June 18, 2020

COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund: Implementation of Phase 2

The Honourable Minister Guilbeault confirmed the implementation of the first component of Phase 2 of the $500-million COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations, launched in May 2020.

Phase 1, which is currently underway, included the timely provision of funding to existing recipients of Canadian Heritage assistance.

The government is now ready to launch the first component of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Heritage Organizations. This component provides $53 million in support to organizations with heritage collections through the emergency component of the Museums Assistance Program. Eligible not-for-profit organizations such as museums, archives, historic sites, Indigenous organizations, official-language minority communities, or municipal and university museums with separate budgets, will now be able to apply for funding.

More information about the next component of Phase 2 will be announced shortly.

The government has indicated that assistance from the Emergency Support Fund is targeted, and complements general business support measures such as wage subsidies or small business loans. The measure is not intended to compensate for all income losses or revenue shortfalls; rather, it is emergency assistance to ensure the continuity of organizations’ operations and help them to meet their immediate and short-term financial commitments.

Launch of an online portal to apply for financial assistance

In addition to the streamlined processes put in place to facilitate applications from organizations in need, a funding portal is now available to further accelerate the processing of applications. Heritage organizations eligible for the Museums Assistance Program can now apply online through this new portal. The CMA will be participating in a demo of the portal alongside other heritage organizations, after which we will update our members. Some items to note:

• Not-for-profit organizations that are eligible for funding include museums, archives, historic sites, Indigenous organizations, official-language minority communities, or municipal and university museums with separate budgets;
• Non-eligible institutions include provincial/territorial crown corporations (although cultural institutions associated with educational institutions or universities would be eligible), zoos, aquaria, public libraries, and other organizations that do not have a heritage collection. Heritage institutions with operating budgets exceeding $3 million are also ineligible at this time;
• A sliding scale to be able to provide grants below $5,000 that are proportional to the budgets of small community museums that are seasonal, dependent on volunteers, and that may not reopen this summer.

$25.7 million in new funding for national museums

In addition to the $53 million that has been designated in Phase 2, Canada’s six national museums — the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, and the National Battlefields Commission (a government agency) — are receiving an emergency investment of $25.7 million to maintain essential services and be ready to reopen their doors to the public once precautionary measures are lifted.