Arts and Culture
The New Brunswick NDP recognizes the immeasurable contributions that artists make to our collective society and culture. We believe that New Brunswick Art and Culture in both official languages as well as indigenous art and culture should be fostered in partnership with Government. We recognize that the New Brunswick government does not currently provide meaningful space for artists and the nature of their work in our taxation system, labour code, or social safety net. Artists have often very precarious income situations, and labour patterns that arenβt properly recognized by the government as βworkβ.
An NDP Governmentβs Arts and Culture policy will include:
β’ Dedicated grants and provincial public financing of indigenous cultural preservation, with a specific focus on fostering the preservation and proliferation of indigenous languages.
β’ The fostering of arts education in the public education system, with the inclusion important and diverse New Brunswick artists and cultural literature into the education curriculum.
β’ A recognition of the distinct nature of both official languages and ensure equitable treatment of both linguistic communities in the implementation of all cultural policy.
β’ Support the AAAPNB in the implementation of the StratΓ©gie globale renouvelΓ©e.
An NDP government in New Brunswick would introduce βStatus of the Artistβ legislation which would include the following principles:
β’ The right of artists to establish and freely join professional associations and trade unions. Our plan will encourage a fair system of collective bargaining with the same workplace rights as other workers in New Brunswick, including health and safety standards, employment benefits, and fair presumption of employment contracts with a special status for βintermittent artistsβ.
β’ The right of artists to be fairly integrated into the provincial tax syste. This would be accomplished by introducing professional expense and copyright income deductions, the spreading of average income over several tax years, and the exemption of final produced art from the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax.
β’ The right of artistic freedom and freedom of speech for artists. The NDP will invest $20 Million in new funding to expand the Arts and improve working conditions and improve learning experiences for Artists.