1) Yes
2) Toronto’s arts community is cause for celebration every
day. We are so lucky. But we also take it for granted, ignoring
the fact that cultural workers are underpaid and overworked. And
this is true of cultural workers not just in Toronto, but across
the country. New Democrats have made a number of commitments to
strengthen the status of artists, the arts, and our homegrown
film and television production, much of which takes place here
in Toronto.
Specifically we will:
- Introduce a system of tax averaging to provide fair and equitable
tax treatment for Canadians artists;
- Protect children in the arts with minimum standards and trust
fund rules for income earned as performers;
- Provide increased funding for the Canada Council for the support
of artists;
- Ensure the Canadian television networks remain Canadian owned;
- Enhance federal film incentives to encourage film and television
production; and
- Direct the CRTC to require clear, binding, monitored and enforced
performance standards for broadcasters including a significant
and permanent increase in the production and broadcast of Canadian
drama.
