Ontario’s arts and culture sector represents over $28 billion, approximately 3.5% of the province’s GDP, and creates some 300,000 jobs and counting. There is no question that this sector is an economic engine that will only grow and remain competitive with real, sustainable government investment.

We are hearing from theatre companies; culture, heritage, arts organizations; individual artists; cultural workers; and festivals. For many, the costs are skyrocketing—costs for insurance, security, venue rentals, staffing and labour, even production cost. Softwood lumber, I’ve learned, has gone up hundreds of per cents over the years due to the closures of mills.

My question is to the Premier: For the love of arts, will this government stop gutting the Ontario Arts Council and Experience Ontario so the curtains don’t close on our culture sector?

Interjections.

My question is back to the Premier. This government referred to the culture sector as the “first hit,” “hardest hit” and “last to recover” during the pandemic; remember that.

In my community, Rastafest organizers are worried, especially Little Jamaica, where festivals like Sinting also saw zero investment from this province. The Toronto Caribbean Carnival—the largest festival in North America, annually contributing nearly half a billion dollars to Ontario’s GDP and creating 4,000 direct jobs—is asking for $2.5 million annually for the next three years so they can keep their heads above water.

Just for Laughs, Hot Docs, Taste of the Danforth, Home County Music and Art Festival in London, Supercrawl and more need real, sustainable help.

Speaker, my question is back to the Premier: Does this government have a provincial culture strategy with teeth, with dollars, to help creative industries keep their lights on, and if not, why not?

Thank you for the question. I know the member understands completely what culture and the arts mean to all of us in all of our communities.

You know, we can look at culture, we can look at tourism, and there are a lot of elements that it touches and touches us all in a very positive way—from an investment to an impact to our communities and our province.

Through the Ontario Arts Council, our investment of $60 million goes a long way in supporting a lot of the cultural pieces within our province. We have had those that have struggled in the last little while, and I’m proud to say that our ministry has met with them and talked and see if we can help them find their way. A lot are talking about restructuring; a lot are looking outside of other opportunities, understanding that the government is there for them in the right way, not only that the government is there, but that they have to go out and find their way, and they’re willing to do it and they’re passionate about doing the same.

Experience Ontario covers this province with great support—$19.5 million. It supports community events and festivals, Mr. Speaker—all of our communities, and all those events and festivals, and the people in and around those events and festivals are helping build business and community and confidence in what they do. We’re there to support them, we are happy to support them and we will continue to do that.

And we are happy, again, to sit down with Caribana, as we did this past week, and talk to them about their business plan and their model moving forward. Thank you for putting the number on the table, because in our conversations they didn’t mention $2.5 million, but—