the committee? For us it means tens of thousands of years on this land, our evolution, our people, our relationship with the land, our ancestors, our languages, our traditions, our resilience, our songs, our carvings, our stories, our dances and our art existing for millennia, but, as you know, the challenges of keeping this alive and being supported as artists started long before COVID. I believe it is important to keep this in mind while I discuss COVID's impact on our community in order to truly understand our fear of being forgotten once again.

In the spring of 2021, we at IPAA, with the help of Indigenuity Consulting Group Incorporated, set out to undertake a study of the impacts of COVID-19 on indigenous artists on a national scale. The following information is based on this and other studies as well as my own observations of being part of the indigenous arts community for years.

Many of our artists echoed the same challenges as non-indigenous artists' voices, for example, lack of work, financial struggles, depression, feeling unsafe, general insecurity and feeling isolated. Some additional challenges were the loss of connection to community and culture, less support, fewer resources and opportunities available in more isolated indigenous communities, misunderstanding or ignorance of our art and culture that weakened support for us and difficulty living and navigating in a colonial system in fear of being forgotten.

Let me elaborate on some of these points.

The first point is financial struggles. Only 29% of our respondents said they had personally accessed government or program-level support. Many recipients also found that government support insufficient, noting that it was not enough for people to thrive on. It is important to note that our financial baseline was already challenged in many ways. In a study done by Canada Council for the Arts, it was found that indigenous artists earned 68¢ on the dollar compared with non-indigenous artists.

The second point is loss of connection to community and culture. Some indigenous artists shared how their culture felt threatened and that it was challenging to continue to build relationships, practise tradition and maintain cultural connections. For many of us, community is the centre of well-being. It influences our art on many levels. The ability to travel and gather had a huge impact on many indigenous artists on different levels than perhaps the rest of the mainstream population.

The third point is that misunderstandings or ignorance of our art and culture has weakened support for us. We must be very aware of not falling into a one-size-fits-all artist support model through COVID and beyond. This system created challenges around maintaining a unique indigenous identity when producing art to the mainstream world.

The fourth point is that less support and fewer resources and opportunities were available in more isolated indigenous communities. Lack of spaces, jobs and even basic technology such as high-speed Internet created challenges for indigenous artists that made them unable, for example, to transfer work virtually. Please remember that many indigenous communities in regular times have less access to health services, adequate housing and clean running water. COVID exacerbated these problems. How can our artists flourish in this?

In conclusion, as many of you are aware, to help our artists grow, create, feel safe and have equal space in society, the problems go beyond COVID. If today we are focusing mainly on COVID's effect on the arts, please remember this: For indigenous artists you must take the time and care needed to keep us safe, to keep us creating and to listen. Indigenous arts are an essential part of heritage on this land we now call Canada. Take actions that will assure we are not—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute left.

[Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo]

—left behind or forgotten. For our artists, this is more than just loss of job; it is loss of identity and culture, which has already been so precarious for the last 500 years. Don't let COVID erase what little ground we have gained over the last decade.

While much damage has resulted from the pandemic, I hope we can use this as an opportunity to reflect on the system that is not working, devise a better way, take real actions to make it sure and to ensure that care and support are equally available to all of us. These changes can be better for all of Canada.

Nia:wen Kowa. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

The final witness for today is from Special Olympics Canada, Sharon Bollenbach.

[Sharon Bollenbach, Chief Executive Officer, Special Olympics Canada]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Excuse me—I'm kind of fighting Mother Nature's spotlight here.

It's great to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee. I am Sharon Bollenbach, and I'm the CEO of Special Olympics Canada.

Special Olympics Canada is a national multi-sport organization providing year-round community sport training and competition opportunities for athletes with an intellectual disability. Working within a collaborative federated governance model, we have 12 provincial-territorial chapters. Each day of the week in communities large and small through grassroots sports programs and competition, we provide athletes with an intellectual disability the opportunity to experience the transformative power and joy of sport.

The impacts of isolation caused by COVID-19 have been exceptionally difficult for our community. Today I really appreciate the opportunity to summarize several of those key areas of impact on Special Olympics across Canada.

The first is athlete registration. From a trajectory of growth prior to COVID-19, we have experienced a 49% decrease in athlete registration. For both the physical and mental well-being of our athletes, we aim and hope to get them back when it is safe to restart our programs and activities.

The second is volunteer registration. Similar to the situation with our athletes, we have a 39% decrease in volunteer registration. Our programs are run by our volunteers. They are our coaches and our administrators. They are really the ones who do and drive our work. Volunteers' re-engagement, recruitment and training will be essential to our recovery.

Third is grassroots program delivery. Prior to COVID-19 we were offering 6,000 grassroots sports programs in 340 communities. These sports programs are at the heart of who we are. All were suspended at one point during COVID. Some are starting to come back with specific restrictions and protocols. Access to facilities like schools and recreations facilities is proving to be challenging and costly.

Fourth is competitions and national games. All competitions at the local, provincial and territorial levels and our national games have been cancelled. With no training and no pathway to compete and qualify, we as an organization prioritized fiscal and human resources on getting grassroots programs back up and running. Our aim is to return to sport and to return to competition when it is safe to do so and our athletes can adequately train in preparation.

Fifth is technology. The pandemic has certainly highlighted where we have gaps in technology. Now more than ever the need to create and deliver platforms that are national in scope and that can digitize our movement is very important. While most funding agreements prioritize program delivery versus infrastructure, there's heightened need for us to invest in technology that keeps us connected and working more efficiently.

Sixth is mental health. As all of us as Canadians have experienced during COVID-19 and while our chapters have done a really great job of offering virtual programs and activities to keep athletes connected and active during the pandemic, the abrupt stop and continuing absence of daily routines, programs and in-person contact has severely impacted the mental health of our athletes, putting further strain on their families.

Finally, there is financial. The financial impact of COVID-19 has been significant, and recovery will take a long time. Pre-COVID, our 2019-2020 fiscal year pan-Canadian revenue was $40 million. In our 2020-2021 fiscal year we had a 30% decrease in revenue, and we are forecasting the same for our 2021-2022 fiscal year.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute left.