David Thomas - NDP

1) Will your party commit to upholding the November 2005 federal commitment to a $342 million increase to arts funding over three years?

The Funding of the arts is paramount to the cultural fabric of Toronto. It is therefore imperative that the Canadian government remain good to their word and uphold the increase in funding introduced in 2005. This legislation provides artists with the tools they need to succeed. There is no good reason I can think of that would justify the rescinding of the Canadian governments commitment to the arts.

2) Given the positive affect of arts programming on many aspects of Toronto’s daily life including community volunteerism, youth engagement, economic development, employment, tourism and overall quality of life, conjoined with the fact that Toronto’s artists fall in the top 25% of education levels and the bottom 25% of income levels, can you offer any concrete commitment from your party that will improve the environment for the City’s artists.

Lets be honest this commitment from the Federal Government was long overdue. It’s a good start but there is more to be done. The arts need all levels of government to come together and create a proactive plan to support the Arts in Canada. The solution must guarantee Canadians will have a strong arts community that can continue to grow and flourish. That’s why the NDP have a platform that includes funding of $600 million dollars over four years in support of artists and the arts. The NDP will also introduce a system of tax averaging to provide fair and equitable tax treatment for Canadian artists and we will increase funding to the Canada Council for the support of artists