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Election report card: Focus on the arts


Whether it’s shelling out $339 for Madame Butterfly on opening night at the Four Seasons Centre or catching a pwyc all-ages show at a dive bar on Dundas, the arts are a big part of life for residents of all backgrounds, as well as being a driving force for the economy. So which candidate has the best plan to boost Toronto’s creative capital?

DOUG FORD

As of press time, the elder Ford brother had yet to release a campaign platform. But it makes sense to evaluate him on the performance of Mayor Rob Ford’s administration, of which Doug was an integral part.

The admin initially tried to gut arts funding but eventually backed off, although highly regarded culture director Rita Davies was pushed out for resisting the proposed cuts. Despite this, cultural funding did surprisingly well under the Fords.

In 2014, arts expenditures are expected to reach $22.25 per capita or $58.2 million, $13 million more than the year before Ford took office. That’s well on the way to ramping up arts spending to $25 per resident, an important goal that council first set in 2003.

But while Doug has boasted that no mayor has put more money into the arts than his brother, the Fords really can’t take a lot of credit. The increase in per capita funding was driven almost entirely by a grassroots campaign to fund arts through a billboard tax, which Rob Ford voted against as a councillor.

Doug was at least consistent in backing the $25 per capita target, which is more than can be said for the mayor – in June 2013, Rob voted against giving $7 million to major cultural organizations like Pride, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Doug voted in favour. Both Fords also championed the creation of a Toronto music office and music city alliance with the city of Austin.

Doug’s criticism of the theatre CEOs salaries was at least partly vindicated when a small-scale spending scandal was uncovered at the Sony Centre earlier this year.

THE SCORE Decent, but mostly in spite of the Fords’ efforts rather than because of them.


JOHN TORY

Like the other candidates, Tory supports the $25 per capita funding target and also backs the creation of a music office. But his platform goes further than the other candidates’.

Although he’s running on a low-tax platform, he says he would look into expanding the billboard tax or new similar source of arts funding.

His plan also includes a proposal to appoint a “creative economy champion” who would serve as liaison between the creative sector and the mayor’s office.

Tory would also explore ways of converting vacant warehouses and city-owned properties into arts venues, and examine tax incentives to encourage landlords to sell or rent space to artists.

Instead of having council approve funding to arts programs every year, Tory wants to switch to a multi-year funding model that he says would give organizations greater certainty about where their money is coming from.

THE SCORETory has been meeting with the arts community in recent months, and it shows.


OLIVIA CHOW

Chow’s arts platform endorses the $25 per capita target and the music office proposal. She says she would pay for the latter’s $500,000 annual price tag by indexing the billboard tax to the rate of inflation.

Aside from that, her platform is thin on details. She pledges to “ensure access to affordable, sustainable cultural spaces” like the Artscape program at Wychwood Barns, for example, and to “promote our cultural sector as key pillar of our economy.” She also promises to make “the mayor’s office an active participant” in boosting the arts, but she doesn’t say exactly how she would go about all of this.

THE SCORE Incomplete. Some in the arts community say they’re waiting to hear more from Chow before the election.

bens@nowtoronto.com | @bens

For more election coverage, check out our Toronto Municipal Election 2014 Guide.

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