A False Choice
Source : Globe & Mail
August 23, 2008
Canada's plan to allocate new funds for the Vancouver Olympic Games and our elite summer athletes appears to be to rob Peter to pay Paul. What else could one conclude from the news yesterday that the cost savings from eliminating $40-million in arts-grants programs would be directed to the 2010 Olympic torch relay and the Road to Excellence sports program, along with a small bilingualism initiative?
Aside from the obvious accounting convenience that both arts grants and sports funding are administered (somewhat bizarrely) by the same government department, Canadian Heritage, this reallocation makes very little sense.
Adequate government financial support for the arts should be non-negotiable, as should that for sports, and setting up a false choice between the two is entirely unnecessary in a wealthy country, given the relatively small amounts of money involved.
But the decision to spend $24.5-million in arts funding on the Olympic torch relay, of all things, is insulting to Canada's cultural workers, who were already justifiably infuriated by the recently announced cuts to their funding.
The torch relay does serve as a way for small communities to take part in the Olympic spirit. The torch is expected to pass through 350 communities, and it is good that places all across the country, such as Flin Flon, Fenelon Falls and Fort Frances, will be involved in the Winter Games, as well as Vancouver and its environs.
But Canadian artists should not be cut out of the federal budget in favour of a cast of minor celebrities who will jog while carrying a flaming baton.
If asked, corporate sponsors would line up to underwrite the torch relay. Ottawa should let them do so.
© Globe and Mail
Aside from the obvious accounting convenience that both arts grants and sports funding are administered (somewhat bizarrely) by the same government department, Canadian Heritage, this reallocation makes very little sense.
Adequate government financial support for the arts should be non-negotiable, as should that for sports, and setting up a false choice between the two is entirely unnecessary in a wealthy country, given the relatively small amounts of money involved.
But the decision to spend $24.5-million in arts funding on the Olympic torch relay, of all things, is insulting to Canada's cultural workers, who were already justifiably infuriated by the recently announced cuts to their funding.
The torch relay does serve as a way for small communities to take part in the Olympic spirit. The torch is expected to pass through 350 communities, and it is good that places all across the country, such as Flin Flon, Fenelon Falls and Fort Frances, will be involved in the Winter Games, as well as Vancouver and its environs.
But Canadian artists should not be cut out of the federal budget in favour of a cast of minor celebrities who will jog while carrying a flaming baton.
If asked, corporate sponsors would line up to underwrite the torch relay. Ottawa should let them do so.
© Globe and Mail
