Good morning, Chairman and members of the committee.
I would like to start by thanking the Standing Committee on Finance for this opportunity to present on behalf of our members and the diverse communities we represent.
The Independent Media Arts Alliance is a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada. We represent more than 80 independent film, video, audio, and new media production, distribution, and exhibition organizations in all parts of the country. The IMAA serves more than 12,000 independent media artists and cultural workers. And by independent, we mean that the artist initiates and is the driving force behind the work and maintains complete creative control over the work.
I would describe this past year as a bit of a roller-coaster ride for the independent media arts sector. There were many announcements made by the federal government and by Heritage Minister James Moore that have been both beneficial and detrimental to our community. Overall, this has been a very difficult year for us.
The cuts to several programs, including Trade Routes, PromArt, the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, the Canada Feature Film Fund, the national training program for the film and video sector, and Canadian Culture Online, have had a severely negative impact on the independent media arts sector. However, we do want to acknowledge the renewal of several Heritage programs that previously fell under the Tomorrow Starts Today initiative, and we also want to note the funding injections that appeared in the 2009 federal stimulus budget.
However, the overall picture reveals that the federal government prioritizes the larger commercial entertainment industry and has neglected to recognize the importance of supporting the independent media arts sector. More needs to be done to ensure long-term stability of the larger sector. The recent restructuring of federal funding programs has created gaps at the foundation of the independent media arts sector. These include training programs, support for emerging media artists, and market development programs.
Our three recommendations are calling attention to the areas that remain ineffective and would benefit from support, either financially or through alternative measures, in order to ensure growth and stability of the cultural industry.
Our first recommendation focuses on cultural export development and trade promotion programs for artists and organizations. We are asking that the federal government invest an additional $40 million per year into the expansion of the capacity and mandate of the audience and market development programs at the Canada Council for the Arts. The loss of PromArt and Trade Routes was a real setback for the audience and market development of media arts festivals, exhibitions, touring programs, etc. The final report published by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concluded that the cancellation of these programs is, at the very least, debatable.
The IMAA is not asking for these programs to be reinstated. However we feel that the Canada Council for the Arts does an excellent job at supporting artists and organizations in the development of their practices nationally and internationally and in disseminating artworks abroad. However, the audience and market development office at the council is overburdened and cannot meet the demands of the requests and does not have the capacity to fill in the gaps left by the loss of those two programs.
The second recommendation is for an overall increase to the Canada Council for the Arts. We are asking for the overall funding of the Canada Council to reach $300 million over four years. This goal is consistent with the message that has been echoed by numerous arts groups over the past five years. We acknowledge that the federal government recently announced a $25 million increase to the council's annual funding, which brings it up to $181 million per year today. However, this does not go far enough to relieve the pressures faced by the smaller artist-run organizations and independent artists. In addition, the loss of several programs, as previously mentioned, has left hundreds of professional media artists without support to complete their projects, advance their practices, or to sustain their businesses. The loss of these programs has put increased pressures on the Canada Council for the Arts, specifically the media arts section.
Our final recommendation draws attention to the individual artist. According to a study published earlier this year by the Art Gallery of York University, in 2007 the average artist made $25,000 per year from all sources. That includes practise income, secondary employment, and all non-work sources. To compare, Canadian artists make significantly less than the national average, which was $36,000 in that same year. That is quite a big difference.
Artists often obtain income from other sources to subsidize their practices, which cuts down on studio time and hours dedicated to developing their profession. Grants have proven to increase an artist’s gross studio income proportionately, whether it is in sales or in artist fees. However, large grants are not always spent in one fiscal year and are taxed in the year they are received. This is a direct setback to the artist’s career, which would benefit by the full use of the funds received.
The IMAA recommends that the federal government grant professional artists and creators a $30,000 tax exemption on revenue deriving from copyright and residual payment, and complete tax exemption for grants. This would provide a concrete measure to improve the living wages of artists.
That's our final recommendation.
Thank you. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.