My name is Katherine Carleton. I'm executive director of Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada. We are a national membership organization with a membership of approximately 200 orchestras, ranging from grassroots, amateur, and youth orchestras to our largest professional ensembles. We have member orchestras in communities large and small in every Canadian province.
We are all well aware of the challenges the Government of Canada faces, both in managing current commitments and in making strategic investments in Canada's future. We are honoured and pleased to take part in this pre-budget consultation process.
I know your time is limited. I also know you've studied the brief that we submitted, and you have many more witnesses to hear from. Accordingly, I will endeavour to make my points quickly.
I want to start with a word of thanks. Canadian orchestras sincerely appreciate the significant and consistent investments made in arts and culture by the Government of Canada and the recognition that we are part of an important $46 billion cultural sector responsible for 3.8% of Canada's total real gross domestic product in 2007. Specifically, we are grateful for a one-time $50 million increase to the Canada Council for the Arts announced in May 2006, a permanent $30 million increase to the Canada Council announced in July 2007, and a recent five-year renewal of several critical Canadian Heritage funding programs listed in our brief. We are grateful for these investments. They are important and they have helped many significant things happen.
While the proportion of federal investment in Canadian professional orchestras made up less than 10% of their total revenues in 2007-08, it is really an important investment. It's a foundation that helps orchestras generate earned and contributed income, helps them recruit volunteers, helps them plan effectively, and helps them ensure that their offerings are accessible to Canadians. With your help, audiences are growing. We have seen a 20% increase in audiences for Canadian orchestras in the past four years alone. We are grateful for these fundamental investments in our sector. We have worked hard to maximize their impact, and we believe that the health and vitality of the sector, despite the challenges presented by the economy, speaks to the effectiveness of this investment. In short, thank you.
That being said, we know there are still unmet needs in Canadian communities and undeveloped potential in Canadian orchestras. In our brief, submitted back in August, we made three recommendations to the standing committee, and I will quickly summarize them here.
First of all, we recommend that the Government of Canada increase the annual base budget of the Canada Council for the Arts to $300 million by fiscal year 2012-13. This would represent a permanent increase of $40 million per annum in each of the next three years to the council’s current allocation, consistent with the council's already articulated strategic and operational plans. I brought along copies for each of you to study at your leisure. The increased investment will help Canadian artists and arts organizations strengthen their artistic practice, innovate in their use of technology, respond to demographic and cultural shifts in Canadian society, and develop and reach new audiences. The Canada Council for the Arts is an accountable, respected, and transparent organization. I will also note that they received a clean bill of health from the Auditor General in a special examination in the summer of 2008.
Second, we recommend that the Government of Canada consider increasing the charitable tax credit from 29% to 39% on gifts between $200 and $10,000 to help stimulate the flow of charitable gifts from middle-income Canadians. In recent years, our members have been extremely successful in increasing revenues derived from private sector sources, but there's a troubling trend that we believe must be reversed. Statistics Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency reported that only 24% of all Canadian tax filers claimed charitable donations in 2007, compared to 30% in 1990--this despite the fact that the federal government and, for the most part, provincial governments have been lowering taxes over this period, which should result in taxpayers having more to give. As well, in the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, more than half of all donors indicated that they would increase their charitable giving if there were better tax credit incentives to do so. We believe this is something that would help not just orchestras but all registered Canadian charities.
Finally, we recommend that the government invest in a $25 million market access and development fund that will help connect Canadians to arts and culture and help export-ready Canadian cultural products reach the global marketplace. We believe this is an opportunity for Canada to show off its best to Canadians and to the world, and accordingly, we believe that a dedicated funding program will help to do this.
We have been encouraged by the nature of our relationship with the Government of Canada. We feel we speak from experience. Consistent, thoughtful programs of support have contributed to the community value, capacity, and stability of Canadian orchestras.
Thank you very much.