W
wyliepoon
Guest
Link to article
Need cash for arts? Move to Montreal
Mar 28, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
Hardly anyone in our town noticed, but last month, the House of Commons had a long debate about the merits of an exciting new museum project called Exporail, showcasing this country's railway heritage, without which Canada could never have been born.
By all accounts what makes this project a winner is the sensational collection of memorabilia from the colourful history of life on the tracks that linked one far-flung region to another. That's why it is of national, not just local, importance.
But what makes the concept financially viable is one telling detail. The site for this museum would be on the south shore of Montreal.
Did you get that, Jim Flaherty and Stephen Harper?
If there is one thing about which their regime has been consistent, it's their eagerness to do everything and anything possible to win favour in French Canada – whether it's offering distinct-society status or showering Quebec with equalization payments in last week's budget.
There's a simple reason: wooing votes in Quebec is seen as the magic road to a Harper majority in the federal election that hasn't yet been called.
Don't be surprised if people at the highest level in Ottawa, who may seem notably indifferent to cultural potential, seize on this as the one they want to invest in, even though, historically, the federal government has given major money only to "national" museums in the capital city and environs.
Which leads us to the obvious solution for the six cultural building projects of Toronto's alleged renaissance. The Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the National Ballet School, the Canadian Opera Company and the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art were all hoping for good news in Flaherty's budget.
If only they had thought of moving to Montreal.
They have been waiting more than a year for an answer to their appeal for $49 million of top-up funding for their projects, which they have been reliably told for months by high-placed politicians and cultural bureaucrats was going to be forthcoming any day now.
The Ontario government said yes more than a year ago. Flaherty and Heritage Minister Bev Oda said they'd think about it.
Perhaps they're still thinking.
But at this rate, those new buildings will be old and decaying before there's an answer. Wouldn't it have been kinder to say NO loudly and firmly than keep these beggars in a state of anxiety about this elusive sack of cash urgently needed to finish the job?
Others on the cultural scene are also suffering neglect at the hands of the Harper mob. On this very day, the Canada Council is doing its best to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Indeed, it should be celebrated, because Canadian life is immeasurably richer as a result of investments made in the arts over the past half-century.
But the $300 million celebratory money promised by the outgoing Paul Martin government was squished into a mere $50 million by Flaherty. A year from now, it will run out and there's no guarantee of any sustained increase, despite the obvious need.
Better hold the champagne.
Meanwhile the much-anticipated new national museums policy – which would extend crucial operating money to major museums across the country, not just those in Ottawa – was nowhere to be seen in Flaherty's budget.
Perhaps he hasn't noticed the huge benefits, economic as well as cultural, when government initiates the creation of a phenomenally successful museum such as London's Tate Modern. Flaherty's budget was a big letdown for two future museums, the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg and the National Portrait Gallery for Calgary, as well as existing ones.
And it makes one wonder just what kind of reception Oda will get when she speaks to the Canadian Museums Association in Ottawa tomorrow.
As for those six projects and the elusive $49 million, let's be clear what the problem is: location, location, location. They're in a city so widely hated that later this month the Hot Docs festival is featuring a movie about the national sport of Toronto-bashing.
Montreal in particular has been having a hissy fit in recent times over the metamorphosis of Hogtown into a cultural capital, so giving money to Toronto arts projects wouldn't help Harper win votes in Quebec.
And being in 416 rather than 905 territory makes everything worse as long as Flaherty is signing the cheques.
All that trouble could be avoided with one clear transformation: move all six of these buildings to Montreal. Logistically, there may be some snags, but surely the savvy techies lurking behind the scenes of all these projects could come up with a cost-effective way of doing it.
Otherwise, it is going to take a lot of bake sales to make up for the $49 million that got away.
Need cash for arts? Move to Montreal
Mar 28, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
Hardly anyone in our town noticed, but last month, the House of Commons had a long debate about the merits of an exciting new museum project called Exporail, showcasing this country's railway heritage, without which Canada could never have been born.
By all accounts what makes this project a winner is the sensational collection of memorabilia from the colourful history of life on the tracks that linked one far-flung region to another. That's why it is of national, not just local, importance.
But what makes the concept financially viable is one telling detail. The site for this museum would be on the south shore of Montreal.
Did you get that, Jim Flaherty and Stephen Harper?
If there is one thing about which their regime has been consistent, it's their eagerness to do everything and anything possible to win favour in French Canada – whether it's offering distinct-society status or showering Quebec with equalization payments in last week's budget.
There's a simple reason: wooing votes in Quebec is seen as the magic road to a Harper majority in the federal election that hasn't yet been called.
Don't be surprised if people at the highest level in Ottawa, who may seem notably indifferent to cultural potential, seize on this as the one they want to invest in, even though, historically, the federal government has given major money only to "national" museums in the capital city and environs.
Which leads us to the obvious solution for the six cultural building projects of Toronto's alleged renaissance. The Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the National Ballet School, the Canadian Opera Company and the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art were all hoping for good news in Flaherty's budget.
If only they had thought of moving to Montreal.
They have been waiting more than a year for an answer to their appeal for $49 million of top-up funding for their projects, which they have been reliably told for months by high-placed politicians and cultural bureaucrats was going to be forthcoming any day now.
The Ontario government said yes more than a year ago. Flaherty and Heritage Minister Bev Oda said they'd think about it.
Perhaps they're still thinking.
But at this rate, those new buildings will be old and decaying before there's an answer. Wouldn't it have been kinder to say NO loudly and firmly than keep these beggars in a state of anxiety about this elusive sack of cash urgently needed to finish the job?
Others on the cultural scene are also suffering neglect at the hands of the Harper mob. On this very day, the Canada Council is doing its best to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Indeed, it should be celebrated, because Canadian life is immeasurably richer as a result of investments made in the arts over the past half-century.
But the $300 million celebratory money promised by the outgoing Paul Martin government was squished into a mere $50 million by Flaherty. A year from now, it will run out and there's no guarantee of any sustained increase, despite the obvious need.
Better hold the champagne.
Meanwhile the much-anticipated new national museums policy – which would extend crucial operating money to major museums across the country, not just those in Ottawa – was nowhere to be seen in Flaherty's budget.
Perhaps he hasn't noticed the huge benefits, economic as well as cultural, when government initiates the creation of a phenomenally successful museum such as London's Tate Modern. Flaherty's budget was a big letdown for two future museums, the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg and the National Portrait Gallery for Calgary, as well as existing ones.
And it makes one wonder just what kind of reception Oda will get when she speaks to the Canadian Museums Association in Ottawa tomorrow.
As for those six projects and the elusive $49 million, let's be clear what the problem is: location, location, location. They're in a city so widely hated that later this month the Hot Docs festival is featuring a movie about the national sport of Toronto-bashing.
Montreal in particular has been having a hissy fit in recent times over the metamorphosis of Hogtown into a cultural capital, so giving money to Toronto arts projects wouldn't help Harper win votes in Quebec.
And being in 416 rather than 905 territory makes everything worse as long as Flaherty is signing the cheques.
All that trouble could be avoided with one clear transformation: move all six of these buildings to Montreal. Logistically, there may be some snags, but surely the savvy techies lurking behind the scenes of all these projects could come up with a cost-effective way of doing it.
Otherwise, it is going to take a lot of bake sales to make up for the $49 million that got away.
