Heritage Minister Melanie Joly says cultural organizations will have to commit in writing to providing a workplace free of harassment and sexual misconduct in order to receive federal funding.

Joly says the new requirement is part of her Liberal government鈥檚 commitment to confronting sexual harassment in the wake of the worldwide MeToo and TimesUp movements.

Going forward, changes will be made to funding agreements, application forms and approval letters for any funding doled out by the Heritage Department and the Canada Council of the Arts.

All funding documents will require recipients to explicitly commit to providing a harassment-free workplace.

Any artist or organization that breaks the commitment would be subject to a review process that could result in loss of grant funding.

Joly鈥檚 department is also awarding $552,000 for training to help arts organizations build and maintain respectful workplaces. The funding will be made available to over 1,750 arts organizations.

The Canadian Press

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