[Bcma-l] [Fwd: CMA, Communique: Harper Government cuts yet another vital programme
bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:46:22 -0700
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Subject: CMA, Communiqué: Harper Government cuts yet another vital
programme [REF5360000852000008728]
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:11:00 -0400
From: Canadian Museums Association des musées canadiens
<lmcconnell@museums.ca>
*Harper Government cuts yet another vital programme*
* *
*August 15, 2008, Ottawa *- Yesterday the Harper government cut funding
to the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program (CAHSP),
designed to help arts and heritage organizations strengthen their
financial footing. The cuts are part of a broader budget cut at the
Department of Canadian Heritage amounting to over $40 million annually.
The capacity building component of the program alone provides at least
$3 million annually to beneficial projects for museums, galleries and
related institutions. Needless to say, this cut will have significant
impact on the Canadian museums community.
The government has shown little if any support to the arts and heritage
sector. In its first month of power, it cut the Museums Assistance
Program (MAP) which it classified as "wasteful and inefficient" despite
election promises to bring in new funding for museums. Although quiet to
comment, the government has been very active this August. The
elimination of CAHSP follows a series of surprise cuts to international
cultural programs, PromArt, administered by DFAIT and Trade Roots of the
Department of Canadian Heritage. Rationale for these cuts was unclear or
appears to be driven by ideology.
"The funding cut to CAHSP is very bewildering as it truly supported
beneficial programs which helped museums and other organizations become
more sustainable" said Dr. John McAvity, Executive Director, Canadian
Museums Association. Once again, other than it being part of a wider
government review, no clear reasons were given for the program's
elimination. "I can only hope that the Conservative Government has some
creative ideas up its sleeve to replace it with something better. We are
completely in the dark with this government when it comes to consulting
the community before or after slashing such important programs".
The CMA has sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking for a meeting to
discuss possible solutions and to remind the government of the
importance of the social and cultural fabric which makes Canada a
distinctive nation. A public opinion poll commissioned earlier this year
shows that Canadians are overwhelmingly supportive of museums and the
federal funding given to them. Some of the results of this poll are
available on the CMA website at _www.museums.ca_.
The last deadline for CAHSP funding will be October 15^th , 2008 and all
projects must be completed by March 31, 2010. Program details are
available on the DCH website at _www.Pch.gc.ca_
-30-
*For further information: *
Dr. John G. McAvity
Executive Director
_jmcavity@museums.ca_
Monique Horth
Deputy Director
_mhorth@museums.ca_
/Aussi disponible en français /
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Subject: </th>
<td>CMA, Communiqué: Harper Government cuts yet another vital
programme [REF5360000852000008728]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Date: </th>
<td>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:11:00 -0400</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">From: </th>
<td>Canadian Museums Association des musées canadiens
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:lmcconnell@museums.ca"><lmcconnell@museums.ca></a></td>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Harper
Government cuts yet another vital programme</b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"><b>August 15,
2008, Ottawa </b></span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">- Yesterday the Harper
government cut funding to the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability
Program (CAHSP), designed to help arts and heritage organizations
strengthen their financial footing. The cuts are part of a broader
budget cut at the Department of Canadian Heritage amounting to over $40
million annually.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">The capacity
building component of the program alone provides at least $3 million
annually to beneficial projects for museums, galleries and related
institutions. Needless to say, this cut will have significant impact on
the Canadian museums community. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">The government
has shown little if any support to the arts and heritage sector. In its
first month of power, it cut the Museums Assistance Program (MAP) which
it classified as “wasteful and inefficient” despite election promises
to bring in new funding for museums. Although quiet to comment, the
government has been very active this August. The elimination of CAHSP
follows a series of surprise cuts to international cultural programs,
PromArt, administered by DFAIT and Trade Roots of the Department of
Canadian Heritage. Rationale for these cuts was unclear or appears to
be driven by ideology.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">“The funding
cut to CAHSP is very bewildering as it truly supported beneficial
programs which helped museums and other organizations become more
sustainable” said Dr. John McAvity, Executive Director, Canadian
Museums Association. Once again, other than it being part of a wider
government review, no clear reasons were given for the program’s
elimination. “I can only hope that the Conservative Government has some
creative ideas up its sleeve to replace it with something better. We
are completely in the dark with this government when it comes to
consulting the community before or after slashing such important
programs”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">The CMA has
sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking for a meeting to discuss
possible solutions and to remind the government of the importance of
the social and cultural fabric which makes Canada a distinctive nation.
A public opinion poll commissioned earlier this year shows that
Canadians are overwhelmingly supportive of museums and the federal
funding given to them. Some of the results of this poll are available
on the CMA website at </span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.museums.ca">www.museums.ca</a></u></span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">The last
deadline for CAHSP funding will be October 15</span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"><sup>th</sup></span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">, 2008 and all projects
must be completed by March 31, 2010. Program details are available on
the DCH website at </span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.Pch.gc.ca">www.Pch.gc.ca</a></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">-30-</span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"><b>For further
information: </b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Dr. John G.
McAvity</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Executive
Director</span></p>
<p><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jmcavity@museums.ca">jmcavity@museums.ca</a></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Monique Horth</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Deputy Director</span></p>
<p><span
style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:mhorth@museums.ca">mhorth@museums.ca</a></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 11pt;"><i>Aussi
disponible en français </i></span></p>
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