NEWS

Current economic realities

Dear cultural workforce members, businesses and organizations,

CHRC is concerned with the direct impact of the COVID situation; we know that a large proportion of contracts and revenue streams have simply been cut off since social/physical distancing measures have been implemented. CHRC is working with sector partners to bring you resources to help as many as possible, as fast as possible.

Please consult our COVID-19 resources information page on our website: http://culturalhrc.ca/COVID-19.

These collective effort PDF files are free to download; simply click under the header to obtain national or provincial resource information in both French and English when available.

Of the cultural sector’s domains, Performing Arts, Visual and Applied Arts along with Heritage and Libraries are probably the hardest hit in the immediate. We can remain hopeful for a rise in Written and Published Works along with Audio-Visual and Interactive Media. These, along with Sound Recording, may be in a position to temporarily mitigate the immediate impacts. In all cases, we must remind ourselves that, as cultural workers, this isn’t the first time we are circumstantially challenged, we will get through this!

Furthermore, we can predict that there will be a thirst for all things cultural when business resumes. If you can, we encourage you to use this time to prepare those projects that were on hold. Like Chris Hadfield says in his broadcast, this temporary barrier can still be used to thrive.

There are those that may feel uncomfortable requesting EI or other forms of government support to make ends meet during these difficult times. Please remember this: you were not asked if your business and chosen art form could be put on hold for a few weeks, it was imposed. Please accept what assistance the government offers: accept the financial support, it is not a handout, it is a safety net and partial restitution. If some are uncomfortable with “free” money, why not just pay it forward by offering some of what you do online, the is no shortage of ways to do so. Schools are going to be closed for a while, think of the positive impact craft tutorials, arts history lessons or performance videos have on morale at home.

Let’s collectively do what we can to keep arts and culture in our Canadian socially/physically-distanced homes.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay at home.

Kind regards,

Grégoire

Grégoire Gagnon, D. Mus., MPA & MBA
Executive Director
CHRC
ggagnon@culturalhrc.ca
613-562-1535 x22