The Major International Events Group (RÉMI) and the organization Festivals and Major Events Canada (FAME) say they are perplexed and qualify the initiatives of the last federal budget as regards major festivals and events as a missed opportunity.
Updated yesterday at 12:27 p.m.
This is indicated by the two organizations in a press release issued Thursday following the unveiling of the main orientations of the budget by the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland before the House of Commons.
The two organizations welcome the announcement of an addition of 50 million to compensate cultural and heritage organizations hard hit over the past two years by a pandemic which has resulted in sharply declining revenues. But in the same breath, they “are surprised” that this amount is sprinkled between Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm.
“In the circumstances, given the anticipated number of beneficiaries, we cannot expect significant bonuses,” it says.
The two entities also find it curious that “the 2022-2023 budget includes more reminders of measures announced in the 2021-2022 budget than adjustments or desired improvements”.
“For the RÉMI and FAME, this is a missed opportunity to extend and improve the support initiative for major festivals and events, for example, or to make permanent amounts that are added year after year,” concludes -we.
The RÉMI brings together 28 major Québec events such as the Québec Carnival, Montréal en lumière, the Régates de Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and the Montréal International Jazz Festival. FAME includes some 500 events and festivals of all sizes in Canada.
Invited to comment on the budget by The Pressthe Quebec Media Production Association (AQPM) also expressed its disappointment.
“We liked to see in the federal budget the materialization of the election commitments made to the audiovisual sector, in particular the increase in the budget of the Canada Media Fund and the achievement of a better balance in the sharing of envelopes between the English-speaking markets and Francophones,” says Executive Director Hélène Messier. We are therefore very disappointed in this regard, especially since the industry is grappling with numerous challenges stemming in particular from the labor shortage, the rise in overall production costs and the audience attraction and retention. »