NEWS
BRANT, ON – Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, joined Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford-Brant, at Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks, a proud department of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, earlier today to highlight more than $279,000 in funding to support the local indigenous arts and tourism sectors.
“Heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries were hit first, the hardest and will take the longest to recover,” said Minister MacLeod. “As we move forward with reopening the province, we are proud to support numerous organizations through invaluable Indigenous partnerships that build up communities and put the tourism industry on a path to recovery.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, the government has continued to invest in Ontario’s tourism and creative sectors through the Ontario Arts Council and Youth Cultural Camp investments. Funding to enrich local and visitor experiences include:
- $40,250 for community-based cultural programming opportunities for Six Nations youth
- $60,192 for the Woodland Cultural Centre to protect, promote, interpret and present the history, language, intellect, and cultural heritage of the Anishinaabe and Onkwehonwe
- $48,374 for Kaha:wi Dance Theatre to offer innovative dance programming that draws inspiration from contemporary and traditional Indigenous dance forms and culture
- $30,263 for Outside Looking In to provide opportunities for Indigenous youth and their communities to engage in long-term education through dance
“I am thankful and happy to be part of a Government and to work with a Minister who understands the importance of cultural institutions,” said MPP Bouma. “No other region has a richer cultural environment than Brantford-Brant-Six Nations and I thank Minister MacLeod for her help as we recover from the effects of COVID-19.”
Additional funding to deliver locally driven tourism marketing programs was also made possible through a partnership between Destination Ontario and Destination Canada designed to incentivize Ontarians to explore local communities. Indigenous Tourism Ontario has received $100,000 to deliver cultural expression and preservation through tourism.
Our government is committed to continuing its work with tourism and arts sectors to ensure that as the economy gradually reopens, we will all be in the best position to welcome the world back to Ontario.
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For more information, contact MPP Will Bouma at 519-759-0361, or will.bouma@pc.ola.org