Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists/West Chapter
MAR 26, 2020
Hello Returning + New Members,
We are announcing a number of emergency measures to help you and the dance sector during the COVID-19 crisis. As our 2020–21 membership year began April 1, these include a payment plan for membership fees, increased subsidies on international online drop-ins and $250 Studio Renter’s Relief Fund. To access any of the emergency measures outlined below and their respective programs, you need to renew your membership or apply to become a member before you submit for subsidy:
Membership Fee Emergency Measures
1) For renewing members from the most previous membership year, membership fees can be paid in installments:
- after April 1: $10 (allows full access to programs)
- August 1: $20
- October 1: remaining $30/$40
- total cost dependent on your membership level
2) For new members, the fee is $40 initially and the remainder due by October 1.
Please see Join & Renew for full info and application form.
Training Subsidy Emergency Measures
1) Given the current change in dance training, with studios being closed and $$$ maybe being tight, for the time being TSP will cover the entire cost of drop-in classes, up to $7/class. If you have receipts for classes that are more than $7, the usual $7 reimbursement per class still applies. For example, if you have a receipt for $17, you will still receive $7 back in reimbursement. If you have another receipt for $5, you will receive the full $5 back. We hope this encourages teachers to charge for their online classes :)
2) We are changing the guidelines to accept receipts for online training anywhere in the world. However, we can only reimburse in Canadian dollars ie if the receipt is for $5 USD, we can only reimburse $5 CAD. Best to try and have your receipts converted to CAD. Please note: credit card and and bank statements are not an acceptable form of receipts. Please see receipt requirements on the program page.
3) Class cards and memberships are still reimbursed at 50% of the total cost.
4) Workshops are still reimbursed at 50% of the total receipt up to your annual limit of $450-$550.
5) We are waiving the minimum monthly reimbursement.
The next deadline for TSP submissions is June 10, 2020. Please see the Training Subsidy Program page for submission form, deadlines and requirements.
Studio Subsidy Emergency Measures
1) We’re modifying the SSP guidelines to reimburse for any studio rentals, not just for rentals for training initiatives. This will operate as a one-time Studio Renter’s Relief of $250.
2) We’ll accept applications to this program from April 10–30, so that people can pay studio rent on May 1. There’s fear of people losing their studios right now, so this is what we’re trying to address.
3) Supporting documents include receipts for rent payment, or if there is no receipt given by the landlord, then an email confirmation of funds transferred.
Please note: if you’re part of a company/collective paying a single portion of shared rent for a studio, then you don’t access this per individual company/collective member, but as one entity.
Please see the Studio Subsidy Program page for submission form, deadlines and requirements.
Childcare Subsidy Program
1) After a successful pilot run last year, we’re excited to announce that the CSP program is returning this year. There are no emergency measures being enacted for this program, but we want you to know that it will be there to support you after the crisis passes.
These emergency changes to the subsidy programs are for a period of time only and we will reassess returning to normal whenever it looks like things are returning to normal.
Please email office@cadawest.org with any questions or concerns.
We’re advocating for you!
Hello members + dance artists at large,
We’re thinking of you all! We’ve all been affected by the pandemic and information is rolling out daily. We are working hard to devise emergency programs that can support you during this crisis. We will update you as soon as possible. For now, we have 5 action items to share with you:
MAR 21, 2020
1) As you probably know, the federal government has proposed to commit $82B to assist Canadians who have lost income due to measures implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19. It’s important to know that the special measures most equipped to support individual artists have to be enacted by parliament ie “Royal Assent”. Parliament returns from recess next week and we’ve been informed that a small committee of senators will be responsible for approving and implementing these measures. We have a minority parliament in place, but it is widely believed that there will be no political opposition to these proposed measures. We expect money to flow in 3 weeks time from today. You should plan your finances for the next 4 weeks to bridge this gap. Please contact office@cadawest.org if you are concerned about your financial ability to pay rent, buy food or provide basic necessities. We will advocate on your behalf!
Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses
The program most of you will want to look for is “Longer Term Income Support for Workers”, under Emergency Support Benefit.
2) It is very important that you track the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on your finances. We will want to report at regular intervals to the government, especially if further resources are required: See this tracking spreadsheet (via Tau S. Bui, with English translation + provincial (Alberta) update by Pam Tzeng).
The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance put out a survey. About 200 individuals and organizations have completed it so far. Just a note: the music industry has over 1500 responses to their survey; where do you think resources will go? Let’s put our voices in the mix!
3) The BC Alliance for Arts and Culture and the Canadian Dance Assembly are adding information and resources to their websites daily. We’re also posting resources to our FB page.
4) We want to hear from you if you have not been compensated for cancelled gigs! We can help advocate for you. Please email office@cadawest.org to let us know. Our understanding and expectation is that projects that were to occur in the next couple of weeks, but have been cancelled due to COVID-19, will pay artist fees.
5) Please register and attend a zoom meeting for individual artists hosted by the CDA. As independent artists, it’s important that we lead this talk. The CDA will also be able to respond to questions around grants, deadlines, funding, finances and resources.
CADA/West and its Members, ensuring dance remains vital to our culture.