PASO Coalition Participating in Provincial Pre-Budget Submission Process

Theatre Ontario is a member of PASO—the Coalition of Provincial Arts Service Organizations.  PASO has made a pre-budget submission for 2015 to the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

PASO priorities are 1) Confirm commitment to the arts by increasing investment, 2) Strengthen cultural policy framework through consultation, 3) Support youth employment, and 4) Invest in adequate and affordable facilities.

The full submission is available as a PDF on our website.

PASO Coalition Meets with Ontario Arts Council Senior Staff to Discuss Cuts to Arts Sector

Executive Directors representing the Coalition of Provincial Arts Service Organizations (PASO), met with senior staff at the Ontario Arts Council to better understand the nature of forthcoming cuts to arts funding that were announced in a letter sent by the OAC to operational clients dated October 22, 2014.

PASO requested the meeting after learning that the Ontario Arts Council plans to address a projected funding gap for 2015-2016 by reducing all operating and project grants with a 5% cut across the board, effective April 1, 2015, for a total of $2.6 million. These cuts will apply to all 550 organizations that receive OAC operating grants.

Read more about this meeting on the Theatre Ontario website

Five Questions from the Arts Community for the 2014 Ontario Provincial Election

Theatre Ontario is a member of the PASO Coalition, which sent the following to all provincial political parties.

"PASO is a Coalition of Provincial Arts Service Organizations that strives to strengthen the environment for the individuals and institutions that create and disseminate the arts in this province and for public access to the arts.

Our collective memberships are made up of individual artists as well as the performance and exhibition organizations that create and support artistic expression.

In the interest of providing the sector with answers to make informed decisions in the upcoming provincial election we would like to know your party’s platform regarding arts and culture in Ontario, if available. We also have five key questions below that are directly related to the priorities the arts community has articulated."

Read the questions and responses on the Theatre Ontario website