Toronto budget 2013: Increasing arts funding should be a no-brainer

Toronto city hall is set to make a bunch of tough decisions as they dig into their 2013 budget, but there’s one part of the budget that shouldn’t require much debate. After more than a decade of stalled promises, increasing the city’s investment in arts and culture should be a total no-brainer.

The case for more arts funding is clear. Since 2003, when councillors first realized how far the municipality lagged behind other major cities in cultural investment, city hall has made at least three commitments to increasing their contribution to a more respectable level.

In 2003, that “respectable level” was set at $25 per capita. At the time, Toronto was contributing only $14-per-person to the arts. The target was picked because it matched the funding levels that Montreal was directing toward its arts-and-culture sector.

But we’ve done a lousy job at catching up to our civic rival. Toronto’s per capita investment in the arts has increased only marginally, to about $18. Montreal, on the other hand, now contributes more than $50.

This isn’t about governments doling out free handouts to beret-wearing poets. This is about contributing to the vibrancy of one of this city’s most important economic sectors. The most recent report urging more arts funding to come before council, signed off on by former Conservative MP Jim Prentice and assorted Bay Street types, put a spotlight on the direct economic benefits of municipal cultural funding. It also won unanimous approval — even earning a vote from Mayor Rob Ford.

That report, and others since, highlighted that every dollar of city investment generates a massive return through matching funds and economic activity — some 2.9 million overnight visitors come to Toronto to participate in cultural events each year. Analysts also point out that there are currently more than 83,000 cultural workers in Toronto today, and that pushing investment to meet the city’s target would create at least 1,000 new jobs.

And the kicker? There’s already a revenue plan in place to help Toronto finally work toward its funding goal. After a long political slog and a pesky legal challenge, the city will finally see revenues from its new tax on billboards starting next year.

Expected to bring in $10.5 million per year, directing those proceeds to the arts wouldn’t get the city all the way to the $25-per-capita level, but it would sure get us closer.

But even with a strong economic argument and money readily available, some members of council expressed reluctance to pull the trigger on increased arts funding during budget deliberations. They should know better. What city council has before it is an artful solution to a long-standing problem. There’s no more reason for delay.