Take me out to the Greeenspan

Here is a good one for you.

Former PM Harper decried that well healed Canadians were going off to arts "galas" to complain at the lack of arts funding from his government. Let's assume for a second that Harper is correct and galas which raise money to support the arts and buy musical instruments for kids are immoral.

I wonder then what the PM thinks about the TD bank sponsoring a $450.00 per person, tax deductible as an expense, lunch, with wine, in November so that the well-heeled financial guys, who just received a massive $25 billion bail-out (with more on the way) from Canadian taxpayers, can rub noses with Edward Greenspan, former US Fed boss?

Harper compromises principle for votes?

States the Globe and Mail - "Canadian artists scored a victory Tuesday after Stephen Harper abruptly pulled the plug on a controversial clause in Bill C-10 that would have given government free rein to censor film and television projects it found morally offensive. The Conservative Leader's about-face comes as Tory hopes of a majority fade, and support for the party is sagging in the crucial battlegrounds of Quebec."

The Federal Cons fumbling of the "Arts" issue is very similar to the bone-head move by Ontario Cons when they blew the last election on faith-based school funding - except that Harper learned faster on how to cut the losses than did John Tory.

What are the Cons going to flip-flop on next?  Let's stay tuned, shall we?

Cultural Ottawa?

I received an invite to a three-day symposium being held here in Ottawa beginning April 28, 2008. The Arts and Cultural symposium is being put on by Simon Fraser University in conjunction with the City of Ottawa. From the brochure:

"The international symposium includes keynote speakers, presentations, lectures, and various styles of workshops to examine the role and importance of cultural infrastructure in furthering culture and creativity in cities and communities. "

What I find unsettling is that of the invited speakers there are almost no arts or cultural folks representing Ottawa venues, like Arts Court or the Byward Market. There are speakers from Toronto's Artscape, Nova Scotia's Mermaid Theatre, a bunch from the US and Europe and other parts of Canada. The closest Ottawan, outside of federal political hacks and one city environmental sustainability rep, is the Manager of Manotick Mill Development Corporation.

What's wrong with this picture?