Toronto Arts Council has joined the leaders of Canada’s largest municipal arts councils for the very first time to advocate on behalf of the artists and residents of Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. You can read their strong statement of advocacy on their web page here.

In an announcement in the Globe and Mail on 20 March, the councils presented their case for a basic income for artists in Canada. It begins,

"As we come to terms with the one-year anniversary of COVID lockdowns, Canada’s arts community is focused on creating a brighter and more sustainable future. A future that takes advantage of the upheaval wrought by the pandemic, to repair the broken model outlined by Marsha Lederman on March 13 (Eight ways to fix the arts industry, postpandemic). To be effective, this repair will include provision of a Basic Income Guarantee."

The article can be read here.

The Globe and Mail is behind a paywall. A pdf version can be found here for those who are not subscribers.

The French version of the article is here.

The Toronto Arts Council also submitted a pre-Budget submission which is very strongly in favour of a basic income provision being included. That submission can be found here.