On behalf of our 650 members province-wide, Dance Ontario Association is taking this opportunity to contribute to the recent conversations around the Ministry’s Cultural Strategy sessions. Our membership is comprised of performing dance companies and artists, training institutions and dance studios across Ontario and covers a range of concerns from those of professional artists to small business owners operating dance studios in communities.

All applaud the Ministry’s move to strengthen cultural policy framework through a consultative process in order to better address the challenges of artistic creation.

To build on the strength of Ontario’s arts sector, we call on the provincial government to join with other agencies to take steps to build respect for the arts as a valued pillar of society, recognizing the extraordinary contribution artists make to their communities not just from the immediate impact of their creations, but through the intrinsic value to mental and physical health across all age groups. Silo busting across ministries – education, health – would advance this process as we work towards this goal.

We ask that the Ministry consider the following:-

  1. Confirm its commitment to the sector by increasing investment in the arts through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport and key agencies such as the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The OAC’s current standing at seventh in Canada’s per capita investment in the arts must increase substantially from $4.35 to $7.00.
  2. Support youth employment in the Province through a robust community-driven training/internship strategy as well as to consider re-instating the Fresh Arts program, a proven valuable tool and creative outreach to youth in urban areas.
  3. Invest in adequate and affordable facilities for artists and arts organizations.
  4. Request that the Ministry of Education require all the faculties of education in Ontario make dance education a priority as part of teacher training to ensure the Ontario arts curriculum is taught.
  5. Provide access to funding at the Ontario Media Development Corporation to capture and disseminate original productions and increase Canadian content online.
  6. Acknowledge, recognize and equitably fund the indigenous, racially marginalized and differently challenged dance sector.

Ministry staff should also examine Canada Council for the Arts’ Dance Mapping research which will provide in-depth understanding of the scope of the dance sector before crafting a strategy and framework.

The impact of arts and culture on the Ontario economy is significant. Research indicates that:

  • 252,300 Ontarians are directly employed by the cultural sector. This represents 4.1% of total Ontario employment
  • Ontario’s cultural sector contributes $19.7 billion to the province’s Gross Domestic Product, or 4.2% of our total GDP
  • 4.5 million Ontarians participated in arts education activities offered by organizations funded annually by the Ontario Arts Council (OAC); of these 4.5 million, 2.1 million were children and youth
  • 43% of Ontarians, 15 years or older, attended a performing arts event; 36% visited a museum or gallery

Arts and culture are a key driver of Ontario’s tourism industry.  In 2010 9.5 million overnight tourists – or 22% of all of Ontario’s overnight tourists – participated in arts/culture activities during their trips. Arts/culture tourist spending generated:

  • $3.7 billion in GDP province-wide
  • 67,000 jobs and $2.4 billion in wages
  • $1.7 billion in taxes.

We sincerely appreciate that the Government of Ontario has recognized and supported culture’s important place in the life of the province and its essential role in building a vibrant, rich and attractive place to live, work, grow and visit.