The future of arts and culture in BC needs your help!
The Provincial Government's Standing Committee on Finance recently
recommended in its budget report to Treasury Board that the
government: "increase funding to the BC Arts Council to enhance arts
and culture in the province."
This is great news! But for this recommendation to have effect, the
Ministry for Tourism Sport and the Arts needs to follow up with a
request to Treasury Board for an increase to their budget.
And you can help make this happen.
Here's what you can do:
1) Email the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister for Tourism, Sport and
the Arts (stan.hagen.mla@leg.bc.ca) saying you endorse the Standing
Committee's recommendation. Specifically, tell him you support the
following key recommendation:
"To ensure an adequate investment in sustainable communities
throughout British Columbia, Arts Future BC is recommending all-party
support for an increased investment of $32 million in Arts and
Culture through the British Columbia Arts Council, in the 2007-2009
budgets."
2) Send a copy of your email to:
The Honourable Carol Taylor, Minister of Finance
(carol.taylor@leg.bc.ca)
and to the members of Treasury Board:
Honourable Rick Thorpe, Vice Chair rick.thorpe.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Pat Bell pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Bill Bennett bill.bennett.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Shirley Bond shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Ida Chong ida.chong.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Rich Coleman rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Kevin Falcon kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Colin Hansen colin.hansen.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Linda Reid linda.reid.mla@leg.bc.ca
John Yap, MLA john.yap.mla@leg.bc.ca
Iain Black, MLA iain.black.mla@leg.bc.ca
3) Send a copy to your own MLA. You can find your MLA's email address
at www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm
4) Send a copy to the Alliance for Arts and Culture
(hredfern@allianceforarts.com) so we can keep track of the numbers of
letters going to the minister.
These correspondences need to go out by December 10, 2006.
You can find a sample letter you can use, or adapt, here: (see end of this mail - )
www.allianceforarts.com/advoca...gen.pdf
Or you can write your own. Just be sure to say you endorse the
Standing Committee's recommendation and support an increased
investment of $32 million to the BC Arts Council in the 2007 to 2009 budgets to support arts and culture in BC.
Background
Throughout the fall, the Alliance for Arts and Culture through Arts
Future BC has been coordinating submissions to the Standing Committee
on Finance and Government Services. This is the committee that makes
recommendations to Treasury Board for the upcoming provincial budget.
The Committee toured the province this fall getting community input.
Arts Future BC coordinated oral presentations to the Committee in
eight regional centres and presented the Committee with a detailed
written brief . All of these presentations focused on the
recommendation to increase BC's investment in arts and culture with a
$32 million increase to BC Arts Council's budget.
Who is Arts Future BC?
Arts Future BC is a coalition of eight BC arts and culture service
organizations and citizens groups. The Alliance is one of the
founding members. Between us we represent over 900 arts
organizations and thousands of individual artists and arts supporters
throughout the province.
Why Now?
A delegation from Arts Future BC will be asking for the Honourable
Stan Hagen, Minister for Tourism, Sport and the Arts for his support
for the Standing Committee on Finance's recommendation to increase
support for arts and culture through BC Arts Council. Your letters
will add strength to our arguments and show the Minister that he has
a broad base of support for this initiative.
Why BC Arts Council?
Arts Future BC believes that BC Arts Council is THE vehicle to
deliver this much needed investment: it puts funding into the hands
of individual artists and arts organizations directly engaged in arts
and culture creation, production and dissemination, and community
development through the arts, working throughout the province. BC
Arts Council is also the best agency to deliver core funding to build
sustainable arts organizations, to support BC artists, and to ensure
that BC communities benefit from a stable arts sector that
contributes to the social and economic health of the community.
Why $32 million?
Arts Future BC has researched Provincial Government's current
investment in arts and culture, set reasonable funding targets and
costed out what it would take to reach these targets. $32 million
will move us from one of the lowest of Canada's provinces in
contributions to arts and culture to one of the highest. This is not
unreasonable considering BC has one of the most vibrant arts and
culture sectors in the country. This increase will also provide much
needed longer term stability for BC's arts and culture community.
THANK YOU!
Sample Letter
The Honourable Stan Hagen, MLA
Ministry of Tourism Sport and the Arts
Room 028, Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
stan.hagen.mla@leg.bc.ca
Dear Minister Hagen
I am writing on behalf of NAME OF ORGANIZATION, which operates in MUNICIPALITY, in REGION of BC and as a citizen who strongly believes in the importance of arts and culture to our province and supports government investment in the arts.
I want to register my strong support for the following recommendation made by the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in its November 16, 2006 Report on the 2007 Budget Consultations: that the government, "increase funding to the BC Arts Council to enhance arts and culture in the province."
I also support the key recommendation made by Arts Future BC in oral submissions before the Committee in eight BC centres and its written brief to the Committee. Arts Future BC is a coalition representing over 900 BC arts organizations and thousands of individual artists and arts supporters. To ensure an adequate investment in sustainable communities throughout British Columbia, Arts Future BC is recommending all-party support for an increased investment of $32 million in Arts and Culture through the British Columbia Arts Council, in the 2007–2009 budgets.
In making its recommendation to Treasury Board, the Committee stated that it "… believes that the combined efforts of the arts community in British Columbia present a compelling argument for a significant increase to the core funding provided to the B.C. Arts Council to support arts and culture in B.C."
A strong arts and culture sector benefits all of BC’s communities and its citizens. The arts generate social and economic health in our province far beyond the current government investment. I urge you, as minister responsible for the arts, to support the Committee’s recommendation by including an increase of $32 million to British Columbia Arts Council in your 2007 to 2009 service plan and in your ministry's budget requests to Treasury Board for the same period.
The support of the Ministry for Tourism, Sport and the Arts to the recommended increase will be your ministry’s arts and cultural legacy to the 2010 Olympic Games and beyond. A sustainable arts and culture sector will also make a significant contribution towards achieving the government’s five strategic goals.
In the words of Premier Gordon Campbell, "Arts and Culture play a critical role in defining and enriching our communities, our unique BC identity, and the lives of us all wherever we live. The arts are also important contributor to our economy as well as to our society."
Yours truly,
copy: The Honourable Carol Taylor, Minister of Finance
Members of Treasury Board:
The Honourable Rick Thorpe, Vice Chair
The Honourable Pat Bell
The Honourable Bill Bennett
The Honourable Shirley Bond
The Honourable Ida Chong
The Honourable Rich Coleman
The Honourable Kevin Falcon
The Honourable Colin Hansen
The Honourable Linda Reid
John Yap, MLA
Iain Black, MLA
posted by: Vertumnus
The Provincial Government's Standing Committee on Finance recently
recommended in its budget report to Treasury Board that the
government: "increase funding to the BC Arts Council to enhance arts
and culture in the province."
This is great news! But for this recommendation to have effect, the
Ministry for Tourism Sport and the Arts needs to follow up with a
request to Treasury Board for an increase to their budget.
And you can help make this happen.
Here's what you can do:
1) Email the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister for Tourism, Sport and
the Arts (stan.hagen.mla@leg.bc.ca) saying you endorse the Standing
Committee's recommendation. Specifically, tell him you support the
following key recommendation:
"To ensure an adequate investment in sustainable communities
throughout British Columbia, Arts Future BC is recommending all-party
support for an increased investment of $32 million in Arts and
Culture through the British Columbia Arts Council, in the 2007-2009
budgets."
2) Send a copy of your email to:
The Honourable Carol Taylor, Minister of Finance
(carol.taylor@leg.bc.ca)
and to the members of Treasury Board:
Honourable Rick Thorpe, Vice Chair rick.thorpe.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Pat Bell pat.bell.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Bill Bennett bill.bennett.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Shirley Bond shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Ida Chong ida.chong.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Rich Coleman rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Kevin Falcon kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Colin Hansen colin.hansen.mla@leg.bc.ca
Honourable Linda Reid linda.reid.mla@leg.bc.ca
John Yap, MLA john.yap.mla@leg.bc.ca
Iain Black, MLA iain.black.mla@leg.bc.ca
3) Send a copy to your own MLA. You can find your MLA's email address
at www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm
4) Send a copy to the Alliance for Arts and Culture
(hredfern@allianceforarts.com) so we can keep track of the numbers of
letters going to the minister.
These correspondences need to go out by December 10, 2006.
You can find a sample letter you can use, or adapt, here: (see end of this mail - )
www.allianceforarts.com/advoca...gen.pdf
Or you can write your own. Just be sure to say you endorse the
Standing Committee's recommendation and support an increased
investment of $32 million to the BC Arts Council in the 2007 to 2009 budgets to support arts and culture in BC.
Background
Throughout the fall, the Alliance for Arts and Culture through Arts
Future BC has been coordinating submissions to the Standing Committee
on Finance and Government Services. This is the committee that makes
recommendations to Treasury Board for the upcoming provincial budget.
The Committee toured the province this fall getting community input.
Arts Future BC coordinated oral presentations to the Committee in
eight regional centres and presented the Committee with a detailed
written brief . All of these presentations focused on the
recommendation to increase BC's investment in arts and culture with a
$32 million increase to BC Arts Council's budget.
Who is Arts Future BC?
Arts Future BC is a coalition of eight BC arts and culture service
organizations and citizens groups. The Alliance is one of the
founding members. Between us we represent over 900 arts
organizations and thousands of individual artists and arts supporters
throughout the province.
Why Now?
A delegation from Arts Future BC will be asking for the Honourable
Stan Hagen, Minister for Tourism, Sport and the Arts for his support
for the Standing Committee on Finance's recommendation to increase
support for arts and culture through BC Arts Council. Your letters
will add strength to our arguments and show the Minister that he has
a broad base of support for this initiative.
Why BC Arts Council?
Arts Future BC believes that BC Arts Council is THE vehicle to
deliver this much needed investment: it puts funding into the hands
of individual artists and arts organizations directly engaged in arts
and culture creation, production and dissemination, and community
development through the arts, working throughout the province. BC
Arts Council is also the best agency to deliver core funding to build
sustainable arts organizations, to support BC artists, and to ensure
that BC communities benefit from a stable arts sector that
contributes to the social and economic health of the community.
Why $32 million?
Arts Future BC has researched Provincial Government's current
investment in arts and culture, set reasonable funding targets and
costed out what it would take to reach these targets. $32 million
will move us from one of the lowest of Canada's provinces in
contributions to arts and culture to one of the highest. This is not
unreasonable considering BC has one of the most vibrant arts and
culture sectors in the country. This increase will also provide much
needed longer term stability for BC's arts and culture community.
THANK YOU!
Sample Letter
The Honourable Stan Hagen, MLA
Ministry of Tourism Sport and the Arts
Room 028, Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
stan.hagen.mla@leg.bc.ca
Dear Minister Hagen
I am writing on behalf of NAME OF ORGANIZATION, which operates in MUNICIPALITY, in REGION of BC and as a citizen who strongly believes in the importance of arts and culture to our province and supports government investment in the arts.
I want to register my strong support for the following recommendation made by the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in its November 16, 2006 Report on the 2007 Budget Consultations: that the government, "increase funding to the BC Arts Council to enhance arts and culture in the province."
I also support the key recommendation made by Arts Future BC in oral submissions before the Committee in eight BC centres and its written brief to the Committee. Arts Future BC is a coalition representing over 900 BC arts organizations and thousands of individual artists and arts supporters. To ensure an adequate investment in sustainable communities throughout British Columbia, Arts Future BC is recommending all-party support for an increased investment of $32 million in Arts and Culture through the British Columbia Arts Council, in the 2007–2009 budgets.
In making its recommendation to Treasury Board, the Committee stated that it "… believes that the combined efforts of the arts community in British Columbia present a compelling argument for a significant increase to the core funding provided to the B.C. Arts Council to support arts and culture in B.C."
A strong arts and culture sector benefits all of BC’s communities and its citizens. The arts generate social and economic health in our province far beyond the current government investment. I urge you, as minister responsible for the arts, to support the Committee’s recommendation by including an increase of $32 million to British Columbia Arts Council in your 2007 to 2009 service plan and in your ministry's budget requests to Treasury Board for the same period.
The support of the Ministry for Tourism, Sport and the Arts to the recommended increase will be your ministry’s arts and cultural legacy to the 2010 Olympic Games and beyond. A sustainable arts and culture sector will also make a significant contribution towards achieving the government’s five strategic goals.
In the words of Premier Gordon Campbell, "Arts and Culture play a critical role in defining and enriching our communities, our unique BC identity, and the lives of us all wherever we live. The arts are also important contributor to our economy as well as to our society."
Yours truly,
copy: The Honourable Carol Taylor, Minister of Finance
Members of Treasury Board:
The Honourable Rick Thorpe, Vice Chair
The Honourable Pat Bell
The Honourable Bill Bennett
The Honourable Shirley Bond
The Honourable Ida Chong
The Honourable Rich Coleman
The Honourable Kevin Falcon
The Honourable Colin Hansen
The Honourable Linda Reid
John Yap, MLA
Iain Black, MLA
posted by: Vertumnus
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