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Jeff Herd
View Jeff Herd Profile
Jeff Herd
2015-05-13 15:39
Thank you very much.
I want to begin by thanking the committee for its interest and for the unique opportunity for us to talk about Canadian dance.
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet is the oldest ballet in Canada and one of the oldest in North America. We used to call it the oldest continuously operating, but there are too many qualifiers there.
First established in 1949, we are celebrating our 75th anniversary and have been named a “national historic event”. We received our royal charter in 1953, and we are also the first royal ballet in the British Commonwealth and the first charter given by Her Royal Highness.
We recently commissioned a piece in honour of our 75th anniversary based on the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and are about to tour it throughout Canada, bringing the arts and indigenous communities closer together to continue the discussion and understanding of reconciliation.
Dance tells Canadian stories by reflecting our society on its stages. Many classical dance forms in Canada are narratives and tell universal stories within the Canadian context, such as the beloved story of Peter Pan, as told by our Canadian choreographer and RWB graduate, Jordan Morris. Canadian choreography does convey the Canadian experience. When we tour Mark Godden's Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation, a story by Joseph Boyden about Canada's residential schools, the issue will be shared and subsequently discussed.
Dance encourages and engages in cultural, sociological, political, and ecological discourse. Based on these few examples, and many more, it's clear that Canadian choreographers excel at telling stories that reflect many Canadian issues.
First and foremost, we need to better recognize the work of Canadian choreographers by supporting the Canada Council for the Arts.
In terms of healthy Canadians, dance is a communal experience that revolves around teamwork, discipline, and sheer joy. For many researchers the health benefits of dance are tangible and measurable. To dancers at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School it's about the immeasurable value of dance. Regular dance lessons, regardless of the form, are good for the heart and the soul. Dance reduces the occurrence of obesity and helps children to develop focus and confidence. It also helps seniors with dementia and Parkinson's to better communicate.
For example, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has partnered with the National Ballet School on the sharing dance initiative, which you heard about on May 4. In 2017 the RWB will work to get one million Canadians dancing on Sharing Dance Day.
The connection between dance and health is evident and makes dance unique amongst many art forms. Dance can be extremely valuable to us because it can provide movement to segments of the population not necessarily motivated by sport. In short, dance promotes a healthy lifestyle, but you don't even have to get up because experiencing the dance performance also contributes to better mental health and stability.
In Finland, a recent study found that people who attend dance or classical concerts are more likely to report good health and quality of life, even after adjusting for other factors. Fit Canadians means less money spent on health care. We hope the federal government will encourage Canadians to dance and attend dance, such as performances by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, because benefits are tenfold.
Another interesting initiative illustrating the power of dance beyond the arts is Les Grands Ballets' creation of the national centre for dance therapy. This centre, based on clinical and medical research, training, and front-line services in dance movement therapy is the only one of its kind on the international scene. Created two years ago, this unique centre pilots some 14 projects in criminology, eating disorders, aging, oncology, rehabilitation, pediatrics, and adolescent and adult psychology. So far it's rallied the services of 30 Canadian partners to include hospitals, medical research centres, universities, school boards, and seniors homes. The success of this centre is such that the Wall Street Journal has echoed its impact for the community.
A little bit about jobs in dance.... The Royal Winnipeg Ballet employs hundreds of Canadians throughout the course of the season, but it also employs some temporary foreign workers. Often the temporary foreign workers begin their relationship with the company at the school of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The high calibre of teaching attracts international students who then contribute to the Canadian economy, on average, for two years. At the school, these international students will be seen by Canadian artistic directors and choreographers. If suitable, these students will be offered contracts within our company and companies throughout the world.
This important cultural exchange, which is at the heart of the dance community, is obviously very expensive. We're spending thousands of dollars per year, as we all are, on the temporary foreign worker program, and we hope that we will see something moving into the area of the international mobility program instead of the temporary foreign worker program.
The importance of arts on the Canadian stage and the international stage cannot be underestimated. Our reputation as a society is exemplified by our business, our sport, and our culture. The ability to take our artistic products into the world reflects on us as a nation. The recent initiative by the Canada Council to support international touring is very helpful in addressing this aspect for the arts. I encourage more such initiatives for this export, as well as, and very important in our thoughts going forward, the ability to import foreign companies.
The transition from dance to other careers is a fact of life, based on the athleticism of the dancer and the relatively short career. Many years ago, the creation of the dancer transition centre aided the retiring of dancers with support and training for their next careers. As in major sports, the career is very short, and the second career benefits immensely from the teamwork, discipline, and focus of trained dancers, along with their new skills, and aids in the evolution of the person into their new career.
Also, the continued support through the Canada arts training fund and the tax exemption for young artist training are important initiatives for the continued evolution and growth of the arts in Canada.
I thank you very much for your time and attention.
View Bernard Valcourt Profile
CPC (NB)
Mr. Chair, thank you for inviting me to outline the main estimates for fiscal year 2014-2015 of my department, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and to discuss the 2014-2015 supplementary estimates (A).
As the committee members know, the main estimates support the government's request for Parliament's approval of expenditures that were already planned in Canada's Economic Action Plan 2013 or in previous decisions.
Through these main and supplementary estimates, the department accesses the funds required to continue delivering on our government's commitment to put in place the conditions for stronger, healthier and more self-sufficient first nations communities.
In addition to ongoing spending on the department's various programs and policy areas, this year's main estimates include a significant $473 million increase for the continued implementation of Justice at Last: Specific Claims Action Plan, of which $450 million is earmarked to pay out negotiated settlement agreements and awards of the Specific Claims Tribunal, while $23 million is set aside to support the assessment and negotiation of specific claims.
This is a direct result of the action that our government has taken to achieve fair and timely resolution for first nations specific claims. As you probably all know, it was our government that announced the Justice at Last initiative in 2007, in order to improve and speed up the claims resolution process for the benefit of all Canadians.
We have seen real progress. We have reduced the backlog of claims under assessments and settled over 100 specific claims through out-of-court, negotiated settlements totalling over $2 billion.
I'm pleased also to note, Mr. Chairman and members, that the supplementary estimates (A) renewed funding for the comprehensive claim and self-government negotiations across Canada which had sunsetted in the last fiscal year. At the same time, in addition to making progress on claims settlements, we continue to promote reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians.
In that same vein, I'm happy to report that the operating period of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been extended to June 30, 2015. I was speaking with Mr. Justice Sinclair this morning. This will give the commission the necessary time to fulfill its mandate, including completing its final report, holding a final event, receiving the rest of the documents held at Library and Archives Canada, helping set up the permanent national research centre in Winnipeg, and winding down its operations. We have allocated $3.5 million in transfers through supplementary estimates (A) to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission so it can complete this work.
This decision to extend the operating period by a year reinforces our government's commitment to achieve a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, which lies at the heart of reconciliation and the renewal of the relationship between aboriginal people and all Canadians.
Mr. Chair, these estimates also reinforce our government's commitment to improve the quality of life of aboriginal people and northerners.
For example, through supplementary estimate (A), we are accessing $136.3 million of the funding for the first year of the renewal of the first nations water and waste-water action plan. This funding will provide for the continuation of our strategy to protect the health and safety of first nation residents and ensure that they have the same access to clean drinking water as all other Canadians.
Since 2006 our government has spent roughly $3 billion to help communities manage their water and waste water infrastructure and in related public health activities. New investments, like the ones I just outlined, build on the concrete action our government has already taken to improve water and waste-water infrastructure.
In addition to the funding in the supplementary estimates (A) for the first nations water and waste-water action plan, the supplementary estimates also earmark $127.7 million for the assessment, management, and remediation of federal contaminated sites, again reflecting our government's commitment to health and safety and the protection of the environment as top priorities.
The last major item in supplementary estimates (A) is funding for the first nations land management regime, which you all know gives first nations more control over their own land and resources, and supports first nations through the developmental and operational phases of the first nations land management regime. To cover the incremental costs associated with an increase of entrants in the first nations land management regime, $6 million has been allocated for the expansion of the regime. We have seen that first nations operating under the land management regime have witnessed a dramatic increase in new business. We see this all across the country. This funding will help these first nations further down the path away from the Indian Act and toward a more prosperous and self-sufficient future.
Last, the supplementary estimates earmark $4.6 million of new funding for aboriginal groups who are parties to the final devolution agreement, as per the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement. We signed this historic agreement in June 2013. It gives northerners greater control over their land and resources, all the while unlocking the economic potential of the region by modernizing the existing regulatory regime. This will strengthen environmental stewardship and protection and ensure that the Northwest Territories remains an attractive place to live, work, and invest.
The funding requested through these main estimates and supplementary estimates (A) demonstrates that we are taking concrete steps to address the needs of aboriginal people and northerners, and making real progress in that area. These estimates, which themselves are what we request from the Canadian taxpayer, enable us to make significant progress.
Mr. Chair, I am proud of our government's record on improving the lives of first nations, and indeed all aboriginal people in Canada, and I believe these estimates go a long way to enable us to make this progress.
I will now do my best to answer any questions that members of the committee may have pertaining to these main estimates or supplementary estimates (A).
Thank you.
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