Arts board says budget cut could politicize funding to artists

The New Brunswick Arts Board is trying to reverse a $400,000 budget cut that it says could politicize how funding is handed out to artists in the province.

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Akoulina Connell, the board's executive director, said on Wednesday the board was caught off guard by the budget cut announced on Tuesday.

Connell said members of the arts board were called to a meeting where they were told their employees would be moved inside the provincial government.

"We were informed that the department wished to respect the arm's length nature of the arts board, yet in the same breath, informed us that they would be making contact with our employees as early as next week to move them over into the government to become employees of the government," Connell said of the meeting.

There is always the riskthat there might be political interference.- AkoulinaConnell, artsnb executive director

Connell said the decision to transfer the board's employees inside the provincial government is "deeply problematic" for artists.

"It's problematic,because there is a risk if the funding is delivered internally within the governmentthere is always the riskthat there might be political interference with how funding is delivered to the arts ecosystem," she said.

The executive director said the $400,000 cut amounts to a reversal of previous increases to funding. She said she'd like to see the budget cut overturned and not move the employees inside the provincial government.

"What we'd like to see happen is artsnbbe allowed to sustain the cut and maintain its status as an independent arts board," she said.

In a statement, Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Bill Fraser said the decision would streamline how grants are handed out in the province.

"This decision will not reduce the amount in grants received by New Brunswick artists and arts organizations," said Fraser in the statement.

"This will result in a more focused, streamlined approach to ensure that the maximum amount of funding reaches the artists in a cost-effective way while ensuring that the arm's-length, peer assessment model remains intact."