Facing intense backlash, the independent municipal corporation operating Ottawa’s ByWard Market has reversed its decision to require buskers to pay for liability insurance.
The decision was reversed just two days after it was implemented on April 01. On the same day the divisive rule was put into effect, CBC News ran a feature that followed the outcry over the stipulation.
Buskers said that the substantial cost of the new insurance would discourage many people from performing in the area, particularly those who only perform occasionally.
“I think it’s acceptable for [bigger] shows, but for the guy playing guitar on the street, I don’t really know why they would need insurance,” local juggler and acrobat Joey Albert told CBC News.
“It definitely deters some buskers, which is unfortunate because you want variety in the market,” he added.
Ottawa’s mayor, Jim Watson, similarly expressed his displeasure with the insurance requirement. He asked his staff to talk the market’s managers into rethinking the decision.
“I was not happy when I saw they were putting more red tape around the creativity of street musicians and buskers, particularly when we just adopted a music strategy,” Watson said.
Ottawa Markets executive director Jeff Darwin told CBC that the insurance would amount to roughly $200 per performer. Buskers, however, expected the real cost of insurance to be as high as $500.
