March 17, 2006
Paul Mills
Vice-President
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
John Cabot Building, 10 Barter's Hill
P.O. Box 1060, Station C
St. John's, NL
A1C 5M5
Re: Garrick Theatre - Interior Redevelopment Proposal
Dear Mr. Mills:
Please find attached an application under the Innovative Communities Fund (ICF) seeking support for the interior redevelopment of the Garrick Theatre in Bonavista. We believe this proposal represents an exceptional opportunity to generate new economic activity in the Bonavista area, while also offering a number of other social, educational and cultural benefits. Please ensure that this proposal is given full consideration by your Agency.
In the spring of 2004 we submitted a business plan to ACOA outlining how we would develop and manage the Garrick to make it a viable facility, serving both residents and visitors. An official response came on November 18, 2005 indicating that ACOA could not consider an application for the interior redevelopment of the Garrick. The letter cited two reasons: our facility might adversely affect the viability of Aother theatres on the Bonavista Peninsula, and, secondly, cinema - an intrinsic part of our proposal - was a commercial activity that falls outside the parameters of the Agency's programs.
Despite having received this discouraging response, we felt it was best to proceed with an application under ICF. We believe that ACOA's principal concern - that the Garrick not have a negative impact on Rising Tide Theatre at Trinity - can be addressed. We understand the important role Rising Tide has played in developing and supporting cultural tourism on the Bonavista Peninsula, and we would not want to interfere with, or jeopardize the viability of, that theatre company in any way. That is why we have proposed a different type of theatre for the Garrick. From the outset, we have said that our program would complement rather than compete with Rising Tide's. During Rising Tide's peak season (summer), the Garrick would not host or sponsor professional theatre; instead it would offer Newfoundland music (of all types), Newfoundland and Canadian film, and local youth and amateur theatre. Our business plan is clear on that subject.
In discussions over the last year, Rising Tide Theatre and the Foundation decided to pursue the idea of entering into a memorandum of agreement. This agreement would define the relationship between the parties and formalize measures to protect Rising Tide from undue competition by the Garrick. These discussions are ongoing and an agreement can be concluded if there is any prospect of our application under ICF succeeding.
The matter of cinema is more perplexing. There are no cinemas within a 90 minute drive of Bonavista and, hence, the Garrick would not be in competition with any other party. It is also inexplicable that ACOA would discount cinema for the Garrick on the grounds that it is strictly a commercial rather than a cultural activity which the Agency cannot support. We presume that ACOA applied a broader definition of cinema when it provided financial assistance to redevelop the Acadien Cinema at Wolfville in September, 2004. We believe our proposal merits the same consideration, especially since we have identified cinema as the key mechanism to make the Garrick a viable, year-round facility.
We know ACOA still feels it has an obligation to invest in good, long-term economic development initiatives in the Bonavista area, because communities have not yet recovered in any significant way from the fisheries collapse of the early 1990s. Unemployment remains unacceptably high and the population continues to fall. However there are promising signs of new investment and employment in the tourism sector, and ACOA has indicated that it wants to build on these modest successes. We believe that the Garrick Theatre offers the best prospect in that regard. We know of no better way to harness the existing potential for investment in the tourism sector, with the added benefit that the Garrick would be a cultural facility that helps to improve the quality of life on the Bonavista Peninsula.
We believe that citizens are in the best position to determine which economic development initiatives hold the most promise for their areas. That is why we will invite the public to view our new web site (www.garricktheatre.ca) and make their own determination on the value and importance of the Garrick Theatre. The web site will provide users with the option to express their views directly to the Minister for ACOA with copies to you and others. We believe considerable support for the Garrick exists in many communities on the Bonavista Peninsula, and we should be able to gauge the extent of that support in the coming weeks. We trust that their views will play a role in ACOA's assessment of our proposal.
We would be happy to discuss with you any aspect of this proposal. The business plan is now two years old and may require adjustments, either to reflect new circumstances or to satisfy any of ACOA's requirements and concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Gordon Bradley
Chairperson
cc. Hon. Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Hon. Danny Williams, Premier, Newfoundland and Labrador
Hon. Tom Hedderson, Minister, Tourism, Culture and Recreation (NL)
Hon Kathy Dunderdale, Minister, Innovation, Trade and Rural Development (NL)
Scott Simms, M.P., Bonavista Gander Grand Falls-Windsor
Roger Fitzgerald, M.H.A., Bonavista South
Mayor Betty Fitzgerald and Councillors, Town of Bonavista
Paul Mills, Vice-President, ACOA (NL)