Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Canada and Ontario Invest Over $2.9 million in New Media Arts Centre in Windsor
Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19 on their families, their livelihoods and their way of life. Together, Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment.
Today, Irek Kusmierczyk, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and Member of Parliament for Windsor─Tecumseh, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; Rick Nicholls, Member of Provincial Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Leamington, on behalf of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure; and Amanda Gellman, President of the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media and the Creative Arts, announced funding for a new Media Arts Centre in Windsor.
The Government of Canada is investing over $1.1 million towards the project through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream (CCRIS) of the Investing in Canada Plan. The Government of Ontario is providing over $980,000 and the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media and the Creative Arts is contributing more than $790,000 to the project.
“The Media Arts Community Centre has been in the planning stages for several years. It started with Film Camp for Kids & Youth, which is an educational program for children and teens. Our premise was that, since future crews would be needed, building an industry had to start with the very young. The Camp was also a job training program for young adults, offering about 90 FTE summer jobs over the past eight years. Most did not want to go to larger urban areas to find employment, so we made promises about doing our part to stop the drain of local talent from southwestern Ontario. Thanks to the generosity of our federal and provincial governments, today, that promise has been kept. The Media Arts Community Centre will be for persons of all ages, stages and abilities, will offer opportunities for film and art workshops, continued education, networking, co-op, job training, content creation, and music and film production. We also look forward to working with the philanthropic community as we launch our capital fundraising effort: WE GROW TALENT, a building, equipment and bursary campaign.”
Amanda Gellman – President of the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media and the Creative Arts
The Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media and the Creative Arts will renovate a historic downtown church, which will provide more space for accessible, community-based and comprehensive media arts programming for residents of all ages in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton.
Quick Facts
- Through the Investing in Canada plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
- Across Ontario, the Government of Canada has invested more than $14 billion in over 3,400 infrastructure projects.
- Across the province, and over the next 10 years, Ontario is investing approximately $320 million, with Canada investing approximately $407 million, under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (community centres and libraries), and support upgrades to recreational venues (arenas and recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (theatres and museums).
- Ontario is investing $10.2 billion under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green, and rural and northern community and other priority infrastructure.
