The funding has, over the past four years, supported arts, publishing, music recording, cultural export, and Internet presence for Canadian arts.

Yesterday's allocation was made separately from the government's usual budget process in order to allow the recipients of the grants to works without interruption. The long-term status of the program will be considered when the government prepares its next budget.

According to an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Frulla added, "The job is not finished. Now we have to make sure there's stabilized funding. . . I'll take as many years as possible, if not indefinitely. But it can't go from year to year."