Arts Funding (June 13)
Mr. Agnihotri: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Alberta needs to get serious about diversifying the economy.
This government must move away from dependence on the oil industry and take advantage of the opportunities in other sectors, including book publishers and the film industry. They aren’t receiving the support they need. The province has already lost six publishers, and only 30 per cent of the remaining publishers received provincial funding last year.
To the Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture: why isn’t the minister doing more to support this very important sector?
Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, certainly over the last couple of months I’ve had an opportunity to meet with the book publishers, and I’ve assured them that through the AFA, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, we would continue to provide them with support. As part of the overall review that we’re doing this year on the AFA, we will include the comments that the hon. member has indicated to me, and we’re doing that in light of seeing if we can provide them additional support.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mr. Agnihotri: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister. Failure to plan for the future has resulted in an extremely high cost of living and in shortages of workers in all areas. Because of this, Alberta is having a hard time remaining competitive with other jurisdictions when it comes to attracting filmmakers. Has the minister considered removing caps on incentives offered to filmmakers?
Mr. Goudreau: Well, certainly, Mr. Speaker, we are wanting to also grow the film industry in the province of Alberta. Again, I have met with that particular industry. We did some very specialized funding last year where we gave an additional $12 million to support the film industry. We are presently looking at a couple of pilot projects that we think might come forward here in the very, very short while. They’re pilot projects that we’re anticipating to be successful and will give us direction as to how we might fund the film industry in the future.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mr. Agnihotri: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister. The Alberta Liberals recognize the value of arts and the culture sector. Will the minister adopt the Alberta Liberal plan and immediately increase funding to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts so that cultural industries are able to remain competitive and thrive in Alberta?
Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite will know that in our budget we did increase the funding to the arts community in the province of Alberta. I need to indicate that Albertans and this particular government really value the arts community. We recognize that they are a very important and integral part of the quality of life for all Albertans. We will move forward to supporting that.
Thank you.
Alberta Hansard, June 13, 2007