OTTAWA - Seeing local arts organizations like the KW Symphony abruptly shutting down while others like THEMUSEUM requested emergency funds to get through a tough patch, Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice sees a way the federal government can repair some of the damages caused by current funding approaches.
His team’s research led to the discovery of federal arts funding being inequitably distributed in different areas of the country, resulting in a $9.3 million gap in his community Waterloo Region alone.
Morrice has since tabled a private members motion and is sponsoring a petition recommending the federal government not only reinstate previous funding levels but replicate the Regional Development Agency model which is used to distribute economic development funds more equitable throughout different regions.
“The arts are essential to a thriving community - allowing us to understand the world through another’s perspective, fueling our shared push against injustice, and deeply enriching our lives,” said MP Morrice. “All communities in Canada deserve equitable support for the arts. Imagine what artists and arts organizations in our community could do with another $9 million!”
According to public data from the Canada Council for the Arts for 2022-23, while Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver received an average of $18.30 per capita, Edmonton received $5.56 per capita, Waterloo Region received a mere $3.39 per capita, and Sarnia received nothing at all.
“Based on extensive consultation with artists, my team and I, joined by MPs from various parties, are advocating not only to restore federal arts funding to 2021 levels but to apply the Regional Development Agency model to this funding to ensure a more equitable distribution, helping artists in underfunded communities thrive,” said Morrice.
Morrice also consulted with the Canada Council for the Arts who came to Kitchener last week alongside the Ontario Arts Council to hear from over a hundred local artists and arts organizations in the hopes of increasing successful applications from the community.
With already over 1,700 signatures, Morrice will present the petition once he returns to Ottawa in the fall, triggering a formal response from the government within 45 days.
Morrice started this advocacy in a letter from March, together with Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May to Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St. Onge.
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For more information please contact:
Rosalind Horne
Director of Staff
MP Mike Morrice
226-749-2198