By Dara Hakimzadeh
Supporters of Centretown’s community centres, museums and festivals say they fear cuts proposed in Ottawa’s universal program review could permanently damage the city’s cultural institutions.
“Every five per cent you take off knocks us one step further back. It’ll probably mean we’ll be number seven in terms of [arts] funding yet we’re the fourth largest city in the country,” says Peter Honeywell, director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa.
A 10-per-cent budget cut to cultural affairs would mean a one per cent reduction in funding to child and adult art programs and a 15-per-cent slash to the city’s festival funding.
“Right now, we’re trying to weigh out what those impacts would be. I think every sector is feeling somewhat uncomfortable about those [possible] cuts,” he says.
The review, released late last month, outlines the impact cuts to 130 city programs will have on community services such as swimming pools, arenas, community centres, museums, parks and cultural festivals at various levels. These levels are five-, 10-, 15- and 20-per-cent cuts to every program. City Council started the program review in June 2003 and is using it as a measuring tool to see if taxes should be raised or what cuts should be made to city programs.
“Can you imagine a city without public skating? You can’t. Yet it’s on the table so we’re going to have to make some evaluations,” says Coun. Alex Cullen.
Since nobody knows what will get cut, Honeywell says he plans on organizing with other sectors that feel uncomfortable about the budget effects such as senior services, child welfare and health services.
“I think all the sectors need to talk amongst ourselves about how to look at this [report] collectively,” he says.
Even a five-per-cent reduction to community centres will cause the closures of five centres in the city. One could be the Jack Purcell Community Centre. This worries groups like the International Folk Dancers of Ottawa.
The IFDO has taught folk dances for the past 35 years. Each week they use the community centre to teach dance, including Turkish, Bulgarian and Israeli traditions.
Their president, Lucette Lepage, says she worries that cuts to the centres will harm immigrants who use dance as a cultural link to their roots.
“If they cut back on halls it’s going to make it hard for any group to give the public the culture they need,” says Lepage. He says the group may not be able to afford to move to another centre if cuts are made.
“Usually when there is debt to pay [the city] doesn’t concentrate [on us]. We’re the last on the list that they think about.”
Christina Tessier of the ByTown Museum has similar sentiments about cuts to heritage funding. A 20-per-cent cut to heritage programs would eliminate two of Ottawa’s four city museums.
“Heritage isn’t something that people are thinking about before snow removal. It’s difficult because it’s not something people think about when it’s foremost to cuts,” she says.
The Council for Heritage Organizations for Ottawa is meeting Dec. 11 to discuss how they will rally the public to support museums.
“Cuts to our budgets are going to be devastating,” says Tessier.
According to the document the city forecasts a “$270-million funding gap by 2006,” and the city’s population will exceed a million by 2021. Population demands have forced the city to examine budget cut scenarios, notes the report.
“I think these seven volumes make a case for a tax increase,” says Cullen, referring to the 3,000-page report. A secondary report by Steve Kanellakos, the city’s manager, states that Ottawa has not had a property tax increase in 11 years and “Ottawa has reached the point where it can no longer sustain existing services at existing service levels.”
Cullen says a tax increase is in order. He uses the example of when the city of Ottawa doubles taxes to ensure citizens had water cleaning systems 150 years ago. Cullen says a three per cent tax increase is a possibility to help dampen the blow of the $120-million shortfall.
Coun. Jan Harder’s message to the public was to get involved in the consultations that will take place Jan. 5 to Jan. 23.
“If you sit back this time and you allow every organized group to come forward and you don’t have your say. It’s your own fault,” says Harder.