With regard to the suggestion that Minister Ablonczy acted inappropriately in awarding the Marquee Festival and Events funding to Pride Toronto, our comment is as follows:

We understand that this program was designed to stimulate the economy through tourism, and it has been proved during recent years that Pride Toronto as one of the biggest festivals in the province not only creates employment but also has a high tourism stimulus. We believe that the introduction of this program is an excellent move on the part of the federal government that shows it is serious about stimulating the economy.

Pride Toronto went through the same stringent application process as all other recipients and Industry Canada was extremely thorough in checking details before approval was granted. We are proud of the fact that we were successful when judged objectively against the criteria for the grant. The $397,500 that was awarded to Pride was allocated for specific items such as improved access for disabled people, infrastructure spending and top calibre entertainment. A portion of the funding was directly applied to bringing in a top international artist (Kelly Rowland) for this year's festival, and this will help raise the bar for future festival entertainment that will increase the appeal to tourists. There is also a post-event reporting process that will focus on how the money was used, in accordance with the criteria for which it was awarded.

We have received federal funding in the past and it has always been used for the purposes for which it was granted. Last year we received $35,000 from Heritage Canada, specifically from Building Communities through Arts and Culture (BCHAH). The same amount was received from them in 2007, and in 2006 we received $50,000. We received small annual grants from Service Canada's summer jobs program in 2007, 2008 and 2009 ($15,000, $5,000 and $5,000 respectively), and $21,000 in 2006 from the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program (CAHSP - Heritage Canada). The Canadian Council for the Arts provided $16,900 in 2008 and $34,000 in 2009.

As part of the Marquee program, various festivals received larger amounts in funding. There are a number of Marquee festivals and events in Canada and $100m has been allocated over the two years of the program to boost them. As a Tier One festival (i.e. with attendance of more than 250,000) Pride Toronto qualified for 20% of last year's expenditure budget up to a maximum of $3m. The figure of $397,500 constitutes 20% of the 2008 festival budget and this was the criteria to apply for the program. Significant funds are needed to achieve enhancements that will substantially increase attractiveness to tourists, and all funding was allocated specifically for enhancements that encourage tourism. It was understood from the outset that the program would be managed by Industry Canada.

Pride Toronto is thrilled to have been able to participate in this program and we believe that the recent success of the festival shows that the funding was justified and the expenditure will prove to be worthwhile. As for the issues surrounding Minister Ablonczy, we have no ability to comment on the workings of government. We appreciate the Minister's time and attention to this issue, and we wish her well at all times.

Full details of the program can be found at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/dsib-tour.nsf/eng/h_qq00160.html and a list of some of the recipients is located at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/dsib-tour.nsf/eng/qq00166.html

Issued by

Tracey Sandilands
Executive Director
7 July 2009