Speeches – 2007
The Honourable Josée Verner
Announcement of Funding for Festivals
Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 13, 2007
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Good afternoon , everyone. It is a great pleasure for me to be here in Halifax with you.
I want to begin today by saying how pleased I am that the Prime Minister Harper has entrusted me with the Canadian Heritage Portfolio. The broad range of issues it encompasses – from the arts and culture, to sport, official languages, and multiculturalism – are at the very heart of what it means to be Canadian. And I am delighted to have the opportunity to champion these issues.
Canada' s New Government is definitely committed to the arts. That is why, in our first Budget, we invested an additional 50 million dollars in the Canada Council for the Arts over two years. As well, we recently announced additional ongoing funding of 30 million dollars annually for the Canada Council.
At the same time, our Government is committed to building stronger communities. We recognize that hundreds of communities across Canada organize events every year that encourage people from a diversity of backgrounds to come together in celebration. And in doing so, they enrich the lives of their citizens and contribute to the vitality of this country.
Canadians have every reason to be proud of their communities and to celebrate their collective sense of belonging to a unique place in this country. Our Government wants to partner with communities. We want to encourage the stories and the celebrations. We want future generations to be aware of their origins and Canada' s rich and diverse heritage.
For that reason, in Budget 2007, Canada' s New Government set aside $30 million a year to support local arts and heritage activities on an ongoing basis. Today, I am pleased to announce details about how these funds will be used.
First, our government is providing $7.4 million in additional funding for the Department of Canadian Heritage' s popular Arts Presentation Canada program. As you may know, this program already has an excellent track record for supporting professional arts festivals that engage Canadians in their communities.
This enhanced funding will increase support for larger festivals that encourage community engagement, and for the hundreds of smaller festivals across the country that play such an important role in our cultural, community landscape.
In addition to this, our government has also established a new program that will benefit local communities across Canada and the community festivals they organize for their citizens.
It is my great pleasure to announce that $18 million will be directed to a new program entitled Building Communities through Arts and Heritage. It will fund two types of activities:
- The first is for "Ongoing festivals" – ones that present local artists and/or local heritage activities to the public.
- The second is for "Local Celebrations of Historical Significance" – for example the centennial anniversary of a community, or the recognition of someone who may have been integral to a community' s history.
I am pleased to say that applications are now available for local arts and heritage festivals and community historical anniversaries occurring in winter 2008.
The criteria and application forms for Building Communities through Arts and Heritage are available on the Canadian Heritage website.
We are also working on an infrastructure component for communities that are celebrating historical anniversaries. Although the details are still under discussion, there will be $4.6 million a year to encourage projects that leave a legacy in the community.
With the programming I have just outlined, our Government hopes to encourage greater community engagement in festivals and activities. We want to provide more opportunities for local artists to connect with the public, and we want communities to benefit from greater access to their local history and heritage.
Canada holds a place second to none as a country with a rich and diverse cultural heritage. And with this program festivals of all sizes will benefit from these programs right across the country.
I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the thousands of people across the country ― professionals and volunteers – who devote themselves to providing Canadians with access to top-quality arts and heritage activities.
Thank you.