Finance committee  I think we feel we are well represented in our submissions to the Canada Council and that we have received a reasonable share as an industry. I think you would see, if you looked at arts organizations across this country, that all of them have seen a shrinking percentage of their revenue coming from the Canada Council, against the backdrop of increasing costs of operations and expansion of the scope of their activities.

Finance committee  This is a difficult thing to forecast, but in our case at the Canadian Opera Company, we would rely, if you think about our revenue base, on the roughly 18% to 20% from government, the 40% from the box office, and the rest from fundraising. The fundraising pyramid is heavily weighted towards higher-end donors, but in the middle of that pyramid is a very substantial base of people who provide relatively modest amounts.

Finance committee  I would say, in that wheelhouse, it could be a meaningful increase. I would say a 5% to 10% increase in revenue, or in that area.

Finance committee  Yes. In the case of a larger company like ours, the vast majority of the donors would fall into this category. While we have lots of high-end donors, the great majority of our donors aren't giving the full amount.

Finance committee  Our brief also supports the recommendation put forward by Imagine Canada to increase the tax credit on private donations to 39% to incent more giving by middle-income Canadians. Time doesn't allow us to provide further elaboration on this recommendation.

Finance committee  Opera Atelier and the Canadian Opera Company support the broader opera sector's call on the federal government to build on its current investments in arts and culture by increasing the base budget of the Canada Council for the Arts by $120 million over three years. This would ensure, first, the sustainability and growth of this sector that is so vital to the overall economy and, second, the continued access of all Canadians to the arts.