Good morning. Bon appétit.
My name is Éric Dubeau. I am the Executive Director of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française. I am joined by Simone Saint-Pierre, our Chief of Communications. Thank you for inviting us to this meeting.
The FCCF is a national organization whose mission is to promote artistic and cultural expression of francophone and Acadian communities. It brings together representatives of national groups in theatre, publishing, singing, music, media arts, visual arts, a group of performing arts broadcasting networks and a community radio alliance, as well as representatives from 11 Canadian provinces and territories dedicated to the cultural development of Canada's francophonie. The FCCF has 22 member organizations and speaks on behalf of some 3,000 artists, and 150 arts and cultural development organizations, working in over 250 francophone and Acadian communities across Canada.
Arts and culture should be at the heart of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Artists use their creativity and work to help enhance, examine, celebrate and develop culture, and to make it alive and contemporary. The work of artists and arts and cultural organizations greatly contributes to social cohesion and facilitates intercultural dialogue, since arts and culture express our emotions, thoughts and values. One of the goals of the 150th anniversary celebration is to strengthen the relationships between all the components of Canada's social fabric. Artists can ensure a successful celebration in terms of that.
We read with interest the report the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage published in September. Basically, we support the report's recommendations with regard to arts and culture. We especially support the government in its willingness to work with the provinces and territories to maximize the leverage of its investments. However, we also want to point out that the one-time investments recommended in the report will have less of an impact than ongoing support would.
Considering the scale of the anniversary we will celebrate together in 2017, we think the activities of the 150th anniversary of Confederation should not be only occasional and short-lived, such as a concept show tour or a themed exhibit. We also think investments should encourage the implementation of projects that are more structuring and have a greater sustainable impact. For instance, it would be beneficial if the government supported exchanges of artists from different parts of the country by establishing artist residences over several weeks, even several months. That initiative would culminate on the 150th anniversary. Another option would be to order a series of new creations that would be unveiled or performed throughout 2017 and during subsequent years. That more longitudinal approach would increase the positive effects of the government's investments, to the benefit of all Canadians.
We feel strongly about Minister Moore's statements—quoted in the committee's report—confirming that the agencies from his department's portfolio will be involved in the celebrations. As you may perhaps already know, the FCCF signed a document called the Agreement for the Development of Francophone Arts and Culture in Canada. In addition to the FCCF, this agreement has six federal signatories: Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, the National Arts Centre, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. We feel that not only would it be appropriate for each of those agencies to participate in the 150th anniversary celebrations, but all of them should have to invest at least 15% of their celebration budget into activities presented by artists or arts and cultural organizations of Canada's francophonie.
We are convinced that all the artistic and cultural organizations of our Canadian francophonie should be considered—as should federal cultural agencies—as key partners in celebrations. Those organizations are in the best position—both in terms of their ongoing programming and special one-time projects—to ensure that the concrete actions in the field are mobilizing Canadians across the country. To do so, organizations will have to receive sufficient support not only for the 150th anniversary, but from here on in as well. We invite the government to establish the necessary mechanisms and tools.
Another way to ensure a solid return on your investments as part of those festivities is to make sure they facilitate Canadians' access to artistic and cultural activities in first-rate cultural spaces. Investing in cultural infrastructure is a way to ensure that Canadians have a permanent cultural heritage. As pointed out in the committee's report, the National Arts Centre was created in 1967, as part of the celebration of Confederation's 100th anniversary. Today, 45 years later, thousands of Canadians are still benefiting from this world-class cultural institution every year.
The committee's report also talks about using large-scale festivals and events to organize festive gathering opportunities. Creating ties among festivals from various regions of the country through program exchanges could facilitate collaboration among local event organizers from OLMCs and national-scale events. That would be a better way to discover the diversity of talents from OLMCs at events across the country.
To ensure that the collaborative projects by various organizations can be carried out and that artists and arts and cultural organizations from OLMCs play an important part, support mechanisms will have to clearly establish the obligations of various organizers in terms of official languages. When the time comes, we would be happy to work with those in charge to develop programs to encourage and support the participation of our artists and arts organizations. I also want to point out that, should the government implement the committee's recommendation to establish an independent body or organization in charge of celebrations, we would gladly join that body.
In closing—and in response to Minister Moore's concerns that the funding of artistic events may affect future generations—I would like to quote a francophone Canadian visual artist and author, Pierre Raphaël Pelletier. He wrote something along these lines:
All artistic creation is meant to forever transform our folk space into a new territory of exchanges, into a space of intimate interactions that changes every life that takes part in it, that dedicates itself to it—a wonderful initiative of liberation, the root and foundation of any authentic culture [...]
We are convinced that all the artistic and cultural events to which Canadians will have access during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation will forever be part of the nation's genetic code. The creations, performances and infrastructure created as part of those festivities will become a legacy of great wealth for future generations.
Thank you for your attention. I would be pleased to answer your questions.