EQUITY QUARTERLY FALL 2009 TIME FOR A CULTURAL POLICY REVIEW ADRIENNE CLARKSON ON THE ARTS EQ CAN A UNION CHANGE A COUNTRY? The Government Issue What will Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s arts and culture legacy be? 1932 – Prime Minister R.B. Bennett initiates the creation of the CBC 1951 – Louis St. Laurent asks Vincent Massey to chair the Royal Commission on culture, which recommends the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts, established in 1957 1983 – The Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee, appointed by the Trudeau government, issues the Applebaum-Hébert Report on cultural policy 2000 – The government of Jean Chrétien creates the Tomorrow Starts Today arts funding initiative 2008 – Harper government cuts the Trade Routes and PromArt touring programs President’s message After writing the end-of-term summary for the last EQ, and then the full online report, I’m not certain what I have left to say. People who know me well will want to mark this occasion down in their diary or note it in their blog. Perhaps some kind of celebration is in order.... We are fast approaching the end of the Council term, and by the time you read this we will be in the middle of elections for the next. It has been an honour serving both Council and the membership as President for the past three years. It was a lot of work, but enormously fulfilling. That said, I need to remind everyone that the President is not at the top of the governance structure; that position belongs to Council itself. I am deeply grateful for the energy, wisdom and persistence of my fellow Councillors as we ploughed our way through an enor- mous agenda. I remember telling them that I foresaw the workload easing after the first half-year or so. Well, colour me naïve – Council has more than enough on its plate to keep busy well into the future. Council has used these last few months to consolidate its to-do list, and to ensure that topics under discussion have enough impetus to successfully jump the gap into the new term. Unlike most political systems, Council issues do not “die on the order paper” when an election is called. What a waste of effort! The needs of Equity members do not suddenly evaporate every three years, and neither will our work on your behalf. One of most enjoyable final tasks for the term is the awarding of the annual Equity Honours. For 2009, Council is pleased to announce that Life Memberships will be presented to both Martha Henry and Nora Polley, and the Larry McCance Award will go to Barbara Gordon. Designer Susan Benton has been chosen for Honorary Membership in recogni- tion of her outstanding contribution to the performing arts. These honours are given to members and others in our community that the Equity membership has let us know are worthy of special recognition, and will be presented at the first meeting of the new Council in November. I cannot conclude this last column without acknowledging a recent sad event. Long-time Coun- cil member, Bill Forbes, passed away suddenly in late July. Bill was an extraordinarily caring and conscientious representative for Atlantic Canada for many years and, to his many theatre col- leagues over time, a valued and wickedly funny friend. We’ll miss you, Bill. All the best to all of you, Allan Teichman President SPRING 2009 EQUITY QUARTERLY 1 EQUITY QUARTERLY FALL 2009 EQ VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3 A GREAT MOMENT FOR AN ICONIC CANADIAN PRODUCTION 1 PRESIDENT’s messAGE 6 A shared background 3 NOTES FROM ARDEN RYSHPAN 8 Time for a new 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR cultural policy 5 EQ MOVES 12 Interview with 16 EQ&A Adrienne Clarkson 17 EQ TRIBUTE 18 FONDLY REMEMBERED 14 Australian Equity 20 EQ CLASSIFIEDS influences election 21 EQ FLASHBACK EQ Coming issue: WINTER 2010 Subscriptions are available at an annual rate of $35, including GST. Equity members are encouraged to submit articles, submissions and accompanying Publications Mail Agreement No. 40038615 FALL 2009 – Volume 3, Number 3 EQ is published four times a year by Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. photos, notices of births, marriages, memorial notices and letters to the editor via email EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lynn McQueen ([email protected]) or on disk with accompanying hard copy. The copy deadline for submis- National Office 44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 3C4 EDITOR Barb Farwell sions is November 16, 2009. EQ reserves the right to edit for length, style and content. Tel: 416-867-9165 | Fax: 416-867-9246 | Toll-free: 1-800-387-1856 (members only) [email protected] | www.caea.com DESIGN F resh Art & Design EQ Equity Quarterly (ISSN 1913-2190) is a forum to communicate to Equity members www.freshartdesign.com the activities of the Association and issues of concern to the Association. With the Western Office 736 Granville Street, Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G3 DESIGN & LAYOUT C hris Simeon, exception of the editorial staff, the views expressed in solicited or unsolicited articles Tel: 604-682-6173 | 604-682-6174 | Toll free: 1-877-682-6173 (members only) September Creative are not necessarily the views of the Association. [email protected] Cover: Cartoon reproduced with great thanks to Aislin, The Gazette, Montreal Inside Front Cover: Excerpt from the 1983 Applebaum-Hébert Report written by the Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee Above: December 1971: Norman Campbell, Grace Finley and Don Harron pose before boarding the plane to take Anne of Green Gables – The Musical™ on tour to New York. Is it possible to continue to achieve these great moments with reduced government support for the arts? Notes from Arden Ryshpan “No appraisal of our intellectual or cultural life can leave one complacent or even content. If modern nations were marshalled in the order of the importance which they assign to those things with which this inquiry is concerned, Canada would be found far from the vanguard; she would even be near the end of the procession.” From Page 272, Part Two – Introduction. ROYAL COMMISSION ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARTS, LETTERS AND SCIENCES 1949-1951 (The Massey Commission Report) For years – maybe forever – Canadians have been searching (and researching) for our cultural identity. Along with many nations, we have looked to government to support and sustain the cultural industry through direct financial support and the development of progressive policies. The gap between what we have and what we need requires periodic re-evaluation. And there are times, and now is one of them, where that gap is widening. Culture used to be a prominent element in government policy, domestic and foreign. That no longer seems to be true. For this issue of EQ, we asked a selection of people who have spent many years working to improve the lives of Canadian artists how they see the current policy landscape. We also requested an interview with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, on July 6. As the youngest person to hold the port- folio, Minister Moore grew up in the age of new media and we were curious to find out how that has shaped his perspective and goals for the department. After more than three weeks of waiting, his office could still not confirm if the Minister would do the interview – so we proposed he write a “Voices” column in which he would answer some specific questions for us. You will not find his submission in the pages of this magazine. On the very last day of our very extended deadline, we received something completely different. We received what I can only (charitably) characterize as “recycled material” as it appears to have been written for another use. He did not answer any of the questions we asked, the piece was extremely generic and mentioned neither Equity nor live performance. Instead, it talked about a grant the government was making to a completely different sector of the arts! (For those of you who really want to read it, it is available on the website in the members-only zone, along with our questions.) It is disappointing that the Minister of Canadian Heritage chose not to take advantage of an opportunity to communicate with his constituents. Frankly, we would have preferred a flat out “no” right from the start rather than the protracted and ultimately frustrating process we went through. This all drives home the point that arts organizations and artists alike need to participate in elevating and shaping the debate about our cultural policies. The last truly thorough review was the Applebaum- Hébert report in 1982. Successive governments have responded by dealing with individual issues or sectors as problems have arisen. With the advent of new technologies that effectively render us borderless, the time has come for another comprehensive look at our cultural policies. If that same parade of nations was assembled today, where would Canada be and what would we need to do to ensure a space for ourselves at the front of the line? Arden R. Ryshpan Executive Director FALL 2009 EQUITY QUARTERLY 3 Letters to the editor Status of the Artist Act for actors of specific ethnic backgrounds, LetteRS on subjects of concern to Equity Executive Director Arden Ryshpan, in her the producers are then flooded with members will be considered for publication. Letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on request for interview in the summer 2009 issue of résumés from the “usual suspects.” those letters that may affect members’ employment. Letters that include artistic criticism of Equity members or EQ, explained that most of Equity’s col- Acknowledging someone’s ethnicity is not letters that are antagonistic or accusatory, either implied lective bargaining is based on voluntary a racist act.