Julianna Yau’s blog

If you can believe it, I’ve been busy for the past two days with things other than copyright or arts advocacy (one of them being the production and administration of my sculptures!).

This meant I missed the live broadcast of the arts budget cuts discussion on Q, which is thankfully available as a podcast. I also received an email from Hedy Fry (the second member of the Heritage Committee to respond to my email):

Dear Ms. Yau:

Thank you for your letter protesting the recent cuts to Arts and Cultural programs by Foreign Affairs and Heritage Canada.

We, Liberal MPs all remember that Stephen Harper was a member of the Reform Party, which took the ideological stance that Arts and Culture was an inconsequential frill. We should not be surprised that as Prime Minister he would implement that ideology.

What is appalling is how it was done, with no announcement, surreptitiously inserted in the Departments’ websites, during the summer, when no one was supposed to be paying attention. This is a ploy the Harper government has used on many occasions, this summer.

Of course, there were explanations for the cuts. The Minister of Heritage called them efficiencies while the officials in Foreign Affairs were at least more honest. They did not approve of “lefty” writers or the immorality of certain titles and artistic subject matter. Such censorship by any other name would be called McCarthyism.

When the federal government does not understand the value of Arts and Culture to national identity or social cohesion; when a government does not have the foresight to see that in a 21st century global economy, the only hope for survival in a country as small as ours is to encourage human creativity and innovation; we should have grave cause for concern.

Even in the crassest of terms, funding of Arts and Culture could be seen as a smart economic investment. After all the creative sector is statistically the 4th largest industry in Canada; contributing 43.2 billion dollars annually to our GDP; responsible for almost 800,000 jobs and levering 2.7 billion dollars in trade.

Liberal governments under Chretien and Martin increased funding to Arts and Culture, initiated innovative Programs like Tomorrow Starts Today, and strengthened the International arts Programs seeing them as key to Canada’s trade, as well as our diplomatic efforts in promoting Canadian values abroad.

Stéphane Dion is on record as promising to increase the international Programs to $22 million and he sees a strong creative sector as key to Canada’s competitiveness in a 21st century world of innovation, creativity and human capital.

I urge you will take a bold stance against the Harper government’s damaging tunnel vision and attempt to censure and impose its own ideology on Canadian society under the thinly veiled guise of ‘efficient public policy.’

Thank you for writing.

Sincerely,
Hon. Hedy Fry, M.P.
Vancouver Centre

A bit heavy-handed with the pre-election jargon, and I wonder what will be done on Fry’s end to compliment the bold stance I’m urged to take.

Also, Penn Kemp of the Save Prom-Art: Promote Canadian Arts and Culture Facebook group received an email from Jack Layton:

At 04:59 PM 30/08/2008 he wrote:

“Absolutely!!

We are on it. We have many artists running for us [like Tom King!] and we will present a strong programme and fight like hell to re-establish the arts funding. These cuts are terrible and wrong. The latest cuts to Telefilm, for example, are horrific, short-sighted and nasty!

Just so that you know, when you’re communicating with your arts network, I am a member of the Writers’ Union with three published books: Speaking Out Louder (Key Porter, 2006) and Homelessness (Penguin, 2008) and Les ideés pour les gens d’ici (2004). Also, the director of our national campaign is Brian Topp, Exec Director of ACTRA.

These facts can give some comfort.

See you on the campaign trail and keep on fighting the good fight.

Thanks,
Jack”
“Layton, Jack - M.P.”

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