I would like to add a nuance: The Société nationale de l'Acadie has not received any of that funding. We have done the work of promoting and advocating for that funding to be available for the communities.
That said, the annual envelope is $500,000, and it is divided in two.
The first $250,000 is allocated to an organization to organize the official celebration of the National Acadian Day. When we think of Quebec's national holiday, we think of the show on the Plains of Abraham. It's the one that is televised every year. In Acadia, we want to showcase each of our communities, so the celebration takes place at a different location every year. This year, it was in Bouctouche, last year, in West Pubnico, and the year before, in Moncton.
In addition to the $250,000 from Canadian Heritage, the department also provides its own resources to meet the needs in terms of technicians, camera operators, the whole management team, trucks and so on. That accounts for between $115,000 and $135,000, depending on the year. In the case of the 2022 show, the organization that organized it, the Fédération culturelle acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse, subsequently requested funding from the provincial government and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Last year, for instance, the show cost about $700,000. So there is a very strong leverage effect.
In short, the first $250,000 is earmarked for the TV show.
The other $250,000 is used to fund activities in the communities. Communities can request up to $5,000 each to hire an artist or organize an activity. As I was saying, in the case of many English-speaking communities, without this funding, there would be no National Acadian Day celebrations. Without this funding, I can guarantee that a mini tintamarre celebration and a show for the National Acadian Day could not have been organized in Yellowknife. It's good for Acadia because it gives it incredible visibility, but it's also good for Canada as a whole because it celebrates one of its cultures and peoples.