To the editor
Re: "Theatre director laments Playhouse's passing," March 14.
It's time we declared British Columbia a have-not province. According to StatsCan, B.C. has the lowest provincial per capita funding for the arts in Canada. It's a quarter the national average. And that was in 2008 before the Gordon Campbell government began savage cuts to arts grants. Today it's even worse.
What are the consequences? The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Playhouse, despite excellent artistic and administrative leadership, is closing down. Other arts organizations in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»may soon go belly up. Others already have.
Having increased its own share of gaming revenues from 10 to 70 per cent, the Campbell government in 2009 drastically reduced the share of gaming revenues to arts and culture. With minor changes, the Christy Clark government has maintained the Campbell government cuts. It's freezing arts grants and gaming grants for the next three years. Provincial support is at the level of the 1980s-and in real dollars is reminiscent of the 1950s.
What could the province do to encourage a flourishing arts and culture sector in the 21st century? It could bring arts grants up to the national average. It could fulfill its campaign promise to restore 2008 B.C. Arts Council fund-ing levels. The minister responsible, Ida Chong, could commit the unspent $3 million in her budget to the B.C. Arts Council.
Better yet, we could declare the obvious. When it comes to the arts, we are a have-not province. We should petition for federal transfer payments to bring us up to the level of P.E.I. or Nunavut. That would help. It might embarrass the B.C. Liberals, but it would help the people.
Colin Miles, Vancouver
