Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Messages from Allies
From the Canadian Museums Association through the Ontario Museum Association:
2008 Canadian Federal Election: Political Parties' Positions on Museums
October 1, 2008, Ottawa - As a non-partisan organization, the CMA strongly believes in the public role and benefit of museums to our society.
We believe that governments at all levels have a unique role in supporting our heritage. A recent public opinion poll conducted by an independent research firm demonstrates that Canadians support museums. Please go to our website for full survey details.
The CMA has written to all five major political parties for their positions on museums. As of our deadline, we have received responses from four of the major parties. Below you will find an overview of the responses; to see them in full, please go to our Response from Parties page.
Response Overview
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is asking the federal government for a new museum policy that is in line with the current needs of Quebec and Canadian museums.
It is imperative that culture be transferred to the government of Quebec with the necessary funds for Quebec to provide itself with a museum policy that meets its needs.
The Bloc Québécois will continue to hound the federal government to reinvest the funds cut from the programs that support museums.
Conservative Party
CMA has not received a response from the Conservatives Party as of yet. Watch for updates on our website, as it will be posted upon arrival.
Green Party
Increased support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base funding at a set percentage of the federal budget.
The Green Party of Canada will remove the GST from Arts and Culture products and services while imposing a carbon tax on burning hydrocarbons and releasing their by-products into the atmosphere.
The Green Party will also restore the government provided transport service to allow the transport of exhibitions between museums and galleries.
Liberal Party
Promise to bring in a new vision for Canadian Museums at the federal level.
Promise to raise Museum Assistance Program by $16 million per year over 4 years with emphasis on community museums.
Promise to double the Canada Council for the Arts budget to $360 million per year.
New Democratic Party
The federal government plays an important role in ensuring that this heritage and culture preservation continues.
We do support new vision and new programs intended to support museums across the country. We are willing to work with the museum sector to ensure that this new policy is reflective of their needs and concerns.
Stable core funding is a major priority, and the flat line in spending must be addressed. We also believe that increasing investment in research of collections and acquisitions is central to updating exhibits and keeping museums relevant.
Action you can take
Get involved and actively participate in your democratic right on October 14th. CMA urges you and all museum friends and members to speak up and question candidates on their views on funding for our museums. Please go to our Elections Toolkit for sample questions and letters.
The CMA is also a member of the Canadian Arts Coalition; visit their website at www.canadianartscoalition.ca for further information and resources on the election.
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For further information:
John McAvity, Executive Director, jmcavity@museums.ca
Monique Horth, Deputy Director, mhorth@museums.ca
Aussi disponible en français.
2008 Canadian Federal Election: Political Parties' Positions on Museums
October 1, 2008, Ottawa - As a non-partisan organization, the CMA strongly believes in the public role and benefit of museums to our society.
We believe that governments at all levels have a unique role in supporting our heritage. A recent public opinion poll conducted by an independent research firm demonstrates that Canadians support museums. Please go to our website for full survey details.
The CMA has written to all five major political parties for their positions on museums. As of our deadline, we have received responses from four of the major parties. Below you will find an overview of the responses; to see them in full, please go to our Response from Parties page.
Response Overview
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is asking the federal government for a new museum policy that is in line with the current needs of Quebec and Canadian museums.
It is imperative that culture be transferred to the government of Quebec with the necessary funds for Quebec to provide itself with a museum policy that meets its needs.
The Bloc Québécois will continue to hound the federal government to reinvest the funds cut from the programs that support museums.
Conservative Party
CMA has not received a response from the Conservatives Party as of yet. Watch for updates on our website, as it will be posted upon arrival.
Green Party
Increased support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base funding at a set percentage of the federal budget.
The Green Party of Canada will remove the GST from Arts and Culture products and services while imposing a carbon tax on burning hydrocarbons and releasing their by-products into the atmosphere.
The Green Party will also restore the government provided transport service to allow the transport of exhibitions between museums and galleries.
Liberal Party
Promise to bring in a new vision for Canadian Museums at the federal level.
Promise to raise Museum Assistance Program by $16 million per year over 4 years with emphasis on community museums.
Promise to double the Canada Council for the Arts budget to $360 million per year.
New Democratic Party
The federal government plays an important role in ensuring that this heritage and culture preservation continues.
We do support new vision and new programs intended to support museums across the country. We are willing to work with the museum sector to ensure that this new policy is reflective of their needs and concerns.
Stable core funding is a major priority, and the flat line in spending must be addressed. We also believe that increasing investment in research of collections and acquisitions is central to updating exhibits and keeping museums relevant.
Action you can take
Get involved and actively participate in your democratic right on October 14th. CMA urges you and all museum friends and members to speak up and question candidates on their views on funding for our museums. Please go to our Elections Toolkit for sample questions and letters.
The CMA is also a member of the Canadian Arts Coalition; visit their website at www.canadianartscoalition.ca for further information and resources on the election.
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For further information:
John McAvity, Executive Director, jmcavity@museums.ca
Monique Horth, Deputy Director, mhorth@museums.ca
Aussi disponible en français.
Get more info about the issues that affect all Canadians
Thee important upcoming events...
More messages from Allies:
SPP teach-in
Professor Robert Chernomas, Economics Professor at the University of Manitoba and Board member of the Council of Canadians, has graciously agreed to speak at this event about the Security and Prosperity Partnership and answer questions.
Date: Monday, October 6
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Location: University of Winnipeg, Room 2M67
http://wakeupwinnipeg.ca/index.php/welcome/page/24
All Candidates Town Hall
Date: Monday, October 6
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Red River Community Centre, 293 Murray Road at Main (north of Chief Peguis Trail)
Sponsored by: Council of Women of Winnipeg; Peace Alliance Winnipeg Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba; University Women’s Club of Winnipeg
For more information call 992 2751
Moderator: Terry MacLeod of CBC “Information Radio”
Afghanistan forum
Amnesty International is presenting a lecture about human rights in Afghanistan and how it impacts women, children, and families.
Date: Thursday, October 9
Time: 7:00 p.m. (or 6:30 pm if you wish to participate in an orientation about Amnesty International)
Location: Welcome Place, 397 Carlton Street
More messages from Allies:
SPP teach-in
Professor Robert Chernomas, Economics Professor at the University of Manitoba and Board member of the Council of Canadians, has graciously agreed to speak at this event about the Security and Prosperity Partnership and answer questions.
Date: Monday, October 6
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Location: University of Winnipeg, Room 2M67
http://wakeupwinnipeg.ca/index.php/welcome/page/24
All Candidates Town Hall
Date: Monday, October 6
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Red River Community Centre, 293 Murray Road at Main (north of Chief Peguis Trail)
Sponsored by: Council of Women of Winnipeg; Peace Alliance Winnipeg Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba; University Women’s Club of Winnipeg
For more information call 992 2751
Moderator: Terry MacLeod of CBC “Information Radio”
Afghanistan forum
Amnesty International is presenting a lecture about human rights in Afghanistan and how it impacts women, children, and families.
Date: Thursday, October 9
Time: 7:00 p.m. (or 6:30 pm if you wish to participate in an orientation about Amnesty International)
Location: Welcome Place, 397 Carlton Street
Arts & Culture
A message from Lisa Kiss Design:
We are creating a series of 40 second videos for YouTube to promote the idea of voting for a party that values arts and culture in the upcoming Canadian election (October 14). We believe that the recent cuts to arts funding by Stephen Harper's Conservative government shows their lack of commitment to core Canadian values. If you feel the same, please consider participating in this project.
Interested in participating?
1. send a photo of yourself in a plain t-shirt to:
artsandculture2008@gmail.com
(no text on the front, no collar)
2. the image can be a jpg, tiff, eps (under 5 MB)
- one person per photo will be featured
- there can be other people in the shot but only one will be highlighted
- please read the t-shirt and let us know if one of the sayings does NOT pertain to you
3. provide your full name, occupation, city and province of residence
- this information will be in the video
**NOTE: by sending a photo you are AGREEING to be in one of the videos
Here are the first two videos:
We are creating a series of 40 second videos for YouTube to promote the idea of voting for a party that values arts and culture in the upcoming Canadian election (October 14). We believe that the recent cuts to arts funding by Stephen Harper's Conservative government shows their lack of commitment to core Canadian values. If you feel the same, please consider participating in this project.
Interested in participating?
1. send a photo of yourself in a plain t-shirt to:
artsandculture2008@gmail.com
(no text on the front, no collar)
2. the image can be a jpg, tiff, eps (under 5 MB)
- one person per photo will be featured
- there can be other people in the shot but only one will be highlighted
- please read the t-shirt and let us know if one of the sayings does NOT pertain to you
3. provide your full name, occupation, city and province of residence
- this information will be in the video
**NOTE: by sending a photo you are AGREEING to be in one of the videos
Here are the first two videos:
Marg, Princess Warrior - The Sweater Vest Bonfire
Marg, Princess Warrior (AKA Mary Walsh) burns Prime Minister Stephen Harper sweater vests on Middle Cove Beach, Newfoundland as a bonfire political protest.
... BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Winnipeg Branch of the “Department of Culture” hosts its very own This is NOT a Conservative Party!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Department of Culture (Winnipeg) Contact:
Milena Placentile, departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com
October 3, 2008 -- (Winnipeg, MB) – We’re joining ranks with concerned citizens across the country and we’re gonna rock the vote!
The Winnipeg Branch of the “Department of Culture” is thrilled to host its very own event in a national network of concerts taking place a few days before the election serving to demonstrate that Canadians reject Conservative policies and their candidates from coast-to-coast.
Join us on Wednesday October 8, 2008 at the King’s Head Pub (120 King Street) for Winnipeg’s very own This is NOT a Conservative Party! We’re starting early (7:00 p.m.) and we’re going late! No advance tickets are required... just show up, PWYC ($5 suggested), get the scoop on what we can do to achieve a better Canada, and rock out!
Featuring:
Quinzy (http://www.quinzy.ca)
Drums & Wires (http://www.myspace.com/drumsandwires)
Patrick Keenan (http://.myspace.com/patrickkeenan)
DJ Rob Vilar (http://www.myspace.com/exitthebody)
+ VJs Les Klassen, Hope Peterson, and PO-MO
The Winnipeg Branch of the Department of Culture is a growing community of Canadian citizens who are artists, arts professionals, and cultural workers concerned about ensuring the social and cultural health and prosperity of our nation in the face of a Federal Government that is aggressively undermining the values that define Canada.
We are you: the painters, architects, dancers, writers, actors, designers, filmmakers, sculptors, performers, photographers, ceramicists, directors, curators, musicians, archivists, fashion designers, producers, weavers, choreographers, videographers, editors, librarians...
But we’re not organizing as arts and cultural workers protesting cuts to the arts. No... there’s so much more to it than that!
We’re arts-minded people protesting the irresponsible and unfair government that has dramatically reduced quality of life in Canada for all Canadians. That irresponsible and unfair government is Stephen Harper's gang of CPC MPs -- an aggressive and regressive alliance of ultra-right non-progressive Conservatives and members of the former Reform.
We are part of a national network of concerned citizens who don’t buy their lie that supporters of the arts live in an elitist bubble unaffected by the destruction of health care, public services, safe food and water, child care, labour laws, women’s rights, public education, the environment, thoughtful culture, and everything else the Conservatives seem to hate. We’re fighting for economic, social, and political justice for all.
The CPC has done a shocking amount of social, economic, and political damage in such a short time, so it’s a good thing Harper decided to call it quits when he did -- we’ve had enough and we’re working to ensure he’s unemployed by Oct 14!!
It's not enough that we vote against the Conservatives on Oct 14, we need to inform our fellow Canadians -- who see a decline in quality of life, but haven't yet correlated it as the impact of Conservative and neo-liberal policies and actions -- about the need to vote strategically to unseat Conservatives, wherever they may be. We don't want 'em, we don't need 'em, and we’re going to send ‘em packing!
This is NOT a Conservative Party!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
King’s Head Pub (Upstairs)
120 King Street, Winnipeg, MB
7:00 p.m. til’ late
Admission: Pay What You Can ($5 suggested)
Individuals and groups wanting to volunteer with the Winnipeg branch of the Department of Culture are welcome to contact: departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com.
For more information, please contact Milena Placentile, departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com
Visit us online: http://department-of-culture-winnipeg.blogspot.com and http://www.departmentofculture.ca
The Winnipeg Branch of the “Department of Culture”
hosts its very own
This is NOT a Conservative Party!
hosts its very own
This is NOT a Conservative Party!
Department of Culture (Winnipeg) Contact:
Milena Placentile, departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com
October 3, 2008 -- (Winnipeg, MB) – We’re joining ranks with concerned citizens across the country and we’re gonna rock the vote!
The Winnipeg Branch of the “Department of Culture” is thrilled to host its very own event in a national network of concerts taking place a few days before the election serving to demonstrate that Canadians reject Conservative policies and their candidates from coast-to-coast.
This is NOT a Conservative Party!
Join us on Wednesday October 8, 2008 at the King’s Head Pub (120 King Street) for Winnipeg’s very own This is NOT a Conservative Party! We’re starting early (7:00 p.m.) and we’re going late! No advance tickets are required... just show up, PWYC ($5 suggested), get the scoop on what we can do to achieve a better Canada, and rock out!
Featuring:
Quinzy (http://www.quinzy.ca)
Drums & Wires (http://www.myspace.com/drumsandwires)
Patrick Keenan (http://.myspace.com/patrickkeenan)
DJ Rob Vilar (http://www.myspace.com/exitthebody)
+ VJs Les Klassen, Hope Peterson, and PO-MO
WHO ARE WE?
The Winnipeg Branch of the Department of Culture is a growing community of Canadian citizens who are artists, arts professionals, and cultural workers concerned about ensuring the social and cultural health and prosperity of our nation in the face of a Federal Government that is aggressively undermining the values that define Canada.
We are you: the painters, architects, dancers, writers, actors, designers, filmmakers, sculptors, performers, photographers, ceramicists, directors, curators, musicians, archivists, fashion designers, producers, weavers, choreographers, videographers, editors, librarians...
But we’re not organizing as arts and cultural workers protesting cuts to the arts. No... there’s so much more to it than that!
We’re arts-minded people protesting the irresponsible and unfair government that has dramatically reduced quality of life in Canada for all Canadians. That irresponsible and unfair government is Stephen Harper's gang of CPC MPs -- an aggressive and regressive alliance of ultra-right non-progressive Conservatives and members of the former Reform.
We are part of a national network of concerned citizens who don’t buy their lie that supporters of the arts live in an elitist bubble unaffected by the destruction of health care, public services, safe food and water, child care, labour laws, women’s rights, public education, the environment, thoughtful culture, and everything else the Conservatives seem to hate. We’re fighting for economic, social, and political justice for all.
The CPC has done a shocking amount of social, economic, and political damage in such a short time, so it’s a good thing Harper decided to call it quits when he did -- we’ve had enough and we’re working to ensure he’s unemployed by Oct 14!!
It's not enough that we vote against the Conservatives on Oct 14, we need to inform our fellow Canadians -- who see a decline in quality of life, but haven't yet correlated it as the impact of Conservative and neo-liberal policies and actions -- about the need to vote strategically to unseat Conservatives, wherever they may be. We don't want 'em, we don't need 'em, and we’re going to send ‘em packing!
This is NOT a Conservative Party!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
King’s Head Pub (Upstairs)
120 King Street, Winnipeg, MB
7:00 p.m. til’ late
Admission: Pay What You Can ($5 suggested)
Individuals and groups wanting to volunteer with the Winnipeg branch of the Department of Culture are welcome to contact: departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com.
For more information, please contact Milena Placentile, departmentofculture.winnipeg@gmail.com
Visit us online: http://department-of-culture-winnipeg.blogspot.com and http://www.departmentofculture.ca
- 30 -
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Harper Government: Here for a good time...
But the rest of us? We're here for a long time, so let's talk about what's at stake, and let's figure out what we need to do to make this work... for ALL of us!
An excellent video...
An excellent video...
CSI 2008 ELECTION UPDATE
The Centre for Social Innovation wants you to know that YOUR VOTE MATTERS!...
With October 14th fast approaching and so very much at stake, we decided to compile a list for you of all the election related blogs and initiatives that have been launched by, or are connected with, our incredible CSI tenants.
With October 14th fast approaching and so very much at stake, we decided to compile a list for you of all the election related blogs and initiatives that have been launched by, or are connected with, our incredible CSI tenants.
While the Centre for Social Innovation prides itself on being a non-partisan space, we are dedicated to sharing and supporting the work of our change-making colleagues.
To help inform your upcoming vote, and for further information about the Arts, Environment, Strategic Voting, and more, please see below for Election News from our community. We encourage you to get involved, and learn what you can to make an informed choice.
************************************************************************************
1. Progressive Multi-author Blog Analysis of the Election
2. Vote Smart so the Majority Wins
3. Coalition of Artists Take Action
4. David Suzuki Foundation Launches Non-partisan Site
5. Launch of Viral Strategic Voting Campaign
6. Advocacy Online launches the 'Canada Votes 2008' widget
7. Non-Partisan Arts Advocacy
1. Progressive Multi-author Blog Analysis of the Election - http://rabble.ca/election/
Award-winning author Dionne Brand, filmmaker Brian McKenna, and environmentalist, David Suzuki, as well as newly formed advocacy organization, the Department of Culture, are the latest to join the multi-author election blog found at http://www.rabble.ca/election
Launched on September 7 with the intention of bringing together the best progressive analysis on the election all in one place, the response to the initiative has been overwhelming. The blog brings together artists, labour leaders and researchers, economists, environmentalists, first nation activists, youth, GLBT advocates, other independent media (the Dominion, Briarpatch)... people from all walks of life and from all across the country to participate. Visit the site for contributions from organizations including the Council of Canadians, the Parkland Institute, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Rideau Institute, and from writers including Murray Dobbin, James Laxer, Jim Stanford, and NOW magazine's Alice Klein.
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2. Vote Smart so the Majority Wins - www.VoteforEnvironment.ca
Initiated by Alice Klein (CSI board member) and Kevin Grandia, www.VoteforEnvironment.ca takes a whole new angle on the election. By providing a dynamic riding by riding prediction system, this site makes the best possible information available to Canadians so we can stop splitting the vote and instead vote smart to achieve government change not climate change
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3. Coalition of Artists take Action - http://departmentofculture.ca/
CSI tenants Darren O'Donnell (mammalian.ca) and Gregory Elgstrand have joined up with other Canadian artists to form the Department of Culture - a growing community of Canadian citizens who are artists, arts professionals and cultural workers concerned about ensuring the social and cultural health and prosperity of our nation in the face of a Federal Government that is aggressively undermining the values that define Canada. The Department of Culture is a movement ready to fight for progressive social and cultural values through artist-initiated actions that employ the skills, experiences, collaborative methods and imagination that define artists' work. For further information and artist resources visit http://departmentofculture.ca/resources/.
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4. David Suzuki Foundation Launches Non-partisan Site - www.voteenvironment2008.ca
The health of our environment and the vitality of our democracy go hand-in-hand, which is why the David Suzuki Foundation was inspired to launch a highly interactive election website site, www.voteenvironment2008.ca
This non-partisan site encourages Canadians to engage in dialogue to ensure that the critical issue of environment does not get lost in the campaign, so that our next government, regardless of which party wins, will work toward solutions. It is also a resource to get the facts on environmental issues from climate change to public transit. So get involved and have your say!
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5. Launch of Viral Strategic Voting Campaign - http://anyonebutharper.ca/
Canadians concerned about the possibility of another Harper Conservative government have new tools this election. Some of Canada's leading new media content creators launched a cross-Canada viral media campaign in response to their own concerns about a possible Harper Conservative majority government. In only two weeks, the group, which includes CSI tenant Mark Kuznicki of Remarkk!, organized themselves on Facebook, created and distributed viral videos, launched a website at http://anyonebutharper.ca/ and developed an embed-able strategic voting web widget.
The goal of the campaign is to help progressive Canadians vote strategically this election in an informed way based on the latest polling data and the unique characteristics of their own ridings. Vote to win - get involved at http://AnyoneButHarper.ca/, and http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27474812415
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6. Advocacy Online launches the 'Canada Votes 2008' widget
Since elections are usually a critical time for the advocacy work of many organizations, Advocacy Online created a 'widget' that would enable individuals to find their local candidates and send them an email message. The 'Canada Votes 2008' widget can be added to any web page using simple embed code - similar to the embed code you would use to display a YouTube video. The generic version of the widget is free for any group to use. Please email graham@advocacyonline.net to request the embed code - available in English and French. To see the widget in action, visit: www.advocacyonline.net/cms/cmsloader?ejQwbm&view=281,521,3165,0,-html
CSI tenant Advocacy Online is a provider of e-advocacy software and services to charities and other campaigning organizations in Canada, the UK, the United States, and Australia. Our software platform, called e-activist, is used by over 100 groups to mobilize grassroot supporters, and enables them to campaign for policy change at the local, regional, and national levels.
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7. Non-Partisan Arts Advocacy - www.canadianartscoalition.ca
CSI tenant Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists, Ontario Chapter (CADA-ON) is supporting the efforts of the non-partisan arts advocacy group, Canadian Arts Coalition, an entirely volunteer-run organization working to keep culture on the election agenda.
CADA-ON is a non-profit organization that empowers and educates its membership of dance professionals to promote the art form in society. CADA-ON developed the best practices document, Professional Standards for Dance, and its members benefit from programs including accident insurance, training subsidies, professional development opportunities and more.
Playwrights provoke with political work
Reposted from: Stage Door / By Kevin Prokosh / Winnipeg Free Press, October 1, 2008
***
The Wrecking Ball is swinging through Winnipeg next Monday in an attempt to poke a hole in the notion that political theatre is dead in Canada.
Wrecking Ball is a four-year-old Toronto theatre movement that seeks to address the annoying reality that there's too much theatre in our politics and not enough politics in our theatre. Prominent Canadian playwrights such as Jason Sherman, Norm Foster, Morris Panych and Daniel MacIvor have penned politically minded monologues meant to challenge and provoke audiences.
For the first time, Wrecking Balls are going national, with eight of them, including one here, set to go Monday, showcasing the work of writers venting expressively about the federal election. The lineup for the Winnipeg ball consists of Michael Nathanson, Ellen Peterson and the Royal Liechtenstein tag team of Gord Tanner and Trish Cooper, as well as a piece called Nail Biter by playwright Judith Thompson.
The 8 p.m. cabaret, to be held at Prairie Theatre Exchange, is open to the public and is a pay-what-you-can event, with proceeds going to the department of culture, an ad hoc group of artists fighting the Stephen Harper government's funding cuts to the arts.
The Wrecking Ball will be welcomed in Winnipeg, where political theatre sightings are quite rare. Last season, Theatre Project's production called How to Kill Yourself With a Screwdriver by Devin McCracken -- inspired by the 2005 shooting of Matthew Dumas by a Winnipeg police officer -- was one example. The Wrecking Ball is seeking a more immediate, ripped-from-the-headlines response to events.
"It's a way to unify the country on political grounds," says Wrecking Ball organizer Michael Rubenfeld, a Toronto actor/director. "As Canadians, we fear controversy. We fear asking difficult questions and being too political. We're not comfortable disagreeing."
The local participants must adhere to two rules: Create brief, explosive pieces inspired by what's happening right now in the election and do it in one week to guarantee maximum freshness. A two-hour rehearsal during the day Monday is all that stands between author and audience.
"This is gloves off," says local producer Rick Chafe, author of Shakespeare's Dog. "It's so immediate, it will be charged with a different kind of energy. What you'll hear is right out of a writer's pen. There will be blood on the floor."
Nathanson, a huge fan of TV's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, said he was seduced to join in by the opportunity to write political satire.
"I think artists have understandable concern about the state of the arts and the relationship of the Conservative government to the arts," he says. "My inspiration is being drawn from one of the best (and oldest) political satires: Duck Soup, the famous Marx Brothers movie."
***
The Wrecking Ball is swinging through Winnipeg next Monday in an attempt to poke a hole in the notion that political theatre is dead in Canada.
Wrecking Ball is a four-year-old Toronto theatre movement that seeks to address the annoying reality that there's too much theatre in our politics and not enough politics in our theatre. Prominent Canadian playwrights such as Jason Sherman, Norm Foster, Morris Panych and Daniel MacIvor have penned politically minded monologues meant to challenge and provoke audiences.
For the first time, Wrecking Balls are going national, with eight of them, including one here, set to go Monday, showcasing the work of writers venting expressively about the federal election. The lineup for the Winnipeg ball consists of Michael Nathanson, Ellen Peterson and the Royal Liechtenstein tag team of Gord Tanner and Trish Cooper, as well as a piece called Nail Biter by playwright Judith Thompson.
The 8 p.m. cabaret, to be held at Prairie Theatre Exchange, is open to the public and is a pay-what-you-can event, with proceeds going to the department of culture, an ad hoc group of artists fighting the Stephen Harper government's funding cuts to the arts.
The Wrecking Ball will be welcomed in Winnipeg, where political theatre sightings are quite rare. Last season, Theatre Project's production called How to Kill Yourself With a Screwdriver by Devin McCracken -- inspired by the 2005 shooting of Matthew Dumas by a Winnipeg police officer -- was one example. The Wrecking Ball is seeking a more immediate, ripped-from-the-headlines response to events.
"It's a way to unify the country on political grounds," says Wrecking Ball organizer Michael Rubenfeld, a Toronto actor/director. "As Canadians, we fear controversy. We fear asking difficult questions and being too political. We're not comfortable disagreeing."
The local participants must adhere to two rules: Create brief, explosive pieces inspired by what's happening right now in the election and do it in one week to guarantee maximum freshness. A two-hour rehearsal during the day Monday is all that stands between author and audience.
"This is gloves off," says local producer Rick Chafe, author of Shakespeare's Dog. "It's so immediate, it will be charged with a different kind of energy. What you'll hear is right out of a writer's pen. There will be blood on the floor."
Nathanson, a huge fan of TV's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, said he was seduced to join in by the opportunity to write political satire.
"I think artists have understandable concern about the state of the arts and the relationship of the Conservative government to the arts," he says. "My inspiration is being drawn from one of the best (and oldest) political satires: Duck Soup, the famous Marx Brothers movie."
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
An Economics of Culture
Even if you're one of those [few] people who don't recognize that there's more to culture than it's consumer value, you'd be hard pressed to deny the economic benefits of a strong cultural field. It's no surprise that the same government that rejects the widespread benefits of culture is the same government that's blowing Canada's surplus on corporate welfare and other giveaways that genuinely serve only the financial elite.
* * *
* * *
Valuing Culture: Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy
The Conference Board of Canada (July 2008) | weblink
Prepared by The Conference Board of Canada for the International Forum on the Creative Economy.
This report highlights the substantial social, cultural, and economic contributions of Canada’s culture sector and assesses its economic footprint. This report is a joint initiative of the Conference Board’s Organizational Effectiveness and Learning Division and Forecast and Economics Division, in collaboration with the Government of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage.
See also: ‘Arts and cultural industries add billions of dollars to Canadian economy’, The Conference Board of Canada News Release, September 16, 2008 | weblink
The CCA and the Federal Election
During this campaign, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) will be providing information to its members and the cultural sector on the positions of the federal parties regarding arts and culture in Canada.
For more information and resources, please visit:
For more information and resources, please visit:
Five Things You Need to Know About Harper and The Environment
ONE:
Parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, committing Canada to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. The former Liberal government's failure to implement such reductions is expected to leave Canada 44% above its permitted Kyoto amounts by 2010, but at least the Liberals maintained their verbal support for Kyoto. The Harper government has reneged on the protocol altogether, announcing in April 2006 that it had no intention of meeting its Kyoto targets. A month later, it cut all the environmental funding designed to meet the Kyoto standards.
TWO:
The tar sands in Alberta are by far the largest contributor and fastest growing source of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions that intensify global warming. No matter the cost, the Harper government has been relentless in its push for the rapid, unchecked development of the tar sands. It favours a five-fold increase in production — from one million barrels a day today to five million barrels a day by 2030. Not a single application for tar sands development has ever been denied. Production is planned to double by 2012 and triple by 2018. By that time, annual emissions from the tar sands will triple from 25 million tonnes to 75 million tonnes.
THREE:
The tar sands help fuel the American military machine. Canada exports 750,000 barrels of oil daily to the United States, much of it to meet that country's military demand. The Harper government plans to have three more major pipelines built to the U.S. to keep that country's energy needs well supplied – although there is still no east-west pipeline to transport Alberta petroleum to Eastern Canada, which is forced to import 40% of its oil from Saudi Arabia and other countries. The three new pipelines are expected to convey over one million more barrels of fuel a day to the U.S.
FOUR:
The tar sands are a voracious consumer of natural gas and water. Each tar sands barrel requires up to 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas, and, given planned expansion, it is projected that tar sands plants will be using four times as much natural gas by 2018. Burning so much comparatively clean and valuable gas to create dirty tar sands oil — especially when our proven reserves of natural gas are near depletion-- has been compared to using gold to make lead. Tar sands production also requires massive and unsustainable quantities of water—now up to 4.5 barrels of water for every barrel of bitumen—which ends up in huge toxic tailing ponds, some so big they can be seen from space. The Athabasca River, from which the water is extracted, is not expected by water experts to be able to maintain sufficient flows to meet the tar sands' growing thirst.
FIVE:
Since tar sands production started to increase, the people of Fort Chipewayan and other communities downstream have been plagued by high rates of abnormal cancers, such as those of the liver, blood, and bile duct, as well as other diseases and an ever-increasing death rate. Dangerous levels of mercury and arsenic have been found in nearby streams, and the fish and animals on which the Cree rely for food have been contaminated. Although the federal government has a legal responsibility for First Nations health care under the Indian Act and numerous treaties, the health crisis near the tar sands has been ignored by the Harper government. The health of the First Nations people evidently ranks far behind promotion of tar sands development in its list of priorities.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-MB
309-323 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3B 2C1
ph: (204) 927-3200 // fax: (204) 927-3201 // www.policyalternatives.ca
CAW Local 567
Five Things You Need to Know About Harper and Human Rights
CCPA's national office recently released the book: The Harper Record. This book is a comprehensive analysis of the Conservative minority government to date. You can download this book as a PDF file off the CCPA website.
CCPA-Manitoba will be releasing a series of Federal Election Fast Facts called: Five Things You Need to Know About Harper and……..(various topics). The Fast Facts are quick summaries of some of the topics covered in the book such as crime, childcare, civil rights, women, the environment and energy, water, governance and privatization.
Today's Election Fast Facts deals with Stephen Harper's record on human rights - the other topics will be released prior to the election.
ONE:
The United Nations General Assembly last June voted 143 to 4 (with 11 abstentions) in favour of adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada was one of the four countries that voted against it. Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said Canada didn't support the Declaration because it was "fundamentally flawed...[and] incompatible with Canada's constitutional framework." It was also rejected, he said, because it failed to recognize Canada's "need to balance indigenous rights to land and resources with the rights of others." His excuse reflected the concerns and priorities of a government strongly committed to resource exploitation and corporate interests.
TWO:
Canada is the only developed democracy that has permitted one of its citizens – Omar Khadr -- to remain incarcerated in the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where he has been subjected to torture and other harsh treatment. His detention there violates both Canadian and international human rights laws, but the Harper government has consistently refused to make any effort to bring him home. Khadr was a teenager when first imprisoned by the Americans, and child soldiers are entitled under international law to due protection and rehabilitation, not incarceration. The UN's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict has publicly deplored Harper's decision to leave Khadr at Guantamano.
THREE:
While former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour served as the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, she won praise from many countries and NGOs for her diligence in exposing and condemning human rights violations. She was chief prosecutor in the trial of Serbian leader Slobadan Milosevic for war crimes and secured his indictment. But her outspoken criticism of UN member countries' infringements of human rights, including the use of torture by the U.S. military in Iraq and Guantanamo, drew fire from the Bush administration, and also, shockingly, from the Harper government. When she finished her term as Commissioner, the Harper government was called upon to publicly thank her and salute her record as a defender of human rights. Instead, in the House of Commons, former Justice Minister Vic Toews castigated Arbour and went so far as to call her "a disgrace."
FOUR:
Canada was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the UN Convention Against Torture, in 1987. But Canada's commitment to the treaty came under question when several Canadian citizens, including Maher Arar, underwent torture in foreign jails, evidently with Canadian complicity. Following the Arar Inquiry, the Harper Government issued a manual to Canadian diplomats on how to recognize and oppose the use of torture. It listed several countries that had been found guilty of torture, including the U.S. The manual drew praise from Amnesty International and other human rights advocates, but when the U.S. protested, the Harper government quickly apologized and promised that the manual would be revised to remove the U.S. from its list of nations that torture captives.
FIVE:
Many of the "security" measures introduced by the federal government under pressure from the U.S. after 9/11 have expanded state power at the expense of citizens' rights and freedoms and the rule of law. One of the most offensive is the No-Fly List introduced by the Harper government in 2007. It violates several sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including mobility, due process, and equality rights, and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. People are put on the list with no prior notice or opportunity for a hearing to learn about and answer the allegations against them. The ban on their flying could impair their ability to earn a living. For them, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms offers no protection or recourse.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-MB
309-323 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3B 2C1
ph: (204) 927-3200 // fax: (204) 927-3201 // www.policyalternatives.ca
CAW Local 567
CCPA-Manitoba will be releasing a series of Federal Election Fast Facts called: Five Things You Need to Know About Harper and……..(various topics). The Fast Facts are quick summaries of some of the topics covered in the book such as crime, childcare, civil rights, women, the environment and energy, water, governance and privatization.
Today's Election Fast Facts deals with Stephen Harper's record on human rights - the other topics will be released prior to the election.
ONE:
The United Nations General Assembly last June voted 143 to 4 (with 11 abstentions) in favour of adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada was one of the four countries that voted against it. Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said Canada didn't support the Declaration because it was "fundamentally flawed...[and] incompatible with Canada's constitutional framework." It was also rejected, he said, because it failed to recognize Canada's "need to balance indigenous rights to land and resources with the rights of others." His excuse reflected the concerns and priorities of a government strongly committed to resource exploitation and corporate interests.
TWO:
Canada is the only developed democracy that has permitted one of its citizens – Omar Khadr -- to remain incarcerated in the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where he has been subjected to torture and other harsh treatment. His detention there violates both Canadian and international human rights laws, but the Harper government has consistently refused to make any effort to bring him home. Khadr was a teenager when first imprisoned by the Americans, and child soldiers are entitled under international law to due protection and rehabilitation, not incarceration. The UN's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict has publicly deplored Harper's decision to leave Khadr at Guantamano.
THREE:
While former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour served as the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, she won praise from many countries and NGOs for her diligence in exposing and condemning human rights violations. She was chief prosecutor in the trial of Serbian leader Slobadan Milosevic for war crimes and secured his indictment. But her outspoken criticism of UN member countries' infringements of human rights, including the use of torture by the U.S. military in Iraq and Guantanamo, drew fire from the Bush administration, and also, shockingly, from the Harper government. When she finished her term as Commissioner, the Harper government was called upon to publicly thank her and salute her record as a defender of human rights. Instead, in the House of Commons, former Justice Minister Vic Toews castigated Arbour and went so far as to call her "a disgrace."
FOUR:
Canada was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the UN Convention Against Torture, in 1987. But Canada's commitment to the treaty came under question when several Canadian citizens, including Maher Arar, underwent torture in foreign jails, evidently with Canadian complicity. Following the Arar Inquiry, the Harper Government issued a manual to Canadian diplomats on how to recognize and oppose the use of torture. It listed several countries that had been found guilty of torture, including the U.S. The manual drew praise from Amnesty International and other human rights advocates, but when the U.S. protested, the Harper government quickly apologized and promised that the manual would be revised to remove the U.S. from its list of nations that torture captives.
FIVE:
Many of the "security" measures introduced by the federal government under pressure from the U.S. after 9/11 have expanded state power at the expense of citizens' rights and freedoms and the rule of law. One of the most offensive is the No-Fly List introduced by the Harper government in 2007. It violates several sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including mobility, due process, and equality rights, and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. People are put on the list with no prior notice or opportunity for a hearing to learn about and answer the allegations against them. The ban on their flying could impair their ability to earn a living. For them, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms offers no protection or recourse.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-MB
309-323 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3B 2C1
ph: (204) 927-3200 // fax: (204) 927-3201 // www.policyalternatives.ca
CAW Local 567
Anything But Harper... Media
Harper is against freedom of the press and for secrecy and suppressing communication.
Find out more...
Find out more...
Messages from Allies
A message from Right to Housing
Right to Housing
Housing for all is a human right.
Winnipeg, MB September 26, 2008
Social Housing: the Key to Ending Homelessness
We need a Federal Government committed to housing low income Canadians
Canada has signed United Nations agreements to ensure adequate housing as a basic human right that must be available to all. Over the past decade the commitment by the Federal Government to put this human right to housing into practice has been significantly eroded. Many Canadians face impossible obstacles as they try to house themselves.
Don't be fooled. Recently the Federal Government announced a five year commitment to continue funding their existing housing programs (the Affordable Housing Initiative, Homelessness Partnering Strategy, and Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program). Welcome as this announcement is, these programs have not created nearly enough new housing units. Ironically, existing policies that provide money to improve and repair existing neighbourhoods raise the cost of housing, resulting in the displacement of the poor and the creation of homelessness. Such programs must also provide social housing (where rent is geared to income) for those who are being displaced.
The Need
Social housing is not sufficiently valued by government and has been allowed to deteriorate and lag far behind the need. In 1994 the federal government stopped funding new social housing construction. Since then federal housing programs have been short-term and underfunded, and have often created or maintained housing that is not accessible to those who need it the most.
As housing costs increase and income and welfare benefits stagnate, the housing crisis and need for social housing grows.
People are forced to spend food money on rent, making personal debt, panhandling and food banks sad necessities for survival.
Aboriginal housing agencies have waiting lists with thousands of families and individuals on and off reserve. Canada is in violation of its treaty obligations to house First Nations Peoples.
Housing for new Canadians, seniors in poverty, and people with physical or mental disabilities who have special housing needs is grossly insufficient.
The Solution
Social Housing is a key to Make Poverty History in Canada
1. Long term funding for a national housing strategy
Re-establish the Federal Government and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as leaders in housing Canadians by committing to the 30,000 social housing units (rent geared to income) per year required to meet the need, in cooperation with the provinces, cities and nonprofit sector.1
Set targets and strategies specific to the unique needs of Aboriginal peoples on and off reserve, new Canadians, seniors and people with disabilities.
2. Stop paying down the deficit on the backs of the homeless
Redirect CMHC’s $4.6 billion surplus from reducing the national deficit to reinvesting it in the capital costs of new social housing.
CMHC must continue to pay operating and rent subsidy costs after mortgages on existing social housing units are paid off.
3. Use the empty houses on the Kapyong military base
The empty Kapyong base houses along Kenaston Boulevard should be used as transitional housing for new Canadians and Aboriginal people new to the city.
It has cost taxpayers $1.5 million per year for the last four years to keep 120 houses empty and heated. Use them to house people on housing waiting lists!
About Right to Housing
Right to Housing is a Winnipeg-based coalition that brings together 30 organizations and over 120 individuals to address the chronic need for social housing, where rent is geared to income.
Coalition supporters work together to promote, advocate and lobby for safe, quality and social housing and housing policy solutions on a local, provincial and national level as part of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate poverty.
Right to Housing meets regularly. We are committed to achieving our goals by working cooperatively, respectfully and inclusively. Contact us if you would like more information, to attend a coalition meeting, or to support Right to Housing.
www.righttohousing.ca
info@righttohousing.ca
----
1“Addressing core need starts with adding 30,000 new affordable homes annually”. Canadian Housing and Rehabilitation Association, Federal Election Tool Kit.
Right to Housing
Housing for all is a human right.
Winnipeg, MB September 26, 2008
Social Housing: the Key to Ending Homelessness
We need a Federal Government committed to housing low income Canadians
Canada has signed United Nations agreements to ensure adequate housing as a basic human right that must be available to all. Over the past decade the commitment by the Federal Government to put this human right to housing into practice has been significantly eroded. Many Canadians face impossible obstacles as they try to house themselves.
Don't be fooled. Recently the Federal Government announced a five year commitment to continue funding their existing housing programs (the Affordable Housing Initiative, Homelessness Partnering Strategy, and Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program). Welcome as this announcement is, these programs have not created nearly enough new housing units. Ironically, existing policies that provide money to improve and repair existing neighbourhoods raise the cost of housing, resulting in the displacement of the poor and the creation of homelessness. Such programs must also provide social housing (where rent is geared to income) for those who are being displaced.
The Need
Social housing is not sufficiently valued by government and has been allowed to deteriorate and lag far behind the need. In 1994 the federal government stopped funding new social housing construction. Since then federal housing programs have been short-term and underfunded, and have often created or maintained housing that is not accessible to those who need it the most.
As housing costs increase and income and welfare benefits stagnate, the housing crisis and need for social housing grows.
People are forced to spend food money on rent, making personal debt, panhandling and food banks sad necessities for survival.
Aboriginal housing agencies have waiting lists with thousands of families and individuals on and off reserve. Canada is in violation of its treaty obligations to house First Nations Peoples.
Housing for new Canadians, seniors in poverty, and people with physical or mental disabilities who have special housing needs is grossly insufficient.
The Solution
Social Housing is a key to Make Poverty History in Canada
1. Long term funding for a national housing strategy
Re-establish the Federal Government and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as leaders in housing Canadians by committing to the 30,000 social housing units (rent geared to income) per year required to meet the need, in cooperation with the provinces, cities and nonprofit sector.1
Set targets and strategies specific to the unique needs of Aboriginal peoples on and off reserve, new Canadians, seniors and people with disabilities.
2. Stop paying down the deficit on the backs of the homeless
Redirect CMHC’s $4.6 billion surplus from reducing the national deficit to reinvesting it in the capital costs of new social housing.
CMHC must continue to pay operating and rent subsidy costs after mortgages on existing social housing units are paid off.
3. Use the empty houses on the Kapyong military base
The empty Kapyong base houses along Kenaston Boulevard should be used as transitional housing for new Canadians and Aboriginal people new to the city.
It has cost taxpayers $1.5 million per year for the last four years to keep 120 houses empty and heated. Use them to house people on housing waiting lists!
About Right to Housing
Right to Housing is a Winnipeg-based coalition that brings together 30 organizations and over 120 individuals to address the chronic need for social housing, where rent is geared to income.
Coalition supporters work together to promote, advocate and lobby for safe, quality and social housing and housing policy solutions on a local, provincial and national level as part of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate poverty.
Right to Housing meets regularly. We are committed to achieving our goals by working cooperatively, respectfully and inclusively. Contact us if you would like more information, to attend a coalition meeting, or to support Right to Housing.
www.righttohousing.ca
info@righttohousing.ca
----
1“Addressing core need starts with adding 30,000 new affordable homes annually”. Canadian Housing and Rehabilitation Association, Federal Election Tool Kit.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Messages from Allies
Hey everyone,
Click the link below to download the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health's 2008 Election Toolkit, which is loaded with stats and questions to present to the candidates in your riding.
It makes it even easier to see that the Conservatives do NOT have YOUR best interest at heart!
Their party-line answers to these questions demonstrate just how much their agenda is motivated by private values and not the collective right for all people to access information and make decisions independently.
Click the link below to download the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health's 2008 Election Toolkit, which is loaded with stats and questions to present to the candidates in your riding.
It makes it even easier to see that the Conservatives do NOT have YOUR best interest at heart!
Their party-line answers to these questions demonstrate just how much their agenda is motivated by private values and not the collective right for all people to access information and make decisions independently.
Tell him what you really want... A NEW PRIME MINISTER!
With <3 from the Winnipeg Branch of the Department of Culture!
(Click on the image for a full-sized printable version and help us distribute these far and wide!)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Gone in 30 Seconds videos made today!
Today, at Video Pool, Sandee Moore hosted a video making party. Here are some of the projects that have just been posted.
By Cliff Eyland, artist
By Colette Balcaen, artist, and Dave Barber, Programmer, Winnipeg Cinematheque
By Sandee Moore, artist
By Colette Balcaen, artist
By Cliff Eyland, artist
By Colette Balcaen, artist, and Dave Barber, Programmer, Winnipeg Cinematheque
By Sandee Moore, artist
By Colette Balcaen, artist
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