This may well be “old news” by now, but I believe it still bears addressing since it seems to me to be symptomatic of the Conservative government’s attitude to the funding of cultural events, generally, and the funding of GLBTQ events, specifically.
A fair amount of kerfuffle arose last month over the $397,500 allotted to Toronto’s Gay Pride Festival by Tourism and Small Business Minister Diane Ablonczy. The announcement was issued on June 15.
Ablonczy is responsible for the $190-million Marquee Tourism Events Program, which funded the event. However, various Conservative MPs expressed “shock and outrage” over the allocation, despite various other festivals across Canada benefitting from the Marquee program.
Brad Trost, a Saskatchewan Conservative MP, spoke out publicly in July against federal funding for the Pride parade, arguing both the government caucus and the Prime Minister’s Office were “caught off guard” by Ablonczy’s announcement.
“The pro-life and the pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay Pride parade in Toronto was not government policy, was not supported by — I think it’s safe to say by a large majority — of the MPs,” Trost said in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, a website founded by the Campaign Life organization. LifeSiteNews.com is well-known for taking anti-GLBTQ positions on a variety of issues.
Director of Communications for Industry Minister Tory Clement, Darren Cunningham, confirmed on July 7 that future funding of the event was “under review” but denied any such review had anything to do with dissent within party ranks.
“We’re in the midst of doing a review of the program and that review is to ensure that the funding is providing genuine stimulus to the economy and we’ll have to look at it in that light,” Cunningham said. He noted federal support of the Calgary Stampede and the Vancouver Jazz Festival, for example, were also facing review.
Meanwhile, Ablonczy has apparently been “demoted” and no longer holds control over the Marquee Tourism Events Program, although she continues to remain as Minister responsible for Small Business and Tourism, according to Cunningham.
Cunningham said control over the program, which is part of Ottawa’s economic stimulus package, was shifted to the Industry Minister “two or three weeks ago,” according to a July 15 Globe and Mail article.
He further stated Clement was occupied with other issues, such as the auto sector bailout earlier this year, but added “we’re better able to handle the workload right now.”
Cunningham said Trost’s opinion can’t be dismissed but ultimately decisions are made based on how best to increase and promote tourism activity.
“I do understand Mr. Trost’s concerns. The concerns that he raises are the concerns of a lot of Canadians. ...At the same time, the measure that we look at is tourism,” he said.
Not all MPs shared Trost’s concern. Toronto-area Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett believes the Tory reaction to the funding only hurts themselves.
“That you would even question a grant to the city of Toronto for an event that attracts a million people - at a time when Toronto needs help in terms of tourism and economic development ... this is 2009. These people better get with it.”
Of course, denying such a significant amount of money to any of the non-profit groups which produce Pride Festivals across Canada can be seen as a harm to our communities, not just to the Conservative party. Pride Festivals have grown considerably in recent years and attract significant numbers of participants and observers, from both within and outside the GLBTQ community. These events are often the prime reason individuals choose to visit a particular city at a particular time.
A July 22nd National Post story reported the Federal Conservatives had rejected an application for $155,000 by Montreal’s Divers/Cité festival, festival directors said. The organizers of the festival, which is Montreal’s Pride Festival, had hoped to use the money for additional promotions and hiring, The Canadian Press reported.
The directors of Divers/Cité in Montreal said they were told their funding request met all the criteria, and that final approval was with Clement’s office. However, organizers were told on July 20th that the government had rejected their request.
Suzanne Girard, director of Divers/Cité, said the news came as a shock to the event’s organizers.
“To be told that there is no money, when there is. They have $100 million put aside; they chose not to give to Divers/Cité. The reasons … we don’t know. Is it we’re gay? Is it we’re Montrealers? We’re Québécois? It’s incredible they would decide at this late date, five days before our event starts,” said Girard.
Without the expected funding, there was a risk entire sections of the eight-day festival would have to be cancelled.
“Per capita, we bring in more tourism than any other festival in Canada. And you can ask any Montreal taxi driver, the hotels … about our impact on Montreal … we are a niche market, we are an extremely important tourism event,” said Girard in a CBC interview July 22nd. The festival attracts approximately 55,000 visitors to Montreal each year.
The Federal Conservatives have a history of opposition to anything GLBTQ, stemming in part from the current party’s origins as the Reform, later the Alliance, Party. There simply isn’t any real link to the former Progressive Conservative Party of Diefenbaker or even Mulroney.
The Progressive Conservative Party, while conservative certainly, was also fairly progressive (hence the name) on social issues, unlike Reform/Alliance. It should also be remembered that Stephen Harper was instrumental and held a high profile position within the Alliance Party and he continues to carry many of the ideals of that now defunct party into his positions as Conservative Party leader and as Prime Minister.
Reading some of the on-line comments following the stories in the Globe and Mail, The National Post, and CBC one has to wonder what the reasons for the controversy actually were. The comments are full of the usual “we don’t have straight pride parades...” and various thinly, or not so thinly, veiled homophobic comments.
Other cultural events receive funding with nary a comment. Imagine the reaction if, for instance, an ethnic festival that qualified for funding was denied it. Now, I don’t know if Calgary’s Caribfest receives funding but they should. I know Calgary’s Pride Festival doesn’t (which is why they ended up in a serious deficit that was only cleared because of the hard work and dedication of those involved with Pride Calgary), but they should too.
Anyone who claims their reaction against Pride festivals has nothing to do with their being GLBTQ events is, quite bluntly, full of it. That’s exactly what it is about.
I have often said nobody reacts to the flashy and skimpy outfits worn by Caribfest celebrants but let a drag queen show up in all her finery in our parade and the comments fly fast and furious.
Now, I don’t happen to think any festival - be it Calgary Folk Festival, Caribfest, Pride, the Calgary Jazz Festival, The Lilac Festival, or the Calgary Stampede -- should be entirely funded by federal and/or provincial grant money. I am as much a beleaguered taxpayer as the next guy. However, I do think public funding should help subsidize such festivals, many of which could not take place, and will not take place, without it.
Such events add texture and colour and interest to local communities. They bring in money for their respective cities and towns through the spending by those who attend such festivals.
I don’t know, to be honest, if Pride Calgary (or the Alberta Gay Rodeo Association, for that matter) has ever done a study on just how much money is brought to the local economy because of Pride Week and the annual International Rockies Gay Rodeo, but I am willing to bet it is a significant amount. Seems to me any government assistance regarding funding is money well-spent just by virtue of the return via tourist dollars; and not just tourist dollars but local spending too. All those folk who normally wouldn’t be downtown or going to the bar or popping into the shops along Stephen Avenue are in a celebratory and spending mood, and spend they do.
But it shouldn’t just be about the hard economics. Even if the funding wasn’t matched by the infusion of money into the local economy, I still think funding such festivals, GLBTQ or non-GLBTQ, is important. Sure, there are tangible benefits such as local economy stimuli, but there are a host of intangibles as well. Things such as a feeling of belonging to the greater community because Pride (or whichever festival) is recognized, affirmation, a host of warm-fuzzies...these are important as well.
While it may well not be up to “The Government” to promote the warm-fuzzies...it sounds a tad Brave New World-ish to me as well...it’s a beneficial offshoot.
What is up to ”The Government” is to treat all citizens fairly and equally. If, for instance XXY Festival gets funding then ABCD Festival should, assuming it meets the criteria, as well. If ABCD doesn’t because the government doesn’t happen to agree with its core community, or it’s politics, or it’s ethos, to me that’s a problem.
Would I want to see a Neo-Nazi Festival obtain government funding? No, of course not. In that case, refusal could be strictly on the grounds that such a festival promotes hate and prejudice and is therefore injurious to the public good, or some such thing. Of course, Neo-Nazis won’t see it that way....
Keep in mind, there are criteria in place for this sort of funding, just as there are criteria in place for funding the operation of non-profit groups. The criteria is often quite clear, one might even say strict. That is as it should be since it is public money that is being used. I certainly don’t want to see “my” money tossed around willy-nilly or wasted on programs and projects of dubious benefit. (Of course, it has been, but that is a whole other column. Can you say “bail outs”? I knew you could.)
The money sitting in the Tourism ministry, and specifically in the Marquee Tourism Events Program, is ear-marked for events like this. Take the “gay” out of the equation, and why wouldn’t Ablonczy have authorized the funding? Who would have raised any concerns? Right...nobody.
That there was a controversy about it to begin with is the issue. That certain Conservative MPs felt “caught off guard”, and reacted, is the issue. That Ablonczy has had the program removed from under her direction and had it placed directly under the control of the Industry Minister is the issue. That she is now some sort of persona non grata for daring to authorize funding to an event that met the criteria set out by that same Ministry is the issue.
And the issue is homophobia and GLBTQ-directed prejudice, which is why we still need Pride Festivals, government-funded or not.
For Pride Toronto’s official response, and additional explanations regarding disbursement of funds, see http://www.pridetoronto.com/news/official-statement-on-federal-funding-issue/
