There was definitely a moment of deep sadness, perhaps even slight impending terror as I watched the numbers climb higher and higher. For many in my industry, it is representative of a government which is doing its best to silence us, to kill us, to literally remove our work and erase its possibility of happening. I was in a heated debate with a non-artist who countered that under Harper's tenure thus far, he had created a 75 dollar per child program for those enrolled in arts. It's true, he did that. But that program does not help those of us who are career artists, unless we are directly involved in promoting youth arts. What about arts for adults? What about arts and stories exclusively for adults?
There was a moment where I briefly considered that this would be a good time to study abroad, work abroad. Kelsey even mentioned that this would be a great time for us to go work Cruise ships, which is also true. Then I realized that it isn't what we should do. Arts, and artists in Canada are here to stay. We won't be strong-armed out by a government. Even over four years, what seems like an insurmountable amount of time, he cannot outright kill institutions like the Opera, or the Symphony. Some companies in our cities operate on tens of millions of dollars, employ hundreds of people. There is an infrastructure in place of developing artistic creativity, that as much as the Harper government wants to politically silence, there are simply too many of us.
I am reminded that we are Canadian people. That we are unbowed, and free, free to create and work and explore. We face challenges now, yes. We will assuredly face bigger challenges in the years to come, but we are not going to run and hide. If anything, I deeply hope our work will flourish under persecution. That's my fervent wish, much as I would like a more social, more democratic and engaged Canada...well they always say that your best work happens under the gun.
I will of course be updating this political blog less now that the election is done, but will continue to report on interesting news and articles as they develop. An Election is a first step in democracy, not the last. It's up to us to continue to be engaged over the next 4 years, to draw attention to the issues, to hold our representatives accountable, to ask questions and demand answers.
I leave you with a quote by a great man. No it isn't the Martin Luther King mis-attributed one, but rather from David Van Belle, whom I had the pleasure of working with earlier this season.
-David Van Belle