As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada support the digital transition of arts, culture, and heritage organizations, including through the use of small pivot grants (micro-grants) for projects such as building websites and digital supports.

Recommendation 2

That the federal government support the commercial theatre sector by providing access to return to theatre support modeled on the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, as well as COVID-19 recovery funding, to support the sector in its recovery and long-term sustainability.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada overhaul its National Museum Policy to support both the recovery and long-term sustainability of the museum sector.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada improve equity and inclusion in its COVID-19 recovery funding by:

• increasing the overall investment and accessibility to funding for historically overlooked and marginalized organizations, such as Indigenous and Black arts organizations and artists; and
• simplifying and accelerating application and assessment processes at the Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage to make them more accessible to organizations that have not historically received assistance.
• consider the unique circumstances of organizations that serve official language minority communities, racialized, Indigenous, LGBTQ2+ and remote communities to ensure they are able to access COVID-19 supports equitably.

Recommendation 5

In helping to alleviate the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian not-for-profit professional arts and heritage organizations, and recognizing the aging of existing cultural infrastructure and spaces, that the Government of Canada:

• increase the funding available under the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund; and
• look at the long-term effects the pandemic has had on cultural infrastructure and provide strategic investments to address them.

Recommendation 6

That the federal government accelerate the reform of the Employment Insurance program to expand eligibility to self-employed workers, particularly those in the cultural and artistic field, in order to address the lack of a society safety net as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada:

• extend emergency relief and re-opening support programs to the hardest-hit sectors until public health measures have been lifted and consumer confidence has been fully restored; and
• reinvest additional support and stimulus funds into the existing funds of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to support the cultural industry.

Recommendation 8

That the federal government use tax relief and tax credits, where appropriate, as a key strategy for supporting arts, culture, heritage and sport organizations.

Recommendation 9

That, when safe to do so, the federal government make significant efforts to encourage Canadians to return to live arts, culture, heritage and sporting events.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada put in place permanent funding to support festivals and events that contribute to new cultural and economic growth by:

• making permanent the investments made in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, which were then extended by the Fall Economic Statement 2020 for 2021–2022 and by Budget 2021 for 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 (an increase of $8 million/year for the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and $7 million/year for the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program);
• adding, as of 2022–2023, $30 million in new funding for these programs ($15 million each);
• establishing a mechanism to index program funding over the next five years that takes into account inflation and the growing number of festivals and events to be supported; and
• extending the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative announced for 2021–2023 in Budget 2021 until 31 March 2024, adding $100 million in new funding and expanding access to festivals and events with an annual revenue exceeding $5 million.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada use various means to provide predictability for artists and creators, particularly by increasing the funding granted to the Canada Council for the Arts to target individual artists and the next generation of artists.