Ordinary people need to stand up for the arts
Thursday, October 9th, 2008TheRecord.com – arts – (Kitchener) [source] MARTIN DeGROOT The Harper government’s arts funding cuts began raising hackles back in August, a few weeks before the current federal election was called. Surprisingly, the issue still appears to have sticking power as we head into the final stretch of the campaign. The situation was exacerbated by a [...]
The NDP’s arts platform
Thursday, October 9th, 2008It sounds great, but I’m still voting strategically. – Miriam [Editor's note: visit this web page to learn more.]TheStar.com – entertainment – The NDP’s arts platform October 09, 2008, The Star [source] The New Democratic Party says it would: Restore the $45 million Stephen Harper’s government cut from arts programs. Ensure Canadian television and telecommunications [...]
Canadian Government Culture Budgets are being cut!
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008According to the information provided to us by www.artsvote.info, Canadian Government Culture Budgets are planned to be cut by the Conservative government over the coming years…read on. online references: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pc-ch/pubs/mindep_e.cfm www.canadianheritage.gc.ca Background Information In 2008-09, 21 federal departments and crown corporations budgeted A total of $3 billion on Canadian culture, heritage, citizenship & sports. [...]
Votes for arts
Friday, September 26th, 2008From a federalist perspective, the Bloc’s resurgence is a highly disappointing turn of events. But it perhaps serves Mr. Harper right. His low-brow attempts to appeal to rural and suburban Canadians, whom he underestimates, overlooks the fact that many members of his own party are among this country’s strongest and most generous patrons of the arts. Had he consulted with them, they might have told him that thumbing his nose at cultural investment is equally ill-advised as public policy and as political strategy.
Rivals tear into Tory Leader over arts cuts
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008THE FEDERAL ELECTION: HARPER APPEALS TO ‘ORDINARY PEOPLE’ Rivals tear into Tory Leader over arts cuts Harper calls culture funding a ‘niche issue for some,’ defends tougher crime legislation against those ‘who work in ivory towers’ TU THANH HA , CAMPBELL CLARK and OMAR EL AKKAD AND STEVEN CHASE With a report from Rhéal Séguin [...]
Graeme Hamilton: Quebec pop star attacks Anglos for cuts to culture
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Posted: September 23, 2008, 6:10 PM by Ronald Nurwisah canadian election, Conservatives, bloc Click on photo to watch Michel Rivard’s video (with subtitles) By Graeme Hamilton MONTREAL — The lines were more clearly drawn back when Michel Rivard was breaking out as a pop star in 1970s Quebec. René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois were [...]
Political cynicism behind arts cuts
Monday, September 22nd, 2008In the information age, culture is the very content of the economy. In 2002, culture was a $40-billion industry in Canada. It was bigger than mining and oil and gas ($35.4 billion) and nearly double the size of the agriculture and forestry sectors ($21 billion).…Harper says that the cuts are not anti-culture, but simply represent prudent financial management — and then says that there’s no point in “funding things that people actually don’t want.”
Really? Who, exactly, was objecting to the industrial support programs he’s been cutting? Some voters dislike the Canada Council, admittedly, but who dislikes Prom-Art? Who even knows about it? And if we’re killing loser programs, when will Harper garrotte Atomic Energy of Canada, which has sopped up $20 billion in public money building reactors that nobody will buy? Talk about “funding things that people actually don’t want.”
Yann Martel and Wajdi Mouawad letters to Harper
Saturday, September 20th, 2008These letters are a must read during the period leading up to the Canadian federal election. The web site that you visit when you go to read these letters is a new site dedicated to new political theatre. It is called The Wrecking Ball. Wajdi Mouawad’s letter in particular is a wonderful articulate argument to [...]