My name is Timothy Dallett. On behalf of the members of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, I would like to express our appreciation for this opportunity to appear before you today.
Our organization represents 80 non-profit, artist-run media arts producers, distributors, and film festivals across the country. Our members serve a community of 12,000 Canadian film and video makers and digital artists who are at the forefront of independent creative expression in today's media.
I'm here on their behalf to present for your consideration four recommendations that will contribute to a strong, vibrant, and sustainable future for the country's cultural sector. As art and culture transform with new technologies, we suggest it is appropriate for the government to make strategic investments that will enhance the potential of this transformation.
Our first recommendation for the 2011 federal budget is to support the work of the Canada Council for the Arts by increasing its annual funding by $30 million in 2011, with a plan to reach a base budget of $300 million by 2015. Second is to enable the creation of a national strategy to preserve and make accessible Canada's digital and media arts heritage. Third is to implement programs to support the development of markets for arts and cultural projects nationally and internationally for Canadian artists, cultural institutions, and industries. Fourth is to grant professional artists and creators a $30,000 annual tax exemption on income deriving from copyright and residual payments, and a complete tax exemptions on arts grants.
The Canada Council is seen by our community as an exceptionally effective way for the arts to be promoted in Canada. Research and development by artists is how new forms of expression are created. These innovations from the cultural sector renew and enrich the knowledge economy and contribute to Canada's profile around the world. Canada's ranks of artists and digital creators grow annually as new graduates enter the field. Changes in other federal funding programs for filmmaking and audiovisual production have increased the number of independent producers turning to the council for support of their films and digital productions. It is logical and strategic that the Canada Council's budget gradually increase to meet these needs.
Our recommendation is echoed by the country's cultural community and supported by the Canadian Conference for the Arts and the Canadian Arts Coalition.
The notion of digital heritage might sound like a contradiction in terms, yet has anyone tried to access information on a floppy disc or audio cassette lately? This is exactly the situation that Canada's arts and heritage community will increasingly confront as changing technology makes formats obsolete.
We submit that the way technology and culture are converging makes it critical to develop a national strategy to address how Canada's cultural heritage will move into the future in digital form. It is not only about preserving Canadian stories in legacy media like celluloid film or videotape; it's about proactive planning for the future so that the question of longevity is considered as new culture is created in new platforms. Canada's national institutions and agencies have a key role to play here, and we encourage you to give them the resources and mandates to carry out this work.
Canada's artists are ambassadors for their country, contributing good will and positive impressions in civil societies worldwide. Canadian culture is a powerful tool for building awareness around the world of this country as an innovative, creative, forward-looking society. Development of markets for Canadian arts and culture in other countries will help reinforce this positive image of Canada. Again, the federal government has a key role to play here.
We don't pretend to have detailed knowledge of how such programs could be best designed and administered or how federal departments might relate to such initiatives. But we respectfully submit that there are very good reasons to make this investment in Canada's profile abroad.
Finally, artists in Canada are significantly under-compensated for the work they do and the skills and training they have. As self-employed entrepreneurs, they fall between the cracks. We ask that government consider recommendations made repeatedly over the past four years by artists' advocates that tax relief be provided to help artists develop their careers. Providing an exemption on a portion of their income will help artists grow what in effect are their small businesses, as the sector works to develop markets and opportunities for their products.
I thank you for your time and consideration. I'd be pleased to answer any questions you may have.