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A11

Nelson Hansen

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Speak Up

Does Stephen Harper hate Canadian music and the arts in general? It would appear our prime minister may have the arts community on the ropes and this includes New Brunswick's struggling musical community.

Enlarge Photo

Canadian Bruce MacDonald (above), director of Hard Core Logo may not have had his films see the light of day if Bill C-10 was around then.

It's been said that actions speak louder than words. It's an old adage that does carry weight, but when you combine heavy-handed actions with strong anti-arts rhetoric things don't look good for musicians and artists in this province or in the rest of Canada for that matter.

Prior to calling the current federal election Harper enraged the arts and culture community with an amendment to Bill C-10 that many are perceiving as a censorship measure. This amendment to C-10 would give sweeping powers to the heritage minister. With an amended Bill C-10 the heritage minister could deny vital tax credits to any production deemed "unsuitable" for funding. This includes productions that may have already received investment from government-run agencies such as TeleFilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund.

This process of denying funds appears somewhat murky and given Harper's stance on morality, this notion of "unsuitable" could cut a very wide swath on a path to Canadian "decency". Would your favourite TV show or Canadian film get made under the new bill? Would our heritage minister approve of tax credits to Trailer Park Boys?

Canadians have produced acclaimed and edgy films and TV that demonstrate the openness of our culture. Bruce MacDonald's brilliant films like Highway 61 and Hard Core Logo may never have seen daylight under these new circumstances. MacDonald parlayed these Canadian cult classics into work in Hollywood and back home as well.

While Bill C-10 hits like a left jab, Harper came back with a right uppercut to the chin cutting $45 million in arts and culture funding. Arts-negative actions like these have had the arts community across the country on its heels. Like any good boxer, Harper knows you get your best results with a combination of punches so after a left jab and a right uppercut does Stephen Harper finish off with a haymaker knockout punch? No, he figures he's damaged the body, now he's going for the spirit. Instead of a knockout punch Harper drops the gloves and gives arts and culture the finger.

When asked about the $45 million in arts cuts Harper dismissed the arts as a niche issue and that the arts aren't of interest to "ordinary people". The following quote has infuriated the arts community: "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."

Having covered entertainment on these shores for over 15 years, I've been to some of these "rich galas". I've been to the East Coast Music Awards on a Sunday night and bumped into an ECMA winner the next Tuesday stapling posters to a telephone poll to promote upcoming shows. I've met with some of these "high falootin' culture types" who were able to make the trip to the ECMAs only because their community believed in them enough to hold community fundraising events to get them there, not because of all the money they earn making music in this country. I've also seen countless thousands of "ordinary" Canadians flock to events like the ECMAs and the Atlantic Film Festival to celebrate our stories told in song and in film.

New Brunswick musicians should keep an eye on this because our industry is small enough to be obliterated by the proposed changes. Presently the music industry in N.B. is trying to make the transition from provincially sustained cultural window dressing to a vibrant and self-sustained industry in its own right. The Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia has been successful at this and Music NB is working hard to get there, but to get there takes some help and someone wants to take that help away.

While both Liberal leader Stephane Dion and NDP top guy Jack Layton have taken the obvious retort of condemning Harper's words and actions, both promising to returns funding to the arts if elected, it's perhaps Harper's misunderstanding of "ordinary" Canadians that should concern artists, filmmakers and musicians the most. Claiming that arts-related issues are "niche related" and reducing the arts and culture to "rich TV galas" that "ordinary" Canadians don't feel a connection to shows an underestimation of the role of arts in our society.

The arts affect every single "ordinary" Canadian in practically every aspect of our lives. We watch TV and movies. We listen to music and read books. We look at art and design. All this forms us as a people and enriches our lives. Art and culture is our canary in the cole mine.

Artists live on the periphery so we don't have to and report back to us in their works. Canadian artists relay to us the news of what it is to be a Canadian in this day and age. Douglas Copeland, Denis Arcand and Hot Toddy help us paint a picture of the Canadian experience. Given our proximity to the information powerhouse that's flooding our airwaves with TV gems like America's Got Talent and films like Beverly Hills Chihuahua it's getting harder and harder to define ourselves as Canadians through our arts and cultural institutions because they can't compete.

Whatever the outcome of this month's election our leaders can't consider something that touches each of us as arts and culture does a "niche" issue. Perhaps once our prime minister realizes this he'll be singing another tune.

If your New Brunswick based act, event or venue would like to be featured in this column please contact the columnist at oneyearofnbmusic@yahoo.ca