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CNN World Report

Canadian Government Gives Money to Art Programs

Aired May 20, 2001 - 14:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: Canada's arts recently received a $330 million boost from the government. The three-year plan has artists, writers and publishers buzzing.

SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: There's also a one-time payment of $60 million to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the CBC brings us the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJ AHLUWALIA, CBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The prime minister enjoyed some of the best Canadian culture has to offer. In return, Jean Chretien had an offering of his own, something artists have been after for years.

JEAN CHRETIEN, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: The biggest new investment into arts in Canada that any government has made since the creation of Canada Council more than 40 years ago.

AHLUWALIA: Some who make music hope the money will actually reach new bands and help them reach new audiences.

JAMES PAUL, RECORDING ENGINEER: Certainly, people know that Canada produces very quality, high-quality artwork, music, but it's not easy to find outside of this country, and at times it's hard to find inside this country.

AHLUWALIA: Some of the money is for more Canadian content on the Internet. Great idea, says Paul Ledoux who is pushing for playwrights to have their scripts published on the Web, with the hope of attracting more producers.

PAUL LEDOUX, PLAYWRIGHT: The hard part isn't putting up the site, the hard part is establishing the links and getting your name onto the databases of the search engines, so that when people are looking, they find you.

AHLUWALIA: The money comes just in time for some Canadian publishers, struggling for months mostly because the Chapter's chain of book stores has returned tens of thousands of unsold books.

MONIQUE SMITH, ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN PUBLISHERS: The changes in the retail market have caused them to undergo a huge cash crunch, so the influx of cash at this time, the $28 million over three years, will help Canadian publishers a great deal.

AHLUWALIA: CBC plans to use the new money for more programming, although the president says he was hoping for more.

ROBERT RABINOVITCH, PRESIDENT OF CBC: And remember, we have got to spend it between at least four services -- English, French, television, radio -- so by the time you split it up, it's not that much.

AHLUWALIA: This alliance says the government has no business funding culture.

CHERYL GALLANT, ALLIANCE CULTURE GROUP: The problem with this is that the culture is being defined by the government. We have to let culture be defined by the people.

AHLUWALIA: But the artists here believe they play a big part in defining Canada's culture, and they think they can do a much better job with more money from the government.

Raj Ahluwalia, CBC News, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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