Question Period Note: $500M Fund to Support Artists and Athletes

On April 17, 2020, the Prime Minister announced funding of $500 million to establish a new COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations.

• Due to the unexpected cancellations of cultural and sporting events, and the closure of facilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many cultural, heritage and sport organizations are grappling with extraordinary financial pressures.
• The $500 million emergency support fund is an additional temporary relief measure. This fund was created to meet the financial needs of cultural, heritage and sport organizations facing significant losses due to COVID-19. The goal of the funding is to support business continuity for organizations whose viability has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The Fund provides financial support consistent with other assistance measures in place such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. It is administered by Canadian Heritage with the support of its partners.
• The Fall Economic Statement 2020 announced additional measures for these sectors, including funding to support the planning and presentation of COVID-19-safe events and performances as well as to provide work opportunities in these sectors.

• On April 17, 2020, the Prime Minister announced new actions to protect Canadian jobs and provide more support to businesses and organizations dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19. These actions included $500 million to establish a COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations to help address the financial needs of affected organizations within these sectors so they can continue to support artists and athletes. Further details regarding this funding were announced on May 8, June 18 and July 7, 2020.
• The Fund is administered by Canadian Heritage and divided among select departmental programs and Portfolio agencies as well as key delivery organizations. Specifically:
o Up to $326.8 million is being distributed by Canadian Heritage, of which:
 $198.3 million is being provided to the beneficiaries of arts and culture funding via existing programs as well as other organizations with demonstrated needs;
 $72 million is being provided to the sport sector;
 $53 million is being provided to the heritage sector via the emergency component of the Museums Assistance Program; and
 $3.5 million is being provided for COVID-related projects under the Digital Citizen Initiative;
o $55 million is being distributed by the Canada Council for the Arts to help artists and art development; and
o $115.8 million to support the Canadian audiovisual sector, distributed by the Canada Media Fund ($88.8 million) and Telefilm Canada ($27 million).
o The use of the remaining funds will be assessed based on needs.
• In order to accelerate the distribution of funds, a two-phased approach has been followed. Phase I provides funding to eligible recipients of the following programs:
o Canadian Heritage – Arts and culture programs
 Canada Periodical Fund - $18,818,650
 Canada Book Fund - $10,541,575
 Canada Music Fund - $9,162,308
 Canada Media Fund - $88,750,000
 Canada Arts Training Fund - $5,694,860
 Canada Arts Presentation Fund - $10,070,686
 Harbourfront Centre Funding Program - $1,250,000
 Building Communities through Arts and Heritage - $5,336,400
o Canadian Heritage – Sport sector
 Sport Support Program - $34,500,000
 Athlete Assistance Program - $5,000,000
 Bilateral agreements with provinces and territories - $32,500,000
o Canadian Heritage – Digital Citizen Initiative
 COVID-related projects - $3,500,000
o Canada Council for the Arts - $55,000,000
o Telefilm Canada - $27,000,000
• Phase II provides funding to the following components:
o $53 million through the emergency component of the Museums Assistance Program;
o $45 million for special measures in support of journalism under the Canada Periodical Fund;
o $25 million for independent broadcasters that invest in news and community broadcasts;
o $20 million for the live music industry through the Canada Music Fund;
o $2.5 million for producers of content in a language other than English or French through the Canada Media Fund; and
o $52.1 million to various arts and culture organizations that do not usually receive funding from Canadian Heritage programs and/or did not receive funding in Phase I, including:
 $8.2 million for the arts sector;
 $27.8 million for the audiovisual and digital media sector;
 $5 million for the music industry;
 $10 million for the publishing sector; and
 $1 million for arts and culture organizations that serve official-language communities.
• On November 27, 2020, as part of Phase II, the Government announced the reallocation of $14 million to support regional and community sport organizations through existing bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories.
• At a minimum, all eligible organizations are required to attest the following in order to receive support:
o they are in need of funding to support a continuity of operations and to safeguard jobs;
o they remain in operation at the time of application and plan to continue contributing to their sector in the future;
o they are not receiving funding from multiple sources to cover the same costs (e.g., Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, Canada Emergency Business Account, and Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for Small Businesses); and
o where relevant, funds will be used to support workers such as the self-employed and freelance workers, artists and creators.
• Canadian Heritage is working closely with its partners, in particular the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund as well as FACTOR and Musicaction, to distribute the funds through a streamlined process that facilitates the rapid distribution of funds in a manner that is consistent across all organizations.
• As of September 30, 2020, over 96% of the funding (which represents $482 million) has been distributed to over 10,000 recipients.
• The Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations complements other Government of Canada measures to help Canadian workers and employers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for Small Businesses.
• Beyond emergency measures, the Fall Economic Statement 2020 announced the following measures for these sectors:
o $181.5 million in 2021-22 to the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts to stimulate short-term employment of cultural workers, including a one-year renewal of funding provided in Budget 2019 for the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and the Canada Music Fund;
o relief to local television and radio stations by supporting the waiving of broadcasting Part II licence fees in 2020-21, which are collected annually by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission;
o a short-term compensation fund for Canadian audiovisual productions (which had earlier been announced in September 2020);
o support for the construction of the new Library and Archives/Ottawa Public Library joint facility project; and
o support for the National Arts Centre’s back-office systems.

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