OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Paul Dewar has initiated the process of creating an all-party parliamentary arts caucus.

"Recent political debates and decisions regarding arts and culture have been out of touch with the importance of arts to our communities and our economy" said Dewar. "I hope an all-party arts caucus can provide a forum for artists and people working in the culture sector to speak directly with parliamentarians from all parties".

Dewar's call for the creation of the arts caucus has received support from 25 MPs from every party in the House of Commons. The MPs will hold their first meeting on October 7 to plan the caucus activities for the coming months.

"The economic viability of our cultural sector creates thousands of jobs in every region of the country” concluded Dewar. “I hope discussions in this arts caucus will improve the quality of debate and decision-making in our country when it comes to arts and culture".