Many Canadians have been hit hard throughout the pandemic, but among the hardest hit are our live performers. The Government of Canada has made a commitment to support the recovery of this sector through the launch of the Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund.

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the launch of the Fund which will provide $60 million to help workers in the live performance sector. The Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund will finance the initiatives led and delivered by organizations in the sector, which will directly support independent workers in the industry.

The initiatives that will be funded will be ones that provide short term financial guidance to those that experience economic hardship and require emergency support. It will also provide workers with guidance on things such as financial management, mental health, wellbeing and career transition.

Many talented workers have had their livelihoods severely impacted by the emergence of the Omicron variant, and COVID-19 as a whole. Our Government recognizes this and continues to stand with those workers during these challenging times. We will work with organizations that support the live performance sector and will leverage industry expertise and capacity to best fit the needs of its cultural workers.

The Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund provides much needed relief to our hard working live performance artists and cultural workers.