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Feds earmark $500 million for arts, culture and sports


May 19, 2020

By Chris Drost

On May 8 the federal government announced $500 million for the arts, culture sector and sport sector to help weather the pandemic. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault explained that “the goal is to keep our arts, culture and sports infrastructure intact so that once we emerge from the crisis the ecosystem is still there to support our artists and our athletes.”
Canadian Heritage will be handing out $327 million in the initial phase with the remainder being distributed according to need.
The Bancroft Times reached out to the federal government to find out more about how this funding will be allocated.
During this first phase, funds will be distributed only to those who have been recipients of funding through the Canadian Council for the Arts or provincial organizations such as the Ontario Arts Council. The premise, according to the federal representative, is that the government already has information about the structure and financial position of organizations that have previously received funding through these organizations. It is believed that this method of determining recipients would expediate getting money into the hands of those that need it most.
The amount of funds available for eligible organizations will be determined using a pre-determined formula.
One important thing to note according to the federal representative, is that an art, cultural or sports organization that is eligible to apply for other previously released benefits during the pandemic, would not qualify for this funding. If for example, a cultural organization is eligible for the rent relief through their landlord and has not applied, this program would not be available to them. Organizations must take advantage of the other benefit programs first.
Individual artists, actors and musicians may be eligible through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
For current updates on all the benefit programs offered through the government, the list on www.Canada.ca is a reliable source of information that is updated daily.

Post date: 2020-05-19 15:38:07
Post date GMT: 2020-05-19 19:38:07
Post modified date: 2020-05-19 15:38:11
Post modified date GMT: 2020-05-19 19:38:11
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