In the beginning, we really mobilized to try to keep the government from reducing the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts. At the time, budget cuts were on the horizon. The government had made clear its intent to make cuts.
It isn't as much as we were hoping for, obviously. It also isn't enough to address the challenges. The $140‑million budget request took into account pandemic-level investments. Our figures show that the challenges caused by the pandemic made the postpandemic financial situation worse. It was thought that the $140 million would provide ongoing support to the various communities after the pandemic.