Summary of Notes: Anti-Racism and Equity Roundtable

The purpose of the summary notes is to document key takeaways from the equity and anti- racism roundtable held on September 24, 2020. The cross-sectoral roundtable was comprised of approximately 15 representatives of major associations and groups with representation from across different industries, regions and intersectional identity communities. The goals of the roundtable are to:

• Ensure various stakeholders representing different sectors and industries are heard, having an opportunity to express their thoughts/ideas.
• Understand on-the-ground impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for sectors and organizations.
• Have constructive discussions to help identify potential avenues that could help accelerate recovery.
• Build a common understanding of the kinds of support needed, and the role of government(s) therein.

At the start of the roundtable, the representatives shared their general experience on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted racialized people in the arts, culture, heritage, sport sectors. The introduction was then followed by an open discussion which touched on two themes:

1. Current Efforts and Barriers; and
2. Opportunities for the Sectors.

To stimulate the discussion, the following questions were asked: What efforts were you, or are you currently doing to advance equity in the arts/culture/heritage/sport world, and what barriers do you face? and What opportunities can be leveraged from the present circumstances to better support Indigenous Peoples and other racialized communities in the arts/culture/heritage/sport sectors, and what role should the Government of Canada play? Some of the key ideas and takeaways included:

• Need for Government and organizations in the arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors to all acknowledge inequities caused by systemic racism so all stakeholders can work together to address current challenges and develop solutions.
• Increase representation of equity-seeking or underrepresented communities (e.g. Black people, Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities, women, LGBTQ2+, people with disabilities) in key decision-making roles in the Board of Directors and senior management of arts, culture, heritage, and sport organizations.
• Remove or lower barriers to access funds and resources for organizations led by equity-seeking groups (e.g. ability to leverage government funding to access private or corporate funds, focus on donation-matching government programs to support operational funding rather than endowments).
• Support initiatives to retain and train the next generation of racialized leaders and talent (e.g. artists, programmers, directors, athletes, administrators, producers, etc.) in the arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors (e.g. mentorship, training, education programs).
• Implement standards to address challenges related to inclusion and diversity (e.g. hiring targets, participation targets, data capturing).
• Reform the Broadcasting Act to create incentive mechanisms to fund productions for and by racialized communities.
• Create new institutions or provide long-term funding for existing institutions run and led by people from equity-seeking groups that will retain and develop racialized talent, allowing those organizations to grow and compete on a level playing field with large legacy institutions.
• Require large legacy institutions to put in place measures that will promote inclusiveness at both the programming and staffing levels.
• Provide opportunities for organizations to collaborate on addressing a systems-level change
• Implement accountability mechanisms for federal government funding recipient organizations to ensure that they treat workers in an equitable manner.
• Develop a long-term plan that shows how the Government will advance equality (e.g. high-level roadmap, objectives, timelines, desired results, level of accountability, etc.).
• Remove or lower socioeconomic barriers to participation in the sport sector such as figure skating.
• Support media campaigns to raise awareness and attract diverse talent to sectors such as sport.
• Provide long-term and accessible funding programs that will support a wide breadth of activity: everything from enabling grassroots activities such as Elders teaching youth cultural knowledge and Indigenous languages to helping racialized artists gain access to national and international markets and activity.
• Support excellence or advancement programs that will further promote the cultural contributions and artistic practice of Indigenous groups.
• Invest in infrastructure to address inequalities in access to space for racialized artists or organizations led by racialized people so they have a dedicated place to develop, perform, and showcase their work (e.g. building new spaces, updating current funding eligibility criteria to support shorter term leases).
• Increase access to affordable high-speed Internet to close the digital divide.
• Provide support for equity-seeking groups to help them navigate governmental institutions and program applications.
• Review and modernize governmental programs to better serve applicants who are currently underserved. Possible areas of focus: funding criteria, application process, and application assessment practices.
• Collect disaggregated race-based data to better capture detailed demographics of the arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors.
• Conduct and publish research regarding systemic racism in the arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors.