Some gambling grants restored, but B.C. magazines and other arts groups bitter and confused

[This post has been updated] The B.C. government has backed down, in part, on cuts to gambling-revenue grants to arts groups, including magazines, made in Tuesday's provincial budget, acknowledging that three year funding commitments had been made. The cuts were announced as part of a cost-saving strategy to reduce discretionary grants by $354 million this year across the government.

According to a story distributed on the Canwest News Service, Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman indicated about $40 million in grants would be restored this year, and said there could be additional money to be handed out.

However, he said the government will end the practice of committing to grants for three-year periods, and will return to a year-by-year approach. The three-year funding window had allowed arts groups to do longer-term planning.

"The lesson we’ve learned is we probably can’t go to three-year commitments if we don’t know what the fiscal future is going to look like," he said."There will be no more three-year commitment letters."

Spokespeople for arts groups said that the way the grants were dealt with as "cruel" and "disrespectful". For instance, Jenn Farrell, speaking for subTerrain magazine, said:

"People have been confused and seemingly deliberately led astray and misinformed about how gaming revenues are being distributed this year and in coming years."

But not everyone will get their grants restored or restored completely. subTerrain did not have a multi-year funding agreement and had been told it had lost its gambling grant this year — funds that constituted 29 per cent of the budget needed to produce the magazine.

[Update: Rhona MacInnes, the executive director of the BC Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) said

There is a great deal of concern shared by the province’s cultural sector over the loss of gaming funds, and the lack of transparency throughout the process. Since the 2008/09 total government revenues from gaming (whose original intention was to support social and cultural programs in BC) were about $1.09 billion after expenses, including prize payouts, I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering where the money went.

On top of this, draconian cuts have been made to the BC Arts Council, which have left a lot of literary, arts and cultural magazines in dire straits in a difficult economic climate. By the province’s own reckoning, the arts industry has an ROI of 138%, but there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way governments assess value, it’s more than bottom-line, it’s about cultural identity and we are concerned with the BC government’s lack of investment.]

Tuesday’s budget said the government would hand out $139 million in gambling grants this fiscal year, instead of the $167 million announced in February. The reversal of the decision came after the commitment letters were brought to the minister's attention and the funding was restored at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. About 7,000 groups a year receive gambling-revenue grants and of those about 530 have been given three-year commitments; many are in the second year of the program.

Total revenues from commercial gambling in B.C. last fiscal year were approximately $2.61 billion. After expenses, including prize payouts, total government revenue from gambling was about $1.09 billion....

At the arts community meeting, Coleman’s announcement left many confused. Over a number of months, grant recipients were told at times that funding was frozen, that funding was imminent, and that funding was suspended.