Question Period Note: Support for festivals - COVID-19 Emergency Support Funds

On May 8, 2020, the Prime Minister announced further details of the $500 million COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations Recommended Response

• The COVID-19 Emergency Support Funds for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations is a $500 million temporary relief measure, created to support business continuity for organizations whose viability has been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
• The Fund will provide financial support consistent with other assistance measures in place such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. It will be administered by Canadian Heritage with the support of its partners.
• Festivals currently supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts or Telefilm are among the organizations eligible for support from the emergency fund. Measures will be in place to avoid any potential duplication of funding between the Department and these organizations.

COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations
• On May 8, 2020, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced further details of the $500 million COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations.
• The Fund will be administered by Canadian Heritage and divided among select departmental programs and Portfolio agencies as well as key delivery organizations.
• Up to $326.8 million to be distributed by Canadian Heritage, of which $198.3 million will be provided to the beneficiaries of arts and culture funding via existing programs as well as other organizations with demonstrated needs.
• In order to accelerate the distribution of funds, a two-phased approach will be followed. The first phase includes, among others, the following details:
o A formula-based top-up to recipients of the following arts and culture programs: Canada Periodical Fund, Canada Book Fund, Canada Music Fund (via FACTOR and Musicaction), Canada Arts Training Fund, Canada Arts Presentation Fund, Harbourfront Centre Funding Program, and Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program.
o Funds will also be distributed by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada to support their recipients. Measures will be in place to avoid any potential duplication of funding between the Department and these organizations.
• Details on Phase 2 will be announced over the coming weeks.
• The Department of Canadian Heritage primarily supports festivals through two programs, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program.
Canada Arts Presentation Fund
• The Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF) provides financial assistance to not-for-profit organizations that professionally present arts festivals or performing arts series with the aim of giving Canadians access to a variety of professional artistic experiences in their communities. These include performances, audience development and outreach initiatives such as pre- or post-show panel discussions, public lectures and workshops, residencies, demonstrations, public rehearsals, and other forms of community engagement activities.
• The current annual grants and contributions budget for the CAPF’s two main components (Programming and Development) is $29.3 million. Furthermore, the CAPF provides operating funding of $3 million to the Confederation Centre for the Arts through the Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust, a single-recipient component to support the operations of the Centre to offer visual and performing and heritage programming.
• Budget 2019 provided an additional $16 million for the CAPF over two years ($8 million per year for 2019-20 and 2020-21) to address current and increasing demand from professional arts festivals and performing arts series presenters in all regions of the country, including increased operational support for the Confederation Centre for the Arts in the amount of $500,000 per year.
• The program supports over 700 artistic festivals and seasons of performing arts series in more than
250 cities or communities in the country. Examples include: Festival d'été de Québec (Québec City, QC) and Alianait Arts Festival (Iqaluit, NU).
Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program
• The Local Festivals component of the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program (BCAH) provides funding to local groups for expenses related to the presentation of work of local artists, artisans or heritage performers in recurring festivals that promote and encourage community engagement, and that actively involve citizens in their local communities through volunteerism, participation with community partners and interaction with artists.
• Budget 2019 provided an additional $14 million for BCAH’s Local Festivals over two years ($7 million per year for 2019-20 and 2020-21), which allowed the Program to better support government priorities related to efforts of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples as well as diversity and inclusion and address unmet demand.
• BCAH supports more than 700 festivals in over 400 communities annually. Examples include: Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (Vancouver, BC) and Trails, Tales and Tunes Festival (Norris Point, NL).

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