On behalf of Ontario’s orchestras, Orchestras Canada submitted a brief to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs’ 2023 pre-budget consultations. We recommended that the province of Ontario:
1- Help us bring our audiences back. A short-term program, inspired by a tested and successful model from Quebec (part of the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec’s Plan de Relance), could offer live arts groups a life-line as they work to bring audiences back
2- Leverage Ontario’s existing and excellent arts investment structures and expertise. Specifically, we requested that the Province of Ontario sustain the Ontario Arts Council’s funding at $65 million for 2023-24
3- Step up investment in cultural infrastructure.
4- Work with the arts and culture sector to envision and deliver on a new role for Ontario’s artists and arts organizations in education.