All Things Being Equal

Here are the number of grants awarded by the Canada Council in a few selected ridings during the fiscal year 2005:

Saskatoon-Humboldt SK: 15
Abbotsford BC: 1
Westmount-Ville-Marie QC: 259
Toronto Centre ON: 205
Okanagan Shuswap BC: 7
Surrey North BC: 0
Nickel Belt ON: 0
Oakville ON: 7
Scarborough - Rouge River ON: 3
Brossard-La Prairie QC: 3
Gaspésie--Îles-de-la-Madeleine QC: 0
Laval--Les Îles QC: 6
Halifax NS: 113

This is presented just in case anyone thought that, ya know, since all the electoral districts in Canada are made up of roughly the same number of people (generally within 10-20%, allowing for fluctuations caused by migration, immigration, gerrymandering and other realities), one might surmise that all the Canada Council monies might be doled out evenly. NOT!!!!!!

Not only are the numbers hugely skewed, the actual dollar amounts are even more grossly unbalanced, due to large sums being granted to many of the larger organizations in cities.

One must acknowledge the need to support many intstitutions such as operas and ballets that operate on the national or international stage. In the same breath you might reasonably inquire why at least some of these cultural mega-marts are not able to support themselves via the private route.

Another question to ask is to what extent the huge concentration of grant awards in urban centres contributes to a syndrome of an inbred cultural elite who gratuitously label each other prestigious and systematically (consciously or otherwise) lock out the unwashed from the hinterlands.

It must be considered that any dollars going into culture are welcome. However, decentralization would surely be a worthwhile consideration - not only in the Canada Council universe but throughout the Canadian cultural scene.