Dear Friends of BC Arts and Culture,

For the BC Arts and Culture Community this summer has been defined by an overwhelming desire to protest against the short-sighted and highly politicized decisions made around arts and culture investments in our province.

Jane Danzo's resignation from the BC Arts Council highlighted what many in the arts community, and myself have been saying since the massive cuts began in 2009 - that funding for the arts in this province has not only been slashed, but much of the remaining funding has been tightly controlled and politicized by this government.

Click here to read my open letter to Minister Krueger.

31 August 2010

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you today with great concerns about your BC Liberal government’s escalating politicization of arts and culture funding in B.C.

In a time when British Columbian arts organizations are shuttering their doors, cutting programs and cancelling events due to your government’s massive funding cuts - your newly hatched “Spirit Festivals” add insult to injury.

Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, August 8, 2010

VANCOUVER - Vancouver Convention Centre general manager Ken Cretney considers the facility to be in a fortunate spot in challenging times.

While North America’s overall convention business is in the middle of a slump, Vancouver’s centre is registering respectable bookings, which its overseers hope will translate into record numbers of visitors.

CBC News, August 3, 2010

The HST is not good for restaurant businesses big or small, a new survey suggests.

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association surveyed more than 800 of its member restaurants last week.