Conservatives cut arts funding

Axe falls on arts program
Funded travel for performers. Officials disapprove of grant recipients
DAVID AKIN, Canwest News Service

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.h...
Published: Friday, August 08
"The federal government will cancel a program today that sent artists abroad to promote Canadian culture because grant recipients included "a general radical," "a left-wing and anti-globalization think-tank" and a rock band that uses an expletive as part of its name."

This is typical of conservative thinking. The arts need steady funding and programs that promote Canadain arts and culture abroad are essential to the health of the industry. These decisions cannot be made by politicians and must remain within the arts peer group. Do we want conservatives dictating what Canadian culture is? I point out conservatives particularly because although other parties when in power are guilty of cutting arts funding it is never for the same reason. Conservatives cut funding to the arts as a means of social engineering and direct political interference and censorship. It's wrong.

From Vision Green 2007

The Green Party understands that our future, our sense of who we are as a nation, depends on policies that ensure a thriving, diverse and socially responsible cultural community as part of an inclusive Canada. We will continue and increase support for those cultural institutions that are within the Heritage Canada portfolio: Canada Council, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), the National Film Board (NFB), and Telefilm Canada. We will reverse the funding cuts of the Harper government for the exchange of artists and the performance of Canadian arts abroad as they are a vital aspect of effective diplomacy and artistic expression. We plan to establish the equivalent of the Japanese National Treasure programme where outstanding individual artists are supported to perfect their craft.

Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will:

*Increase support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base-funding at a set percentage of the federal budget.
*Establish a grant programme that provides full costs of university, tuition, books, housing and living expenses for 200 students whose artistic promise is extraordinary.
*Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations.
*Increase support for regional arts festivals that bring Canadian art to a wider audience.
*Provide stable base-funding for the CBC so it can continue to provide quality Canadian content television and radio programming in both official languages to all Canadians.
*Ensure that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to reserve more bandwidth for independent and non-profit stations.
*Require cinemas and video chains to have 20% Canadian content.
*Adequately fund Canada’s heritage and artistic museums to protect our cultural heritage from decay and neglect.