Andrew Currie Online

In case you haven’t heard the leaders’ stance on the arts, it’s all here in a CBC report on their answers to an ACTRA petition — minus, of course, any input from the Conservative Party.

Of particular interest is an NDP promise for any artist making under $30,000 a year to be exempt from paying income taxes. The rest of you will still have to register for a GST number, unfortunately.

If you think the arts issue is of little import in the coming election, consider these facts, pulled from a Blogs Canada post:

1. Direct economic impact of arts and culture 1996-97: $22.5 billion (3.1% of total economy), $781 per Canadian
2. Direct employment in arts and culture 1996-97: 640,726 (4.8% of total employment)
3. Number of artists in Canada in 2000: 120,000
4. Culture spending by governments (all levels) 1999-2000: $5.9 billion
5. Federal culture spending 1999-2000: $2.8 billion, $92 per Canadian
6. Canada Council grants 2001-2002: $133 million (4.8% of federal culture spending), $4.25 per Canadian
7. Canadians’ total consumer spending on arts and culture events and activities 1996: $14 billion
8. Canadian families’ average annual consumer spending on arts and culture events and activities 1996: $1,121
9. Tourist spending on arts and culture events and activities in Canada 1998: $760 million
10. Growth in Canadian culture merchandise exports 1996 to 1998: 25%
11. Growth in Canadian culture merchandise imports 1996 to 1998: 18%
12. Number of Canadians volunteering in arts and culture organizations 1997: 500,000
13. Number of Canadians contributing financially to arts and culture organizations 1997: 560,000
14. Increase in Canada Council funding to the arts between 1996-97 and 2001-2002: 58%
15. Inflation-adjusted increase in Canada Council parliamentary appropriation 1992-93 to 2001-2002: 17%
16. Average annual employment income of a visual artist 1996: $12,633

Here’s the closest I’ve ever come to a personal response from a politician. It’s in reply to a petition sent to all party leaders in regards to increased funding for the CBC. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting the NDP with your concerns about strong, stable funding for the CBC.

Canadians want to hear each others' stories and see the world through our own eyes. That's why the CBC and Radio-Canada are so important as our public broadcaster; it's committed to telling stories about Canadians to Canadians, providing radio and television news and entertainment to citizens from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

But after 10 years of Liberal government, the CBC's budget has been slashed by more than 20%, and the Conservatives don't even mention the CBC in their new policy document. Instead of using budget surpluses to invest in the CBC and Canadian culture, Paul Martin and the Liberals have used that money to fund tax cuts for friends, insiders and big corporations.

We can use practical solutions to support the CBC and Canadian culture, and protect balanced news coverage of our country and our world. Today's NDP has a new energy and practical solutions for preserving Canada's identity:

We'll provide project-based grants and tax credits to support our visual and performing artists.

We'll increase and stabilize funding for the CBC and Radio-Canada, recognizing the importance of public broadcasting in a large country in a larger world.

We'll support the licensing of international, multilingual television on Canadian cable to allow Canadians greater access and insight to the world around us.

We'll protect domestic ownership of cable and telecommunications companies.

We'll ensure diversity of voices in media by preventing further mergers and acquisitions that provide media owners with more than 20 percent market share in a national, regional or local market.

The NDP is committed to building a green and prosperous economy in which no one is left behind. For more details, we would like to invite you to take a look at our platform by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton and today's NDP.
New energy. A positive choice.