Local  politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention have overwhelmingly approved a motion to restore  provincial and federal funding for the arts.

The motion resolves that the UBCM "urge the provincial and federal governments to reinstate full funding to the creative sector and related programs and further consider additional investment as part of the economic stimulus programs".

The City of Vancouver put it  forward thanks to a motion last  June in council by COPE's Ellen Woodsworth.  On Friday (October 2), Vancouver will present an emergency motion calling for the restoration all direct-access gaming grants to all charities.

The B.C. government plans extreme cuts to core funding for arts in 2010-11 and 2011-2012, according to provincial budget documents.

In 2010-2011, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts will spend $2.25 million on arts and culture. The following year, the ministry will spend $2.17 million. That's a stunning fall from 2008-09, when the ministry allocated $19.5 million to the arts.

Last year, the  Canadian Conference of the Arts posted an extensive list of federal cuts to the cultural sector on its Web site. The details are available here.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's general manager of community services, David McLellan, wrote a memorandum to the mayor and council on September 21 noting that city funding to the arts has increased slightly  in recent years.

In 2005, the city allocated $10 million to cultural services, including $8.8 million in grants. By 2009, the total amount rose to $11.6 million, with $10.3 million of that being distributed in grants.