Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Arts and Books / Cut this

Cut this

09/04/2008 by backofthebook.ca Leave a Comment

Frank Moher

We are a little late to this battle, having been on hiatus in August, so I’ll keep this brief. The Conservatives have already been pounded on mightily for their cuts to arts funding last month, but let me add that the skankiest aspect to their behaviour was the covert way in which they went about it. The cuts weren’t announced so much as opened to the air, like a wound; notices were quietly posted to websites for the PromArt and Trade Routes programs, advising that soon they would be no more, and that was that. No media release, no statement from Heritage Minister Josée Verner, certainly no consultation beforehand with those affected. Nothing.

It wasn’t until the press started nosing around that the government owned up to what was happening, using some truculent language left over from the ’80s, and admitted there were more cuts to come — enough, it transpired, to eventually amount to nearly $45 million. Their strategy was transparent: let the news leak out in the dog days of August, when hopefully anyone who might care about this sort of thing would be gone to the lake cabin or prepping for a gay pride parade.

Minister Verner was nowhere to be seen in the uproar that followed, except for a single interview with the Canadian Press French-language service, in which she claimed the programs were inefficient or had run their course. Otherwise, news sources from The Georgia Straight to the CBC reported that she wasn’t returning calls. The Minister, apparently, had been muzzled.

Indeed, Mme. Verner seems to be treated by her masters in the PMO in much the same way that they treat artists: as trinkets that are lovely to look at sometimes, but not to be taken seriously. Hopefully, the response of the last three weeks has taught them differently. I doubt it, though. If you think $45 million in arts cuts is bad, wait till you see what happens if these guys ever form a majority government.

Filed Under: Arts and Books Tagged With: arts, Canadian culture, Conservatives, Stephen Harper

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in