Harper government, enemy of the arts?

Article from Canada.com posted yesterday: "OTTAWA — Liberal, NDP and Green Party representatives were there. Even Communist and Marijuana candidates made it to Ottawa's Cube Gallery last week for an all-party debate on arts policy. But there was no Conservative representation — and should we be surprised?

A couple of nights later, the Canadian Conference of The Arts, the country's leading cultural service organization, organized another such gathering in the national capital — and again, the Tories did not attend.

Meanwhile, in Montreal, more than 70 arts organizations from across the country unveiled a major election manifesto calling for a renewed commitment by all political stripes to support the arts. Arts leaders also requested meetings with party representatives to discuss the document. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff was quick to oblige, as were NDP and Bloc Quebecois candidates. Again, there was no response from the Conservatives.

There's a pattern here, and it runs across the country. The federal Tories burned themselves badly during the 2008 campaign, thanks to Stephen Harper's ill-judged observation that "ordinary people" don't care about arts funding, and his innuendo about rich artists who attended galas to whine about their grants. Arts policy is normally not even a tiny blip on the radar of an election campaign, but this time, the prime minister's remark triggered widespread resentment. Powerful Tories who serve on boards of directors for cultural groups across the country were aghast. And Quebecers, goaded on by the Bloc Quebecois, were furious at this perceived insult to their province's cultural integrity.

Thanks to his comments, Harper lost votes in Quebec — and, possibly, seats there, as well. So the preferred damage-control strategy in this campaign is to try to pretend that the potentially volatile and dangerous cultural sector doesn't exist. Translated, this means: If you want to stay out of trouble, don't discuss the arts...". Con't reading, HERE.


Arts the vote, May 2nd!

(Image: 2009 Art installation on Rideau Street, Ottawa)