SAA Bulletin – March 2008 – 2008-09 Provincial Budget
March 19, 2008
Honourable Rod Gantefoer, Minister of Finance, delivered the 2008 ? 2009 provincial budget today. Early in his address, the Minister spoke of Saskatchewan’s economic blessings, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote, “A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence”. The Minister went on to note that, “Saskatchewan is blessed with an abundance of natural resources”.
The Minister also spoke of his government’s election promise and belief in a vibrant arts community as “key to providing the high quality of life that attracts people to our province. That?s why we promised to maintain funding for provincial arts organizations. Today we are keeping that promise.”
Following are excerpts from the Tourism, Parks, Culture, and Sport Estimates. Links to budget documents can be found at www.publications.gov.sk.ca/details.cfm?p=24746.
Arts Related Estimates With Comparison to 2007-08 Estimates (in thousands of dollars)
| Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Estimates | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |||
| Culture | |||||
| Culture Operations Support | 1,125 | 937 | |||
| *Saskatchewan Arts Board (including $4.5m transferred in October 2007) | *10,534 | 6,094 | |||
| **Support for Provincial Arts and Cultural Organizations | – | 4,200 | |||
| SaskFILM | 1,031 | 1,041 | |||
| Film Employment Tax Credit | 8,200 | 8,200 | |||
| Cultural Industries Development | 300 | 300 | |||
| Conexus Arts Centre (formerly Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts) | 425 | 429 | |||
| Heritage | |||||
| Heritage Operations Support | 1,183 | 1,210 | |||
| Royal Saskatchewan Museum | 1,974 | 2,028 | |||
| Western Development Museum | 3,015 | 3,845 | |||
| Wanuskewin Heritage Park | 573 | 579 | |||
| Saskatchewan Science Centre | 550 | 556 | |||
| Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation | 275 | 278 | |||
| Saskatchewan Archives Board | 3,372 | 3,988 | |||
| Community Initiatives Fund | 6,125 | 9,339 | |||
| Other | |||||
| Saskatchewan Communications Network | 5,997 | 5,997 | |||
| Building Communities Fund | 40,000 | 37,391 | |||
*Saskatchewan Arts Board received an additional $4.5 million in October 2007 which raised their allocation to $10,534, up from $6,034. The breakdown of the total allocation was as follows:
| Saskatchewan Arts Board | 8,534 |
| Money dedicated to SaskMusic | 500 |
| Revolving Investment Fund | 1,150 |
| Cultural Industries transition money | 350 |
| Total Saskatchewan Arts Board | 10,534 |
**Support for Provincial Arts and Cultural Organizations: According to an official from Tourism, Parks, Culture, and Sport, there is an interest in the Ministry to have a bigger role in determining how funding is allocated. The Ministry is interested in responding to the needs of the sector as well as the commercial interests. $750,000 of the $4.2 million will go to the Saskatchewan Arts Board to support the transfer of the Cultural Industry PCOs to the Arts Board. (Readers may remember that in 2007 it was announced that the Cultural Industry PCOs would be transferred to the Saskatchewan Arts Board. For the 2007/08 fiscal year, ending March 31, 2008, these PCOs received their funding through SaskCulture.) The rest of the money is to be allocated in consultation with the key stakeholders.
