CMF RELEASES DETAILS OF COVID-19 $13.3M EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has released details of the COVID-19 emergency relief funding for underrepresented groups and to support regional diversity in the screen-based industry. Fifteen percent of the Government of Canada’s CMF allocation of the COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage, and Sport Organizations will be invested through targeted initiatives to ensure equity, including by region, language, and for underrepresented groups. This is $13.3M in emergency funding.

“We recognize many historically marginalized communities within the industry are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis and were not eligible for other CMF emergency relief funds,” said Valerie Creighton, President, and CEO, CMF. “We are consulting with industry leaders and partners from these communities to determine how these funds can be best used to support Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, Women, Official Language Minority Communities, under-served regions and other groups affected by COVID-19. Through these funds, we will work with partners such as the Indigenous Screen Office and build new relationships and partnerships that will last well beyond the current crisis and help inform the CMF’s policy and program directions in the future.”

“The funding support announced today by the Canada Media Fund is part of a long-term effort that our Government intends to pursue with our partners to combat systemic racism,” said Stephen Guibeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage. “We all have a responsibility to question our organizational practices to ensure that Black, Indigenous and racialized people have equal access to the opportunities they need to thrive and shape, from their own perspective, the Canadian cultural and media landscape.”