British Columbians will enjoy and celebrate our province’s rich cultural scene during BC Arts and Culture Week, proclaimed this year as April 17 to 23, 2016.

It’s another victory for B.C. as the province hosts a new international sporting tournament, the HSBC Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series. The women’s series is one of a number of world-renowned sporting events that are attracting visitors and keeping British Columbia in the global spotlight.

Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink, issued the following statement regarding recent meetings with the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities:

British Columbians are invited to celebrate authors, publishers and the written word on BC Book Day.

Applications for BC Arts Council scholarships are now available to British Columbians attending a full-time arts degree or diploma program this fall, as well as to B.C. students in pre-professional half-day dance programs in combination with their high school studies.

The BC Arts Council is distributing more than $7 million to 313 artists and arts organizations throughout the province as part of a recent round of grant adjudications.

Payments totalling $50 million will be provided to eight local governments in the Peace River region at the end of April 2016.  These payments will be in accordance with the terms of the 20-year Peace River Agreement (PRA) totalling $1.1 billion over the duration of the agreement.

Government is taking action to ensure that everyone who holds a BC Bus Pass will continue to have access to public transit systems across the province now that TransLink is closing its fare gates.

Communities throughout British Columbia will once again benefit from Provincial funding made available through the Hosting BC grant program.