AGM CELEBRATES JOHNSON, WELCOMES FLECK,
AS CHAIR

For release: Toronto, June 9, 2003: At its 28th Annual General Meeting, held in Toronto, The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada paid tribute to retiring Chairman, Donald K. Johnson and welcomed James D. Fleck as the incoming Chairman.

Sarah Iley, President and CEO of the CBAC, presented Johnson with a portrayal of William McElcheran's "Businessman with Muse" that was created as the winner's sculpture for the annual Business in the Arts Awards. The inscription read: To Donald K. Johnson, in grateful appreciation of his leadership and contribution to the arts and philanthropy as Chairman of the Council for Business and the Arts in Canada, 1998-2003.

"Don's work to convince the government to reduce the capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated securities, and to enshrine that provision permanently in the Income Tax Act, has made a tremendous impact on the charitable sector, including the arts," said Iley. "And he continues to provide tireless leadership to convince the government to finish the job - for which we are all grateful."

Reflecting on his five years at the helm of CBAC, Johnson said, "I have attended five Budget lock-ups, addressed House Finance Committees, met with MPs and Ministers and worked with some great people on the tax mission. I have also presented 40 Business in the Arts Awards, given out $80,000 dollars in prize money, attended the annual Canadian Arts Summits at Banff - and have made it on to the mailing list of every arts fund-raiser in the country!"

"As I step down, I am thrilled that the winner of The 2003 Edmund C. Bovey Award, Jim Fleck, has been persuaded to assume the Chair and carry on the mission. A dedicated Board Member, a renowned patron and a remarkable entrepreneur, Jim will be a wonderful Chair."

Currently Chair of the Art Gallery of Ontario, a director of Rogers Media and Emeritus Professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Management, Jim Fleck has been a successful businessman, scholar, teacher and public servant. Since he founded Fleck Manufacturing Inc. in 1954 - and throughout his varied career - he has been an active art collector, patron and volunteer.

Fleck appointed the following CBAC Directors to the position of Vice-Chair:

• Gail Asper, Corporate Secretary of CanWest Global Communications Corp.;
• Tony Graham, President of Wittington Investments Ltd.; and
• Jacques Ménard, Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns.

He also proposed three new directors to the slate of those who were elected to the Board at the AGM:

• Thomas d'Aquino, President and Chief Executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives
• George Fierheller, President of Four Halls Inc., and
• Nina Kaiden Wright, President of Arts &Communications Counsellors

The CBAC is the national association of business leaders that support the arts. Through an active program of research, recognition and promotion, it works to increase private sector support of the arts and helps to make partnerships between business and the arts more effective.

Highlights of the Annual Report to the meeting included an update on the success to date of CBAC's innovative pilot program ArtsVe$t: Matching Business Investments in the Arts, which has been responsible for flowing $125,000 of new money to the arts in one community this year.