At the end of September, Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, gave a speech introducing the federal government’s newest initiative for Canada’s cultural future.
Joly outlined Creative Canada—the blueprint for shifting Canada’s cultural policies to the center of the country’s economic growth—with a policy framework highlighting three pillars: investing in Canadian creators, cultural entrepreneurs and their stories; promoting Canadian content at home and globally; and strengthening public broadcasting and supporting local news. While Joly discussed everything from the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act to the Multiculturalism Act, a big takeaway for most people—including myself—was her commitment to investing in Canadian creators.
It’s easy to get excited and hopeful, because this is something long overdue. Many countries don’t have cultural policies that support the scope of the arts to the extent Canada’s does. In the United States, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The Canadian government’s commitment to such a substantial investment is unprecedented. As noted in the framework, Canada is the only country in the G7 to make this kind of investment.
The government has often patted itself on the back for supporting Canadian talent, however CanCon regulations—the requirements for Canadian television and radio broadcasters to air a percentage of Canadian content—can only get you so far. In committing to investing $550 million to nurturing the arts in Canada by doubling the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts between 2016 and 2021, we can actually see hope for artists to feasibly pursue their passions.
The arts are important. In fact, they are integral to upholding the fabric of a society. By creatively telling stories on television and film, through books and songs, on radio and in museums, artists express us back to ourselves. It’s entertainment, reflection, and economic stimulation. Fostering the cultural marketplace in Canada is especially essential, given our relationship to America, a country whose cultural output tends to dominate our television screens, bookshelves, and music libraries.
The new initiative looks promising. Funding for the arts is very hard to come by, especially for up-and-comers and independent artists.
On Sept. 27, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) dropped the requirement for Bell Media to fund MuchFact, a granting program that financed music videos, effectively killing the program. It impacted videographers and musicians alike. When programs such as that are cut, there is a gap in whose voices are heard and what art gets produced.
Shortly following MuchFact’s death, musicians and filmmakers penned an an open letter on social media to Joly approximately a week before the Creative Canada announcement was made, asking for a dedicated visual fund to replace the program. Now Creative Canada could possibly be part of the solution.
The new policy could be great. But there is always uncertainty. For example, how will the government determine who gets what funding? Whose voices will be heard and whose won’t?
Back in 1999, Cameron Bailey, the artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival wrote that the stories told in films are often informed by institutional constraints such as funding.
“It is important to remember than historically all Canadian filmmaking has to one degree or another been funded by state-run agencies,” he said, referencing Black filmmakers such as Jennifer Hodge de Silva, who worked frequently with the National Film Board and the CBC.
Therefore, it is imperative that the government supports the country’s French people, Indigenous people, and people of colour to ensure they have the equal opportunity to produce their art. As long as the government has that notion of equality at the top of the agenda, Canadians can be optimistic for the country’s artistic future.
Now we just have to wait and see if the government delivers.
