Download Letter to Minister of Community, Sports and Cultural Development

Honourable Peter Fassbender
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
Room 310, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
[Date]
Dear Minister Fassbender,
As a resident of British Columbia and practicing [visual, media, theatre, dance, music]
artist/curator/cultural worker/etc and/or employee/board member/volunteer/patron of [name of
organization], which is located in [name of riding], I am writing to request your support in
advocating for increased investments to the cultural sector in the 2017 BC Budget. I hope that
you will advocate for BC artists such as myself and/or arts organizations such as [name of
organization] by asking Minister de Jong to increase investments in the BC Arts Council and
Arts and Culture Community Gaming Grants.
[Insert short statement about your artistic practice, positive experience receiving BCAC funding,
example of how your work has impacted communities in BC and/or organization’s mission
statement, impact of BCAC funding and Gaming Grants on organization, impact of
organization’s activities in riding/BC.]
The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services recently issued its
Report on the Budget 2017 Consultations, in which it makes the following recommendations
relative to Arts and Culture Funding and Support (p.46):
79. Increase provincial per capita funding to support the growing number of artists in B.C.
and the vibrant creative economy, and provide increased, stable, multi-year funding for
arts, culture and heritage organizations to promote, educate and support B.C.’s arts
community. (2014: #47 and 2015: #53)
80. Ensure local communities can access provincial and federal funding to celebrate and
promote Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation (sesquicentennial) celebrations in
2017.
81. Restore gaming grants to 2008 levels ($156 million from the current $134 million) and
provide incremental increases as gaming revenues increase. (2014: #47 and 2015: #54)
These recommendations are aligned with recommendations issued by the Committee in
previous pre-budget consultation reports. Effectively in recent years—as indicated above in
recommendations #79 and #81—the Committee has responded to the cultural sector’s repeated
expressions of concern regarding the adequacy of provincial arts funding in BC by consistently
recommending that investments to the BC Arts Council and Arts and Culture Community
Gaming Grants be increased. However, the BC Arts Council’s budget has not increased since
2013-14 and Community Gaming Grant levels are still below those of 2008.
Increased financial support that will benefit arts organizations and artists directly is particularly
important at this time because the federal government has planned for significant investments in
Canadian Arts and Culture, including substantial increases to the Canada Council for the Arts’
budget between the 2016-17 and the 2020-21 fiscal years, and the Cultural Spaces Fund’s
budget between the 2016-17 and the 2017-2018 fiscal years. This is great news for all
Canadians, including British Columbia residents, artists, cultural workers, and arts
organizations. However, increased provincial investments to the cultural sector are needed to
ensure that BC arts organizations and artists remain competitive on the national scale and are
able to access this potential source of expanded financial support. With consistently low percapita investments to the cultural sector, BC is at a disadvantage when it comes to securing
federal funding to support its activities.
In its Report on the Budget 2016 Consultations, the Standing Committee on Finance and
Government Services stated that it “acknowledges the significant social and economic benefits
associated with the provision of a vibrant and dynamic arts, sports and cultural sector for the
province” (p.44). In its Report on the Budget 2017 Consultations, the Committee reiterated the
important contributions of arts, culture and heritage by expressing “their appreciation for the
many socio-economic benefits that British Columbians experience through engagement with
these sectors” (p.45).
Recommendations to increase investments in the cultural sector are aligned with economic
priorities that have been identified by the current government, notably the creation of
sustainable jobs and investment in sectors that actively participate in the knowledge economy.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2014 Provincial and Territorial Culture Satellite Account, BC’s
culture GDP represents 3% of BC’s economy and 12.2% of culture GDP in Canada. Further, in
2014, BC’s growth in culture gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than the national
average. 2012 Statistics Canada reports also show that British Columbia is the Canadian
province with the highest number of working artists, which comprise 1.8% of the province’s
labour force. Vancouver is the Canadian metropolis with the highest percentage of artists, which
comprise 2.3% of its labour force. BC is also second in rank amongst the provinces with 3.65%
of its labour force being comprised of cultural workers. Together, artists and cultural workers
account for 5.45% of the province’s labour force.
As Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, I hope that you will advocate for the
needs of BC artists and arts organizations by asking Minister de Jong to implement the Select
Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services' recommendations by increasing
investments in the BC Arts Council and Arts and Culture Community Gaming Grants in 2017.
Thank you in advance for supporting vibrant, diverse, innovative, and engaging Arts and Culture
in BC.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone
Email