Round dances used in Idle No More

Idle No More on Parliament Hill / Photo by Nadya Kwandibens/Red Works

>> by Naomi Brand 
The ongoing Idle No More (INM) protest movement has brought flash mob round dances to streets, shopping malls and public spaces across Canada over the past couple of months. The protest movement led by First Nations in response to the Harper government’s Bill C-45 has garnered the support of many artists including Santee Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. "The flash mob round dances we are seeing as a part of INM comes from Powwow Intertribal, meaning all Nations are welcomed and encouraged to dance," says Smith who is actively involved in the INM movement. “For me the round dance represents a kinetic and spiritual commitment to unity and harmony. To dance you must commit to the energy of the circle, make contact by holding hands, witness others around the circle, unify to the heartbeat pulse of the drum and power of the song. It makes sense at this time of Indigenous awakening and resurgence that the round dances have become a significance part of the movement.” Hundreds of musicians, writers, theatre artists and dancers have signed the Canadian Artists Statement of Solidarity written by Winnipeg musician John K Samson calling for "healthy, just, equitable, and sustainable communities."

More: www.idlenomore.ca

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Artists-Statement-of-Solidarity-with-Idle-No-More/317069378411312

Update on arts funding

>> by Naomi Brand
In its 2012 budget, the Toronto City Council restored arts grants and community grants to 2011 levels. The grants had been at risk of being cut in the months leading up to the budget, but the reversal is due in part to hundreds of citizens who contacted their councillors and signed the Friends of the Arts petition. However, a new study released by Hill Strategies reports that Toronto has fallen far behind other major Canadian cities in its municipal investment in the arts. The study compared funding to the arts in Canada's five largest cities and found the following per capita figures: Montreal $55, Vancouver $47, Calgary $42, Ottawa $28 and Toronto $19. In BC, the government announced a three-year freeze to arts and culture funding in its latest budget despite overall increases in other sectors. "Overall, a disappointing budget for the arts, cultural and heritage sectors" says Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Rob Gloor. After so much work by so many in the arts community in recent years to raise public and political awareness of the importance of a healthy cultural sector, we had hoped for better." Vancouver's Josh Beamish cites his frustration with the lack of sustainable arts funding in BC as one of the main reasons that he will be leaving Vancouver to set up his company in New York City. The twenty-four-year-old director of Move: the company, has had remarkable success despite only minimal funding from the BC Arts Council. In a January 31st article about his planned relocation, Beamish told the Vancouver Sun, “If our arts funding is going to keep getting cut, what’s the value of artists staying in this community?” One of the most recent effects of arts funding woes in BC, was the closing of the nearly fifty-year-old Vancouver Playhouse.

Arts update from BC

>> by Naomi Brand
After British Columbia's cabinet shuffle in October, BC's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts is no longer. It has been replaced by the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development headed by rookie minister Stephanie Cadieux. The change makes British Columbia the only Canadian province or territory without a culture ministry. The new name has made many BC artists concerned about the future of arts funding. Additionally, the BC Association for Charitable Gaming (BCACG) is mounting a campaign in response to the Provincial Gaming cuts that have taken place over the past year. In 1999, the province, the Union of BC Municipalities and the BCACG signed an agreement for a permanent revenue sharing formula for the three parties that allocated 33.3% of net gambling revenues to BC charities. While gambling revenues have grown significantly in the past ten years, in 2010 charitable organizations received only 10.43% of proceeds. The BCACG is urging the province to honour their 1999 agreement. Jim Smith, past president of the Canadian Dance Assembly and producer of Eponymous says of the challenging situation in BC, "None of these developments leaves the arts community feeling any confidence in the future." In related news, BC Premier Gordon Campbell announced his resignation on November 3rd.

To support these efforts, there are petitions available to sign at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/VCBS2010/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/bcacg99/petition.html

Ontario announces $27 million Arts Investment Fund

>> by Cynthia Brett

Not-for-profit arts organizations receiving operating grants from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) will soon also benefit from a new $27 million Arts Investment Fund announced by the Government of Ontario. The fund will be paid out over three years: $11 million in 2010/11, $10 million in 2011/12 and $6 million in 2012/13. The OAC will complement this with $1.1 million over three years for English and French language book and magazine publishers, which are not eligible for the new fund.

Canada's cultural program at Expo 2010

>> by Brittany Duggan
On April 30th, the Canada Pavilion in Shanghai, China, officially opened for Expo 2010. The six-month long event, running from May 1st to October 31st, 2010, is set to welcome over 165 Canadian performing, visual and media artists as part of Canada’s cultural program. Cirque du Soleil, along with Canadian Heritage, has been responsible for the planning, organization and management of this international showcase of Canadian culture. Companies representing the dance community include Red Sky Performance of Ontario, and two companies from British Columbia, the Dancers of Damelahamid and MOVE: The Company. Emerging and renowned artists were chosen from over 1,000 applications from artists across the country and will perform at the Canada Pavilion as well as at various locations throughout the duration of what is expected to be the biggest exposition to date.

New non-partisan arts caucus forms

>> by Cynthia Brett
A newly formed non-partisan arts caucus met on Parliament Hill for the first time in October 2009. Its goal is to harmonize the cultural sector with legislators, increasing the visibility of the arts in Parliament. So far, over thirty Senators and Members of Parliament have joined. The caucus is co-chaired by representatives from each of the four official parties in the House of Commons and the group will meet about nine times a year. Denise Savoie, an MP from Victoria, told the National Post that the first meeting involved a brainstorming session where ideas such as simplifying federal funding applications and changing the tax code to encourage more donations to arts group were mentioned.

Self-employed to receive EI benefits

>> by Samantha Mehra

The Canadian government has introduced legislation that will allow self-employed individuals to opt into the federal employment insurance (EI) plan, a benefit that was previously only available to wage-earners and salaried workers. The Fairness for the Self-Employed Act will now extend benefits such as parental, maternity, adoption, medical and compassionate-care to self-employed persons. The extension of parental leave to the self-employed was a Conservative party campaign initiative from the 2008 federal election; at that time, the party estimated the extension of EI benefits would cost $147 million. The government expects the new plan to be self-financing, but that will depend on how many of Canada's self-employed workers sign up and claim benefits. Self-employed workers accessing EI will have to continue paying premiums for as long as they are self-employed. Signing up for the plan became an option on January 1st, 2010 and benefits can be claimed one year later.