Thank you, Mr. Chair. As with a number of Members on the issue of arts funding, the NWT Arts Strategy has been raised. This framework has not been reviewed in a significant amount of time. I'm wondering if the Minister can commit to reviewing that framework within this fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Would the Minister confirm whether or not this is the proper section to raise that issue?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, it's not the proper section, but I will commit that we will looking at that framework within this government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart, anything further for corporate management?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The reason why I raised that here is it does deal with policy legislation and broad strategic framework, including comprehensive framework for evaluating programs, setting and monitoring performance measurements and targets. Is the current arts funding evaluated by this division or by this activity? Are we evaluating our arts programming and seeing what its impact is as we deal with education funding? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That specific funding is administered through the Arts Council, so it's flow-through money. Every year, we look at the program but it's flow-through money that we don't really evaluate at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. Maybe we should. I would recommend that perhaps we look at the impact and value for money of this in conjunction with the Arts Council and our partners so that we can make sure we're meeting the requirements of maintaining steady flow of resources to arts communities and to the Arts Council itself, and that we're meeting the strategic objectives. It's good to get money out the door, but it's much better if we know that money is making an impact. Again, the other reason that I asked these questions to the Minister in this section is this framework is a multi-departmental framework. It's not just housed within one activity within ECE. It may require changing government policies or changing legislation that governs some of these areas.
Is the Minister confident that none of that work has to go on in reviewing the arts strategy and that it can all be done by the arts and culture division of the department? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I have mentioned in the House, I will be working with my colleague from ITI to look at the options moving forward on the strategy within this term. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Testart. I see no more comments. I will call this activity. Corporate management, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $12,881,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. The next activity begins on page 35, culture, heritage and languages, and continues on to page 39. Do you have comments, questions, or concerns? Mr. Vanthuyne. Please indicate which page you are discussing. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to discuss page 37, the NWT Arts Council. This is where there are grants to artists and cultural groups to support their undertakings. As the previous speaker, my colleague from Kam Lake, alluded to, a number of Members and the public at large have been raising some concerns to some degree about the need to undertake a review of the strategy but also the increased funding to the Northwest Territories Arts Council, as it hasn't seen an increase in a significant number of years.
I just want to maybe hear from the Minister. We've heard recently that people were thinking that maybe there was the possible opportunity of getting lottery funds to support arts. We know that that's probably not realistic at this point in time. Can the Minister let us know if there is any consideration with regard to increasing the pot to the Northwest Territories Arts Council that currently sits at $500,000 a year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know I've had questions in the House regarding the Arts Council funding; we are going through the main assessments now. I know there have been concerns about an increase. I did mention that we were looking right across government and seeing what our contributions were collectively. During our discussions, I had mentioned, and what I said in the House is that I believe we're sufficiently funding the arts community right across the sector. That funding is fully utilized. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess the clear question to the Minister then is: will we be seeing an increase to the NWT Arts Council? Again, it sits at $500,000. I want to know specifically from the Minister: will any increase be given to the NWT Arts Council?
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As noted in the main estimates, it is $500,000 currently. Thank you. That's what we have before us, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think at this time I will get off this line of questioning, but I strongly suggest that the Minister -- just one moment.
I will go to the Minister. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As you know, we go through a process when we're going through the main estimates and operations with budget. That line item, I can defend what's before me within our budget, within ECE and what's on the paper here. With that line of questions, I'd like to maybe ask the Minister of Finance to answer that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Minister of Finance, Minister McLeod.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in our correspondence with committee, one of the recommendations they made was a possible addition to the funding to the NWT Arts Council. In my correspondence back to committee, I have made that commitment in the form of a supplemental we would be bringing forward an increase to the contribution to the NWT Arts Council of $200,000.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Anything further, Mr. Vanthuyne?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the respective department and the Minister of Finance for their confirmation. No further questions at this time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Next, I have Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take this opportunity to acknowledge the recent announcement of additional funding for the Arts Council and commend the government for their efforts towards supporting the arts in the Northwest Territories.
I have some questions about the support to northern performers item, which is on page 37, and on page 38, it gives some detail on the purposes of it: "Grants to performing artists, festival organizations and events, community governments and band councils for the promotion of performing arts in NWT communities."
An ongoing area of advocacy for many of my honourable friends has been around a touring grant in support for northern performers so that they can maintain their residency here in the North, live in the North, and be allowed to travel elsewhere and that the government provide subsidies to allow that. The government has often turned towards this funding, the support to northern performers, as the "it already happens and there are no additional resources needed."
I would just like to get a sense of where this money goes. Can the Minister give some detail on who is receiving contributions from the support to northern performers funding? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We do not have that level of detail of who is receiving it. You did hear in the House today during the question period that we did give funding to the Inuvialuit Drummers and Dancers to go to the gathering down in Edmonton, but if the Member would like, we can look at getting some of that information for him. I believe there were about 20 groups that got the funding last year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be voting on this item shortly, so I don't need the information later. I would appreciate if the Minister had that information when we ask these questions in this Committee of the Whole review. However, I just want to get clarification.
I think the Drummers is an example of a group that should be getting a support to go on tours, but this is particularly broad. It also supports festival organizations and events, community governments, and band councils. What do those contributions look like? Are we providing contributions to Long John Jamboree, to Muskrat Jamboree, to those kind of events, or is it only going to northern performers? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I won't get into all 20 of them, but yes, we are funding Long John Jamboree Society, Snowking Winter Festival, Folk on the Rocks, Great Northern Arts Festival, Kole Crook Fiddle Association, Western Arctic Moving Pictures, Tides Canada Initiatives Society; the list goes on. In due time, I will just save reading the whole list and just give an idea of some of the groups that we do fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the clarification from the Minister. In this section, too, we see arts organizations operating funding in the amount of $460,000, and these are stated as "contributions to provide ongoing operational support to established arts organizations and large cultural events and festivals in the Northwest Territories."
I would like to ask the Minister: if there is dedicated funding to support festivals such as that were just on that list, what is the difference, I guess, between the two funding sources when they are going to the same organization?
What has been addressed in the House, Mr. Chair, has been a need for dedicated funding support for Northern artists who are on tour to southern Canada, which, as everyone in the Northwest Territories understands, is very expensive. There is very little incentive for a Northerner to stay here when they could be moving to Vancouver or Toronto, where it is much easier to do festival circuits and to get around. The artists who are staying here love it here, and we ought to be supporting them with some sort of dedicated touring. My concern is, if it is only $101,000 and it's wide open for everyone to look for resources, then perhaps we need to streamline this to be a little more specified so that we can support those artists and keep them here in the North so that we don't lose them to the South. It is good to be flexible, but it is also good to be specific when we are trying to achieve a specific policy gain for northern artists. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With the arts organizations operating funding, that is a lot for the O and M side of things with the organizations. The support to northern performers, again, let's take Western Arctic Moving Pictures, for example. We fund their operations, but we also fund them to go out and do the travel. Support to northern performers supports cultural delegations to things like Arctic Winter Games, Minister's Culture and Heritage Circle, international festivals, and NWT Days that we have had in the past in Ottawa, as well as things like the Circumpolar Games. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am assuming that some of the support to northern performers monies are being used by sorry, let me ask: is this money given on conditions, or is it just transferred to the organizations? Is there an application process that says how they need to use the money? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, with the grant contribution agreement that we go into, there is an accountability component. So, yes, there are conditions applied to this when we fund them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
Is support to northern performers money being provided to festival organizations to bring in southern performers to the Northwest Territories to perform at those festivals? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In some cases, yes, it can be used for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.
