TORONTO — Canadian Press Published on Wednesday, Oct. 08, 2008 2:10PM EDT Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 8:55PM EDT
A coalition of artists and actors says there's now proof that a great many Canadians care enough about culture to make it a real election issue.
The Writers Guild of Canada and a union that represents thousands of Canadian performers say culture has emerged as an important topic for voters, and they're encouraging Canadians to elect politicians who show a commitment to the arts.
They say Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has learned the hard way that you shouldn't underestimate the importance of the arts to Canadians.
Mr. Harper has backed away from plans to scrap tax credits for productions deemed offensive. The unions say he should go a step further and reverse cuts to arts funding.
ACTRA's national president Richard Hardacre says the culture industry is a major economic engine that's responsible for 1.1 million jobs and $85-billion of economic activity.
“We have someone who says he wishes to be prime minister, that says (arts and culture are) elitist issues, that those are maybe not mainstream, that those belong to perhaps people that just walk on red carpets,” he told supporters at a Toronto rally Wednesday.
“Well, sorry Mr. Harper, $85-billion in a time of economic crisis in this world is a major, mainstream issue.”
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