Green Party of Canada Arts Platform

The following information is quoted from the 2006 platform of the Green Party of Canada, led by Jim Harris.

Sharing Our Stories: Arts, Culture and Communication

At every level, arts and culture help define our identities and communities, they unlock our individual and collective creativity, and help Canadians share their ideas worldwide. From surreal circus to incisive films to renowned actors and singers, Canadians have been experiencing cultural breakthroughs on the international arts and culture scene. Today, over 600,000 Canadians are employed in the cultural sector. The Green Party wishes to salute their success by investing in our future musicians, dancers, painters, writers, and other artists. Often placed in a precarious financial situation, these up-and-coming artists will benefit from innovative financial tools and increased funding.

The Green Party understands that our future together, our sense of who we are, depends on policies that ensure a thriving, diverse and socially responsible cultural community as part of an inclusive Canada.

Green Party MPs will work to:

109. Increase support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base-funding at a set percentage of the federal budget.
110. Establish stable base-funding for young artists.
111. Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations.
112. Expand support for regional arts festivals that bring new Canadian art to a wider audience.
113. Share Canadian history by supporting more educational programming.
114. Provide stable base-funding for the CBC to provide quality television and radio programming in both official languages.
115. Direct the CRTC to reserve more bandwidth for independent and non-profit stations.
116.Introduce a law mandating cinemas and video chains to have 20 per cent Canadian content.