This House of Commons committee meeting, part of a study on creative and performance spaces in Canada, heard from Ryan Filsinger of Iron Fox Games, Christy Morin of Arts on the Ave Edmonton Society, Morgan Simms of Glasgow Square Theatre, Jenny Thibault of the Society for Arts and Technology, and Tania Kontoyanni and Alexandre Curzi of the Union des artistes.
Ryan Filsinger, CEO of Iron Fox Games, described the video game industry as a significant economic contributor, noting that creative spaces for game developers are the ecosystem of tools, platforms, and training programs. He identified three pressures eroding these spaces: cuts to post-secondary game design programs, international competition offering lower costs, and AI displacing entry-level creative roles. He recommended treating digital arts as economic infrastructure through support for mentorship, experimental publishing, and expanded commitments to programs like the CMF, and praised the just-in-time labour rebate model in Prince Edward Island for its frequent payments.
Christy Morin, Executive Director of Arts on the Ave Edmonton Society, detailed how her organization transformed a struggling Edmonton neighbourhood through festivals and a community arts coffeehouse, creating safer, more connected communities. She noted that her hybrid organization struggles to fit into Canadian Heritage funding boxes, and that the definition of "professional artist" can be a hindrance. She asked the committee to focus on four actions: defining "professional artist," increasing long-term multi-year operational funding for cultural spaces, renewing infrastructure investment, and building communities through arts and heritage programs.
Morgan Simms, Manager of Program, Culture, and Events at Glasgow Square Theatre, described his municipally funded rural venue as a cultural anchor and economic driver, noting that sold-out shows boost local hotels and restaurants. He highlighted challenges in accessing federal funding, as municipally operated venues are often excluded from direct operational support, and pointed to the pressure of large-scale ticketing platforms on local venues. He recommended wider federal operational support for municipal cultural spaces to reduce the financial risk of programming emerging artists and to sustain rural performance spaces as essential stages for career development.
Jenny Thibault, Executive Director of the Society for Arts and Technology, argued that cultural spaces are essential infrastructure for artists to experiment, collaborate, and take risks, but face rapidly rising operating costs that outpace inflation. She noted that a study found venue management costs increased by 53% from 2017 to 2024, forcing organizations to cut programming to maintain infrastructure. She called for long-term, stable funding mechanisms for permanent infrastructure, warning that without it, the next generation of artists will lose access to specialized equipment, mentorship, and first presentation opportunities.
Tania Kontoyanni and Alexandre Curzi of the Union des artistes, speaking on behalf of 13,000 professional artists, stated that crumbling cultural infrastructure directly harms artists' working conditions, health, and safety. They explained that when venues must divert production budgets to maintenance, the result is fewer roles, lower fees, less rehearsal time, and reduced contributions to social safety nets. They called for stable and predictable funding for cultural infrastructure, separate from artistic budgets, to break the vicious cycle where artists pay the price for building upkeep, and they also raised concerns about the concentration of the live performance market in large integrated groups.
The meeting also included a procedural debate. A Conservative member moved a motion to investigate an incident involving the CBC and a show called *Northland Tales*, alleging that retired RCMP officers were lured under false pretences and humiliated. A Liberal member moved to adjourn debate on the motion, arguing it would delay the study and that the CBC is an independent organization making creative decisions. After further discussion, the committee voted on the motion to adjourn the debate, and the result was not recorded in the transcript provided.
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