Arts Funding Increase to $25 per capita Recommendation Adopted by Toronto City Council

On August 26, 2010, Toronto City Council adopted “Strategies for Arts and Culture Funding” containing recommendations to increase arts funding from the current $18 to $25 per capita by 2013. These recommendations should result in 17.5 million dollars in additional yearly investment to arts and culture by 2013. Grants to artists and arts organizations funded through Toronto Arts Council and to arts organizations funded through Cultural Services were recognized as the highest arts and culture funding priority. 40 out of 41 City Councillors present voted for this motion.

This is the culmination of years of effort from many of the city's arts leaders, TAC's funded organizations, a hard won and energetic campaign from the Beautiful City Alliance as well as leadership from pro-active City Councillors. These recommendations are conditional on continued support from the new Mayor and Councillors following October's election, particularly at Budget time.

Earlier in the month, in a packed committee room at City Hall, a dozen prominent artists and arts supporters made dramatic and compelling speeches before the Mayor and his Executive, advocating increased funding for the arts in Toronto.

Eric Peterson, R.H. Thomson, Lakesha Bambury, Karen Kain, Jim Fleck, Cameron Bailey, Che Kothari, Albert Schultz, John McKellar and Jini Stolk itemized the numerous benefits to the city resulting from a strong arts community and the importance of access to arts programming for Torontonians.

Karen Tisch, President of TAC, reported that the Board of TAC has consulted with artists and arts organizations and re-analyzed its funding programs in anticipation of additional monies. New funds will strengthen existing arts groups; support community-engaged artistic initiatives, particularly those in the inner suburbs and involving youth; and create new funding programs that support exceptional projects, seed new innovation, and act as a catalyst for cross-sectoral arts investment in Toronto.

The Mayor and many of the Councillors thanked the speakers for their commitment, and spoke strongly on the importance of the arts for Toronto:

“It is not a question of ‘can we afford to do it.’ We cannot afford not to do it.” Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone
“We have a culture plan. Now we need to fund it. Community arts really is about building neighbourhoods… and that’s what we should be supporting as we move forward.” Councillor Janet Davis
“We wouldn’t have a Distillery District, we wouldn’t have a Regent Park revitalization project… we wouldn’t have tax bases like these if we didn’t have the artists.” Councillor Pam McConnell

The recommendations are conditional on approval by full City Council on August 25 and 26 and continued support from the new Mayor and Councillors following October's election.

Approved Recommendations:

1. City Council continue to target the previously approved Culture Plan cultural investment goal of $25 per capita by operating budget 2013;
2. Arts and Culture investment through the Community Partnership and Investment Program (Toronto Arts Council: Major Cultural Organizations; Local Arts Service organizations) and community arts be recognized as the highest arts and culture funding priority;
3. The General Manager of Economic Development and Culture review the capital needs of non-owned cultural facilities and report back during the 2011 Budget process on the best way for the City to invest and leverage Provincial and Federal investments in these facilities;
4. The General Manager of Economic Development and Culture reflect the priority outlined in Recommendations no. 1 and no. 2 when submitting business cases for the 2011 Community Partnership and Investment Program as part of the 2011 Budget process;
5. The General Manager of Economic Development and Culture report to Executive Committee before Operating Budget 2014 on the status of per capita funding in Montreal and Vancouver and on a strategy to achieve comparable per capita funding in Toronto, and
6. The City Manager report to City Council on a methodology and objective outcomes of matching increased funding with the needs in priority neighbourhoods and other such underserved geographical areas in Toronto.