Hello, everyone. My name is Martin Théberge and I am the President of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, the FCCF. I am accompanied by Marie-Christine Morin, the executive director of the federation.

The FCCF is the national voice of arts and culture in the Canadian and Acadian francophonie. For us, the vitality of francophone arts and culture enriches the artistic, social and economic landscape in Canada.

Our network brings together 22 member organizations: seven national groups in theatre, literature, song and music, media arts and visual arts, 13 organizations working for cultural and artistic development in 11 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as a group of performing arts distribution networks and an alliance of community radios. Through its members, the FCCF oversees more than 3,125 artists and more than 150 organizations from more than 180 French-speaking communities.

First of all, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as part of your study on Canada Council for the Arts funding.

Our remarks will have three anchor points. We will first talk about the increased funding for the Canada Council for the Arts and how this is good news for our sector. We will then mention some necessary adjustments. We will conclude with a call for true collaboration with the council.

Increased funding is good news for the sector. It would be impossible for us not to welcome, loudly and clearly, the government's decision in 2016 to double the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts. This was, as many have said, the largest reinvestment in arts and culture in Canada in 30 years and across the G7.

The country's entire cultural sector was behind the efforts to persuade the government to do this. The Canada Council for the Arts could not have done it alone. We all called for increased investment with one voice. Together, we succeeded.

Finally, many of our artists will be able to access funding, and several organizations will be able to consolidate their activities, all of them aiming to advance their artistic vision and nurture their contribution to Canadian society.

To those who would question this reinvestment, we point to these times of great upheaval and identity erosion in which we are plunged, too often with violence. More than ever, we need to mobilize the creative forces within us to ensure that social inequalities are reduced and mobilization efforts are peaceful.

April 29 was International Dance Day, established in 1982 by the International Dance Council in collaboration with UNESCO. To mark the occasion, an international message written by a dance personality is broadcast everywhere. For the 2019 edition, Karima Mansour, an Egyptian dancer, choreographer and educator, received this honour. Ms. Mansour's message is as follows: “It is in dance that cultures are shared and that borders are dissolved in a place of inclusion and unity, where the silent language of universality is spoken. Dance is a healer. Dance is the place where humanity can come together.”

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