Museum Guide to Election 2021

In March 2021, as part of the Ontario Museum Association's (OMA) response to the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries' (MHSTCI) Reconnecting Ontarians: Re-emerging as a global leader White Paper, the OMA further recommended that museums be included in the Community Building Fund (CBF) with “eligibility for infrastructure funding in stream 2, especially to increase accessibility and capacity to welcome tourists.”

Following the August 19 announcement of the CBF Capital Stream, the OMA and members again noted that the current Capital stream of the Community Building fund excludes museums from receiving funding to make necessary improvements, while sport and recreation facilities are deemed eligible for this community infrastructure funding.

The OMA expressed the need for museum eligibility for the CBF Capital Stream to the Honourable Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries and the Honourable Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. Beyond the Trillium-administered CBF, this may also require additional and dedicated capital funding for museums.

Read the OMA's Letter to Minister MacLeod and Minister Surma HERE. 
Read more about the Community Building Fund - Capital stream HERE. 

Read the OMA's full Response to the MHSTCI Reconnecting Ontarians White Paper HERE.

 
Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) has identified four key federal recommendations in the lead-up to the federal election:

1. Stabilize the nonprofit sector to ensure its critical infrastructure remains strong for rebuilding Canada
2. Establish a home in government for the nonprofit sector
3. Partner with nonprofits for better community-led solutions
4. Create multiple pathways for women to grow and thrive in women-majority sectors and occupations to advance gender equity

Read more HERE.

Elections Canada has developed a set of tools to help spread the word about voting in the upcoming Federal Election on September 20. Included are infographics, ASL videos, and templates with details regarding voting, registration and identification, students, accessibility, jobs, and social media.

To access these resources, click HERE. 

Ahead of the 2021 Federal Election on September 20, the OMA has compiled excerpts from Federal party platforms of interest to the museum sector. This information is to help inform members on what parties have included in their platforms regarding museums, arts, culture, and tourism industries. We encourage you to read their full platforms; you can find a link to the party platforms below each section. 

• Repatriate control over cultural matters to Québec
• Create a Québécois substitute for Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications

• Provide loans of up to $200,000 to help small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism get back on their feet, with up to 25% forgiven.
• Introduce a Dine and Discover Program
  • Provide a 50% rebate for food and non-alcoholic drinks purchased for dine-in from Monday to Wednesday for one month once it is safe to do so, pumping nearly $1 billion into this sector.
  • Launch the Explore and Support Canada initiative with a 15% tax credit for vacation expenses of up to $1,000 per person for Canadians to vacation in Canada in 2022, helping our tourism sector get back on its feet.
  • Eliminate the Liberal escalator tax on alcohol.

Celebrating Canadian Heritage

• Create a new Canadian Heritage Preservation Fund to provide a total of $75 million in grants to municipal governments over the next five years for the repair and restoration of historical monuments, statues, and heritage buildings.
• Continue to support efforts to maintain Canada’s national monuments.
• Ensure the prompt completion of the Canadian Monument to the Victims of Communism.

• Increase support for indoor or outdoor arts performances required to adapt to become compliant with COVID regulations. 
• Provide $25 million in additional funding to aid museums and cultural organizations in both post-pandemic reopening and continuing to offer accessible digital offerings. 
• Ensure the viability of our cultural infrastructure in consultation with Arts Service Organizations, professional associations, trade associations and unions across the creative sector.   

Canadian Cultural Identity

• Increase funding to $1 billion over 3 years to all of Canada’s arts and culture organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, orchestras, theatres, galleries and publishers. 
• Increase support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base funding at a set percentage of the federal budget. 
• Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations and ensure arts and cultural representation on international trade missions. 
• Enact Copyright reform as envisaged by the current Heritage Committee report. 
• Reform the Canada Revenue Act to allow arts and culture workers to benefit from a tax averaging plan that will take into account the fact that lean years often precede and follow a good year when a show is produced, a book is published, or a grant or a prize is won. 
• Establish permanent funding for festivals and events that celebrate Canadian Heritage. 

Indigenous Cultures and Heritage 

• Provide protection for Indigenous intellectual and artistic property rights. 
• Support the creation of historical information that sheds light on our colonial past wherever related statuary or plaques are currently in place. 
• Ensure that every First Nations, Métis, and Inuit child has access to quality educational opportunities based on the expressed language, cultural, political, and social priorities of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, following meaningful consultation. 
• Provide $100 million in funding and incentives over three years for the creation and conservation of Indigenous art forms, particularly creative knowledge that is passed through the generations. 
• Provide funding and incentives for artists to travel to Indigenous communities to stimulate young artists, as per one of the original aims of the PNIAI. 
• Provide funding and incentives for artists to travel to Indigenous communities to stimulate young artists, as per one of the original aims of the PNIAI. 
• Support the Canadian Museums Association in ensuring, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples and in accordance with the 94 Calls to Action, continued compliance of museum policies and best practices with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
• Establish a dedicated national funding program, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian Museums Association, for commemoration projects on the theme of reconciliation.   

• Launch a new cultural diplomacy strategy with an annual budget of $20 million per year to leverage the work done by our artists and cultural industries to support Canada’s diplomatic goals.  
• Forge an international coalition to work on a new UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Content Online.  

Empowering Racialized Artists and Journalists                         

• Develop a new $50 million Changing Narratives Fund to empower diverse communities, including BIPOC journalists and creatives, with the tools to tell their own stories and promote diverse voices in arts and culture and across media.               

Helping Artists and Cultural Industries Recover

• Launch a new Arts and Culture Recovery Program that will match ticket sales for performing arts, live theatres, and other cultural venues to compensate for reduced capacity.      
• Ensure the realities of artists and cultural workers are considered in upcoming reforms to the Employment Insurance (EI) system.
• Hold a summit, within the first 100 days, on plans to restart the industry.

Supporting Canadian Businesses

• Expand borrower eligibility to include non-profit and charitable social enterprises.

Urban National Parks and Access to Nature

• Invest an additional $200 million in the Natural Infrastructure Fund to continue funding community-led public green space projects in collaboration with municipalities, Indigenous communities, and non-profit organizations.      

• Step up as a partner to foster entrepreneurship, including through dedicated support to the hard-hit tourism sector back on its feet.

Investing in Rural Communities

• Invest in regional economic development agencies and provide economic support for rural areas to invest in job creation areas like tourism and community development.
• Put in place a new tax credit for graduates to work in designated rural and Northern communities and make it easier for employers to hire and retain the workers they need.

Supporting Canadian Arts and Culture

• Create a dedicated re-building package for the performing arts, theatre, festivals and other arts that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic.
• Put in place income tax averaging for artists and cultural workers.
• Provide financial support for Indigenous theatre at the National Arts Centre as part of their larger effort to honour and support Indigenous arts and culture.

On Sept. 9, five federal party leaders face off in an English-language debate, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. 

Participants include:

• Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau
• Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole
• NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
• Green Party Leader Annamie Paul
• Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet

The leaders will debate five themes: 

• Affordability
• Climate
• COVID-19 recovery 
• Leadership and accountability 
• Reconciliation

The leaders will be asked questions crafted by the journalists participating in the debate, based on concerns submitted by Canadians. A public call-out by the broadcast partners brought 20,201 English-language responses. 

To read more about where to watch, click HERE. 

Office of the Premier: 

The government of Ontario, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, will require people to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their vaccination status to access certain businesses and settings starting September 22, 2021. 

As of September 22, 2021, Ontarians will need to be fully vaccinated (two doses plus 14 days) and provide their proof of vaccination along with photo ID to access certain public settings and facilities.This approach focuses on higher-risk indoor public settings where face coverings cannot always be worn and includes:

• Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, as well as delivery and takeout);
• Nightclubs (including outdoor areas of the establishment);
• Meeting and event spaces, such as banquet halls and conference/convention centres;
• Facilities used for sports and fitness activities and personal fitness training, such as gyms, fitness and recreational facilities with the exception of youth recreational sport;
• Sporting events;
• Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments;
• Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas;
• Strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs;
• Racing venues (e.g., horse racing).

These mandatory requirements would not apply to outdoor settings where the risk of transmission is lower, including patios, with the exception of outdoor nightclub spaces given the risk associated with the setting. In addition, these requirements will not apply to settings where people receive medical care, food from grocery stores, medical supplies and the like. Aligned with public health measures currently in place, indoor masking policies will continue to remain in place.

To read the News Release, click HERE. 
To read "New Requirement for Proof of Vaccination in Certain Settings: Frequently Asked Questions", click HERE.

 
Watch Rachel Hofstetter, Overlap Associates' Vice President and General Manager, discuss human-centred design and creative problem solving. Giving an overview of methods and processes, she provides helpful tips for you to start utilizing at your own institution. 

The webinar recording is now available online HERE. 

Visit the Overlap Associates website for resources HERE.

Download a template Empathy Map HERE.

• be eligible to enter Canada on the specific date they enter
• have no signs or symptoms of COVID-19
• have received the full series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine or a combination of accepted vaccines
• have received your last dose at least 14 days prior to the day you enter Canada
• upload their proof of vaccination in ArriveCAN
• meet all other entry requirements (for example, pre-entry test)

Read more from the Government of Canada HERE.