the last place on earth you probably want to beart + space + audience

Canada, the poor man’s America. Toronto, Hollywood’s New York City. When will Canada learn that the only way to quell these unfortunate stereotypes (even amongst its own citizens) is to put as much money into the production and distribution of arts as the U.S. and U.K. do?

This week, in the swell of coverage about the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Canadian government announced the axeing of PromArt and Trade Routes, two granting programs that together gave artists $13.7 million to help communicate the culture of Canadian art around the world.

As if the arts weren’t suffering enough.

I first saw the story in Friday’s National Post. The Conservatives claim that Avi Lewis is a “general radical” (ha!) and that the band Holy Fuck has an offensive name. Sorry, Canada. You’re going to have to offer a better explanation than that. Of the list of offending recipients, the only one that offended me was the $3,000 grant that went to Gwynne Dyer for a trip to Cuba to talk about foreign policy. And the only reason it offended me is because it had nothing to do with art.

Cutting these programs sends a far worse message about this country’s culture than the acts it supported ever did. I don’t like to use the word fascism, but this reeks a bit of it, no? It’s always been my understanding that culture is what it is, and not what the government erects in the wake of suppressed ideas and censorship. Why not just strip all artists of their passports and restrict their travel abroad too, just in case?

I’ve always held the open-mindedness of Canadian policy and leadership in very high esteem. It is part of what makes me proud to be Canadian. Being socially liberal is what fosters the essence of Canada, and stripping artists of yet another avenue to create and share their work is what will ultimately erode the culture we’ve been building for over a hundred years.

POP CULTURE SIDEBAR:
I watched the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance last week and grimaced at the thought of the upcoming Canadian edition. It shouldn’t be understandable that I fully expect it to pale in comparison to the American version, but somehow it is completely understandable, because it will pale in comparison. In fact, I helped them build the stage in my garage and filming starts next week. I have to park on the street for eight weeks but it is totally worth it, they paid me $100 for the trouble!