The challenge:

Arts and culture are critical to our quality of life, our identity and our economy. Whether it is on the local, national, or international stage, Canadians are proud of the artists who make our communities and our country dynamic and a better place to live.

The arts and culture sector accounts for 3.1
% of Canada’s total GDP and employs over
647,300 Canadians 1 . Ottawa needs to be a champion for this industry.

As Canadians move more and more towards digital platforms to access cultural content, we need to ensure there’s a diverse, high-quality, Canadian cultural offer on those new platforms.
Stephen Harper’s plan isn’t working:

Instead of recognizing the importance of the sector for our country and our economy, Stephen
Harper’s Conservatives have chosen to cut vital programs and institutions like the CBC, the
National Film Board and Telefilm Canada.

Conservatives have not offered any alternatives to the elimination of the PromArt and Trade
Routes programs in 2008. Embassies no longer offer support to cultural industries to develop new markets.

Under Stephen Harper, artists and cultural workers continue to have a hard time making ends meet. In fact, in many arts occupations the average cultural worker lives at or below the poverty line.

Conservatives have offered no plan to support our cultural industries as Canadians shift more and more to digital platforms to access cultural content. We need a champion for Canadian content.
Our commitment:
The NDP has always been a key supporter of artists and cultural workers. We need a government in
Ottawa that is a champion of the arts, one that understands their valuable contributions to the fabric of our society and economy.
Tom Mulcair’s New Democrat team will strengthen our public broadcaster by:

Cancelling the $115 million in cuts announced in the 2012 budget;

Guaranteeing stable, predictable, multi-year financing to protect CBC/ Radio-Canada from advertising market fluctuations and to help ensure its editorial independence from government;
1 Culture Satellite Account, 2010, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140910/dq140910b-eng.htm


Implementing an independent process for appointing members o f the CBC’s Board of
Directors;

Ensuring that CBC/Radio-Canada demonstrates that the sale of its assets serve the interest of
Canadians and of its mandate.
Tom Mulcair will support our cultural industries and artists by:

Investing $60 million over for 4 years in our cultural institutions, to support our film industry
(Telefilm Canada and the NFB) and have more artists and cultural institutions able to access grants from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Helping artist and cultural institutions find new markets by providing our embassies with cultural attachés.

Introduce an income averaging system for artists and cultural workers. Income averaging will allow self-employed artists and cultural workers to better-predict their tax burden and make a fair contribution based on their ability to do so.
Tom Mulcair will be a champion for Canadian content by:

Creating a new fund of $10 million for digital content in time for the 150th anniversary of
Confederation.

Ensuring the objectives of the Broadcasting Act are met through CRTC regulations and that
Canadian content continues to be protected.
These commitments fall under the NDP’s Balanced Fiscal Plan as investments under “Stronger communities, Stronger democracy.
”
Quote:
“ACTRA welcomes the NDP's commitment to increasing investment and fairness across the cultural sector. This includes improved funding and governance for the CBC. ACTRA is particularly pleased that the NDP has recognized the importance of tax fairness through a commitment to income averaging for artists and cultural workers.”
- Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)
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