NDP urges Tory government to support multibillion-dollar arts industry

OTTAWA – The NDP wants the Conservative government to boost support for the country’s multibillion-dollar arts industry.

A group of four New Democrat MPs with a background in the arts said they are forming a new culture caucus and asking the Tories to consider increased funding for the Canada Council for the Arts.

They also want Ottawa to introduce income averaging for artists – a system that they said works well in Quebec for stars who may make a lot of money while they’re on a roll, but then fall into a slump.

But they had few details on how much their proposals would cost.

"Honestly, you have to give us a break. These are our first days and we just landed. I haven’t even seen my office yet," said MP Pierre Nantel, former artistic director for Cirque du Soleil Musique.

The MPs promised to get fully briefed and put forward practical proposals that the government could work with.

They noted that cultural industries employ more than a million people and contribute $85 billion to the economy every year, but that the average artist pulls in just $13,000 in annual income.

The Conservatives were punished in the 2008 election for cutting funding for the arts and calling culture a "niche issue" for most Canadians.

They have backed away from such comments since. In the March budget that never passed, the Tories maintained funding for the Canada Periodical Fund, CBC and Radio-Canada and the Canada Media Fund and proposed a one-time injection of money for the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will reintroduce most aspects of that budget in June.

The key aim of the NDP’s culture caucus is to make sure no funding is cut, and that existing programs are rearranged or augmented to make artists’ lives easier, they said.

The Opposition New Democrats, with 103 MPs, boast they’ll bring an unprecedented level of experience on arts policy to the next Parliament, slated to open June 2.