Artists ‘should be landlords, not tenants'

TENILLE BONOGUORE AND MURRAY CAMPBELL
Globe and Mail Update, September 24, 2008 at 5:04 PM EDT

Canada's artists have launched a pointed and passionate attack at the nation's political leaders, decrying Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's statement yesterday that ‘ordinary' Canadians don't care about the arts.

In a united press conference on Wednesday morning, leading actors and artists insisted that arts is not about galas and subsidies.

Rather, they said, it's a resource that comes from the minds of Canadians and delivers fantastic returns in the form of quality of life, education and national identity.

“We should be the landlords of our own industry, not the tenants,” said veteran actor and CBC presenter Gordon Pinsent.

“We know about Mr. Harper's master plan. We know about Mr. Dion's big idea. But it would be hugely comfortable to know that we have a seat at that table – not just in the children's section, not just below the salt, but right there, smack dab in the middle of the big meal.”

The difficulties and pressures being felt within the arts community are nothing new, Mr. Pinsent said. The business has undergone numerous starts and stops, applying “tourniquets” as it went along.

“Yet we still have this feeling here that we are practically compelled to bend or dissolve within the larger picture of the American sensibility, and we don't like it,” he said. “We all want to work. We're artists to begin with.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Harper cast his lot with “ordinary, working people” and not with “ivory tower” justice experts or with a cultural elite he characterized as government-subsidized whiners.

“I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people, you know, at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough when they know those subsidies have actually gone up, I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people,” he said during a campaign stop in Saskatoon.

Mr. Harper's barbed shot at whining elites attending glitzy affairs was curious, given that his wife Laureen is the honorary chair of the National Arts Centre's gala next month in Ottawa.

The performers — including Colm Feore and Wendy Crewson — noted that the arts provide 1.1 million jobs within cultural industries and contribute $86-billion to the GDP.

They say the $45-million that the Conservative government cut from culture funding last summer could seriously damage their industry.

The performers called on voters to reject the Tory cuts and demand that the government restore stable funding, with Mr. Feore saying the arts are crucial to Canada's identity.

Actress Leah Pinsent, who is Mr. Pinsent's daughter, said today it is culture, not economics, that truly makes a nation.

“If we as Canadians are left only with other people's stories .. then what can we be proud of?” she asked. “There will be nothing left to be proud of.

“... We don't visit Rome, Japan or Africa to learn about their economies. We go to experience their culture.”

NDP Leader Jack Layton also lashed out at Mr. Harper's arts comments. Speaking in Kenora, Ont., Mr. Layton challenged the Conservative Leader to repeat in French a comment he made in English on Tuesday. When the Conservative Leader commented on the government's $45-million in cuts to arts and cultural programs, saying the issue is of little concern to ordinary Canadians, he did not repeat the same comments in French.

The arts cuts issue has drawn the most outrage in Quebec, where all four major parties are fighting for close seats.

In Ontario, the arts issue was also receiving a lot of attention, with the province's culture minister Aileen Carroll saying she is “flabbergasted” by Mr. Harper's views on the role of culture in Canada.

Ms. Carroll took issue today with Mr. Harper's comments that arts programs were “a niche issue for some.” She said the Ontario government understands that arts and culture is about “how we tell our stories” but also that it contributes $20-billion annually to Ontario's economy.

She said the issue of arts funding isn't important just for artists but also for those in supporting in roles in areas like film and television production.

“The comments yesterday ... just completely leave me flabbergasted,” she said. “If we can understand that so well in this important province, I don't understand his failure to understand that.”

Premier Dalton McGuinty also weighed in on the issue although he refused to single out Mr. Harper for blame.

He said arts and culture “enrich us not only economically but in so many other ways.” He said a society does not reveal itself through its roads and golf courses but rather through its literature, architecture and music.

“It simply enriches the enjoyment of our lives,” Mr. McGuinty said. “I think that's pretty powerful stuff and I think we should continue to find ways to support arts and culture.”

- With a file from Omar El Akkad and Canadian Press