Montreal takes first spot among N. American convention stops

Montreal has become the leading destination among North American cities for international conventions, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.

In ratings just released for 2009, Montreal led all North American cities with 57 international events, followed by Vancouver (46), Toronto (36), Boston (35), Mexico City (33), Washington (31) and New York (28).

In '08, Vancouver led N. American destinations with 54, followed by Montreal (45) , Quebec City (37), Toronto (35), Boston (34), Washington D.C. (28), Mexico City (27), Cancun (26), Chicago (26), NYC (16), San Jose (16), San Diego (16), Miami (14), Panama City (14) and Hololulu (12).

Just a cursory glance at these rankings show that several Canadian destinations, including Ottawa, Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, Banff and Whistler (which may well be included in the Vancouver numbers), have huge potential to progress.

Vancouver 2010: The Legacy is in the Follow Through

All that remains of the 201o Olympics is to determine the winner of the ultimate prize: the hockey gold, in a few hours, and then set upon the surely gargantuan task of debriefing, evaluating and pontificating.

The games have been great for the athletes and a smashing success with the public, at least on the surface and running pretty deep for that matter, at least in Canada. There are undercurrents of discontent, of course. Mostly from people who have problems with either the corporate elitism and waste/expense of the games or from the extreme Quebec nationalists, who cringe at the very sight of their youth draped in red and white, being wildly applauded by Vancouver audiences.

I would like to pontificate about one specific aspect of the Olympics. I am talking, to give it a sports spin, about the follow through.



I'm not so much talking about the immediate economic impact, such as drawing a few more tourists to B.C. for the next year or two, as the video implies. I'm talking more about the lasting effect.

All Canadians now have a chance to think about what legacy these games can have. I have heard many people say that there has been no other event as spectacular and unifying as these Olympics in Canada since Expo '67. Neither the Calgary Olympics nor the '76 Montreal Olympics really seemed to have the nationwide, gut-stirring power that these games have had.

In fact, these games have probably been more unifying than Expo '67, and in the same postal code in terms of their power to inspire and empower Canadians and grab the imagination of the country. Another thing that Vancouver 2010 had, that Expo didn't have, even in the '60s, was a substantial and formidable opposition to the hype. This, also, is a part of the Canadian psyche, a part commonly known as a conscience - and the games have given it its largest stage ever. This movement needs to be nurtured and given wings, just as the games' successes.

Unfortunately, after Expo '67, the follow up did not live up to the promise. "Man and His World" was not capable of being the sequel to the Expo dream. If we could have had a suitable follow-up program, designed to reconfirm Montreal's position as a place of creative substance, rather than of disposable pavilions, Canada might have had a different future entirely. That said, I wonder whether the Cirque du Soleil would have ever come about if it had not been for the festive and creative legacy of Expo '67.

Now, the challenge is to do something with the 2010 legacy.

The Harper Conservatives have already announced they will be ditching the controversial $110 million "Own the Podium" program immediately. A very wrong first move but nothing definitive.

To give greater meaning to the games and give them every chance of achieving good in the long run, a lot of people will need to think outside the box. It is not only about the massive grandiose mega-projects, it is also about individuals across the country, who can somehow find a way to leverage these Olympics in a way to project their dreams onto an international screen...

Is Canadian Visual Art the equivalent of the Jamaican Bobsled team?

Ha-ha! Brings back memories... what a great film this was!

The whole idea of promoting visual art in Canada truly does bring to mind the Jamaican bobsledders, though, as alluded to in the previous post.

Or, I think of a guy I knew a few years back at the curling club who used to go around with a super fancy curling jacket with "England" written across the back in big embroidered letters. He had been living there a number of years ago and was able to knock off all comers and win the right to curl for England! This guy was not a bad curler but give me a break - there were numerous curlers in our club who beat him or outcurled him regularly

Pretty cool, nonetheless. I forget what event he had curled for England in. I don't think it was Olympics.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), Canadian visual art is in somewhat the same circumstances.

With all due respect to Emily Carr, Jean-Paul Riopelle and the "Group", we simply do not have any visual artists who have attained world renown. Amongst contemporary artists, we have Jeff Wall and, to a lesser degree, maybe Rodney Graham and a few others who have a detectable pulse on the world stage - but we are talking top 100 or 300 - not top 10.

i.e. - there is an opportunity here, folks.

Beating the bushes to figure out how to promote Canadian art

Starting from a position so far in the rear of most G8 or even many G20 countries in terms of cultural influence (especially visual art), Canadians need to look for ways to jump up the stairway two steps at a time, if not faster. We need to build followings, we need to create buzz, we need to extend our reach and so forth. One way to build up a following of course is to start a Facebook group. This is something we have done just recently.

Initially Canada was one of the more connected countries on the internet. I have heard that, of late, our leadership position has weakened quite a bit.

However, this is something that can be corrected, at least as long as Canada remains in a position of some economic advantage in comparison to the vast majority of countries in the world.

In terms of visual art, it just so happens that most of the countries that are head and shoulders beyond us in terms of influence and prestige, are also the ones that are pretty much on a par with us economically, such as Germany, the U.S., France and the U.K.

We can look for advantages to exploit... for example, one advantage is that we speak English in Canada. This gives us a built in marketing advantage, even though most "competitors" in non-English speaking countries strive to master their English and are very often successful in impressive fashion. In addition to this, a lot of Canadians also speak French - so that could be another advantage to explore.

But what else is there?

OK, let's try to make a list:

* we have access to a "little pond"; beginning Canadian art marketers can test the waters in the smaller Canadian market
* we are close to the U.S. and have other commonalities
* we are very diverse culturally and ethnically
* there are no dominant, overbearing powers in Canadian art overshadowing everything else
* or... you almost have the Jamaican Bobsled phenomenon in Canadian visual art
* apart from that, I'm not sure, but I guess one of the keys would be to use all of these angles to best advantage by applying social networking and other web techniques

Anyway, this is the assignment in a nutshell.

B.C. culture picking up an Olympic boost

Question: What do William Gibson, Steven Galloway, Diana Krall, Mike Allen, Matthew Good, William Patrick Kinsella, Timothy Taylor, Alisa Smith, J.B. Mackinnon, Michele Smolkin, Douglas Coupland, Les Henderson, Nelly Furtado, John Vaillant, Hey Ocean, Delhi 2 Dublin, New Pornographers, Mother Mother, The Paperboys, Sarah McLachlan, Joy Kogawa, Deni Yvan Bechard, Annabel Lyon, Michael Buble and Bryan Adams all have in common?

All those people listed are B.C. or former B.C. residents who are successful in the arts, who were featured in this week's issue of Quebec magazine L'Actualite.

It was part of a 38-page feature on Vancouver and British Columbia in the magazine, dissecting the life, culture, history, politics, first nations, immigrants, wildlife and (yes) scenery of British Columbia in greater detail and with greater empathy, understanding and sophistication than has ever occurred in a Quebec publication in the past 200 years. Oh there were also a few pages of items about the prospects of Quebec athletes.

I was at another magazine stand a couple of weeks ago in a suburban Montreal french area, and I just about had to pick up my jaw off the floor as I noticed two different magazines with the word "Revelstoke" on the front cover - and they weren't referring to building supplies.

I've seen numerous other examples, over the past few weeks especially, of how Quebecers have been getting more information about Vancouver and British Columbia than you would ever hear, if it weren't for the Olympics.

RDS has had someone living in Vancouver already for months just writing impressions and observations.

I assume this is going on throughout the world to a greater or lesser degree.

So, just to say I wouldn't be so quick to write off the benefits of the Olympics in terms of promoting understanding among the peoples of the world. Even if the cost of staging the Olympics turns out to be higher than the obvious economic impacts accrued - there are some benefits that can't be simply brushed off as easily as one might suppose.

Having an Olympics certainly beats having a war. And it even beats having everyone stay home.

Influential Canadians in the Art World - Jeff Hamada

"People often say to me, You were really lucky to have made an art site when no one was doing it,' and that's true to a certain extent," Hamada says. "But as soon as you see the opportunity, you have to be able to pounce on it."

That's how Vancouver blogger Jeff Hamada, has been quoted describing his success in articles printed across Canada in the National Post and throughout the bankruptcy-protected Canwest chain this week.

Interesting that Hamada would agree that no one was making an art site before Booooooom.

Seems to me there have been a "couple" of art blogs around for slightly longer than that - lol.

What is amazing, though, is to compare the success of Hamada's blog to the dismal failure of the Canwest chain - especially the National Post.

Canadian Democracy not sidestepped - only suspended!

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber says:

"Democracy and Parliament are not being sidestepped — they are only being suspended."

Looks like Stephen Harper needs to pick up the slack on muzzling his MPs!

2010 in Edmonton Begins with New Art Gallery of Alberta Reopening

The new Art Gallery of Alberta, designed by Randall Stout Architects, opens in just 27 days, on January 31, 2010.


Art Gallery of Alberta


Former Edmonton Art Gallery

The exhibition program for the new gallery includes:

EDGAR DEGAS: Figures in Motion
January 31–May 30, 2010

Franciso Goya: The Disasters of War and Los Caprichos
January 31–May 30, 2010

Karsh: Image Maker
January 31–May 30, 2010

The Murder of Crows by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller
January 31–May 9, 2010

After $88 million in renovations, the new gallery has a total of 85,000 sq. ft. of usable space and doubles the amount of exhibition space to 30,000 sq. ft. There is also a dedicated gallery space for the 6,000 pieces in the permanent collection, as well as educational and other public spaces.

The AGA has entered into a 3-year partnership agreement with the National Gallery of Canada, in which space in the AGA building will be reserved for special exhibitions presented jointly by both institutions. The Goya exhibition will be the first of this series.

There will be free admission for the first two days of the gallery's operation.

The '00s Decade in Edmonton Arts More About the '10s, According to Them

Like most Canadian cities, Edmonton struggles to define its artistic heritage and vision.

The '00s was the decade where they actually got that struggle down in writing.

Edmonton's cultural plan, titled The Art of Living, was published in 2008 and plots out some kind of a path through to 2018.

That plan is noticeably handicapped by such statements as the following:

"Edmonton’s inferiority complex is as deep and murky as the North Saskatchewan River flowing through the middle of it."

Taken from an essay included in the plan, titled Boom, Bust, by Todd Babiak, that sentence is a really unfortunate idea to propagate within the city's own cultural roadmap.

Another section of the plan, labeled "The Edmonton Story", begins with this tepid blurb:

"Edmonton is seen by many outside the city, and many inside it, as a new place, a place without significant traditions or history."

Nearby, the following passage:

This document is meant to
act as an inspirational tool for artists, heritage
workers and administrators alike, but it’s also
reflective of another aspect of a western, and
Edmontonian, sensibility, which is this: we get
things done. This plan contains dozens of
action-oriented recommendations. In some
ways, it is a feel good document, but documents
are better than feel good if they also do some
good.

Excuse me? A "feel good document"?

Unfortunately, anyone reading this document is not going to come away feeling good. They are going to come away thinking, "Edmonton may have good intentions but isn't quite there yet."

Or, maybe they'll think, "heh, heh, Edmonton is to culture as Stephane Dion is to politics."

Anyway (would I do anything as dumb as write, "any-who"? no way!) some may say that Edmonton is only being honest by including such downers in a cultural plan. I ask, how many times have you told your mother-in-law she has bad breath and her clothes don't fit?

If your MIL is working on a plan, and you wanna help, maybe you stick breathmints or mouthwash in there at the most inconspicuous place, along with four-dozen other sundry items, without actually making it the headline of the central thesis, so that she doesn't talk to anyone within ten feet of her for the rest of her life.

I remember arriving in Montreal after spending years in Alberta (near Edmonton) and Saskatchewan. At the time, I was aware, for some reason, that Edmonton had twenty-some-odd theater companies. It immediately dawned on me that Montreal, the supposed cultural mecca, had a similar sized English-speaking population (about a million people) to Edmonton yet Montreal only had three English theater companies - one-tenth the number as Edmonton!

Based on that alone, I can say with authority that Edmonton's cultural plan is pure hogwash.

With the proliferation of the internet, social networking, Youtube, hundreds of TV channels, etc., the numbers of people engaged in various forms of art and social networking vastly surpass the numbers engaged in same even ten years ago. With that in mind, it could be said that, in many ways, all cities have returned to a nearly even position in terms of their art establishments. The only things that keep them differentiated are mostly false pretensions which are only validated when people believe them, and, the almighty art buck which, unfortunately, is located in places like New York, London, Milan, L.A. and Miami, and in places like Shanghai, Venice and Paris... anywhere but in Canada.

That said, given Toronto's nano-microscopic profile on the world visual art stage, there is no valid reason for a city like Edmonton to apologize for its own culture or its history. We need all of Canada producing art at full throttle in order to stake out our place on the vast mural of global culture.

It may be honest to include negatives - it is never dishonest to omit them. Time is short and art thrives. Rewrite the damn plan, get out there and make art!

(to be continued...)

Blockbusters the trend at VAG through the '00s

Reduced government contributions sent galleries looking for alternate ways of boosting revenues in the '00s and what worked in Vancouver has been the blockbuster show.

A 2002 show featuring Emily Carr, Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keefe was highly successful and led to more shows in a similar vein.

Dali, Monet and other modernists were the headliners in '07, setting the VAG's all-time record of 7,600 visitors in one day, and this past year featured appearances by Vermeer and Rembrandt.


Pine on the corner, by Jeff Wall, 1990

Vancouver artists did attract some international attention as well. Jeff Wall, Ken Lum, Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace, Roy Arden, Stan Douglas and Brian Jungen were among the many artists from Vancouver who were part of major exhibitions in private galleries and public institutions around the world during the decade.

The other phenomenon of the decade in Canadian Art, from the Vancouver perspective, has been the ascent of local auctioneers Robert Heffel and brother David. They have auctions in both Vancouver and Toronto and hold the record for sales at auction, $23 million which was set in May 2007.

(based on an article by Keven Griffin in the Vancouver Sun)

Influential Canadians in the Art World - Louise T. Blouin

As much as I tend to minimize the influence of Canadians in the art world, there are, of course, some exceptions, including some people of indisputable international standing.

One is Louise Blouin, a Montrealer living in London, who controls a virtual empire of art information properties and carries on an impressive agenda of philanthropic activities.

In the '80s and '90s Blouin and her second husband built the huge network of Auto Trader and "Auto Hebdo" publications and leveraged the internet at the earliest opportunity to seize a commanding position in the dedicated classified publications biz. [on reflection, as the "Hebdo" family was started and first flourished in Quebec, this could be one reason why local newspapers and weeklies are so pathetic in that province]

Blouin's properties now include: Art-Info, Art+Auction, Modern Painters, Culture and Travel, Gordon's Art Sales Index, Gordon's Print Price Annual, Gordon's Photography Price Annual, Davenport's Art Reference & Price Guide, the Hislop Pocket Price Guide and The Art of Buying Art reference book.

She has also established the Louise T Blouin Foundation, a non-profit art-related organization in London, which has a 45,000 sq. ft. flagship headquarters building in west London, to serve as a head office, as well as a showcase for both established and emerging contemporary artists, think-tanks and artistic performances of all forms. The building is impressive, as it should be for having around $40 M worth of renovations.

Among the Foundation's activities are a Global Creative Leadership Summit held annually in New York whose attendees are as illustrious as the foundation's objectives are ambitious.

Canada's influence in art waning by the day

Unfortunately, yet another example of Canada's lack of influence in the art world has arrived on my screen.

This one is from the venerable Web 1.0 site, Olga's Gallery, that has been one of the most consulted art reference sites for nearly a decade, according to them picking up a million pages views a day.

Popular site Olga's Gallery ignores Canada

This is a great free reference that you don't have to sign in to, which is why it continues to be a stand-by and get great rankings on Alexa. There are near-comprehensive lists of artists, with plenty of visuals, from most countries in Europe, up until the early part of the 20th Century.

You know what I'm going to say next. That's right. There is not one single artist listed from Canada.

Here is the breakdown by country:

Austria 2
Belgium 37

Czechia 1

France 61
Germany 22
Georgia 1
Italy 56
Mexico 3
Netherlands 18
Norway 1
Poland 2
Russia 76
Spain 9
Sweden 1
Switzerland 2
UK 19
USA 6

OK, it is true that the U.S. is also given short shrift, with only six artists mentioned. Which is fine. You can call sour grapes all you want - this site is Euro-centric blah blah blah. There is no avoiding the facts, though. Massive, influential visual art reference ignores Canada - again.

As long as this situation is allowed to prevail, Canada's influence will continue to wane on a daily basis.

John Powell's 50 Most Powerful People in the Art World - Canada gets a whiff of a mention

John Powell, a Jamaican artist, has considerately published his take on who the 50 most powerful people in the art world are. The list was published November 24, 2009, so is quite up to date.

My intention here is not to go into the selections in too great a detail. Suffice it to say that there are dealers, artists, gallery personages, collectors and I believe one or two critics. No bloggers.

For now, I would just like to put down, for the record, the locations of these 50 people:

New York - 22
London - 10
Los Angeles - 5
Paris - 3
Frankfurt - 2
Basel - 1
Philadelphia - 1
San Francisco - 1
Amsterdam - 1
Tokyo - 1
Germany - 1
Washington - 1
Cologne - 1

So, how does Canada "get a whiff" out of this list?

For one, from the ephemeral presence of Glenn D. Lowry, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was formerly the director of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, where he oversaw a major expansion.

Could be that some of the others also spent time in Canada or even are Canadian. I do not have that information.

The point of this exercise, though, is simply to get it out in the open, once again, the dire absence of influence that Canada holds in the art world.

Of course, this list is only one artist's opinion, using bios/info obtained from Artnews. The point is it is real, it is out there and, as time goes by, each succeeding list or report of this nature will do nothing but reinforce Canada art's already sadly lacking international profile.

Arts Writers Awards Ignore Bloggers

Is this a general comment on the status of art blogging?

The Artist Writers Grant Program, sponsored by the Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital, announced its awards for 2009. Arts bloggers only received one of the 26 awards, which range from $5,000 - $50,000.

Most of the winning writers are located in New York.

Wildrose Alliance at 39% in Alberta - now read the party's policies

In the news today: a report that an Angus Reid poll has the upstart Wildrose Alliance Party in the popularity lead in Alberta with 39%.

Since the media-savvy and photogenic Danielle Smith won the Wildrose Alliance leadership a matter of weeks ago, there seems to be a love-fest goin' on with this new, extra-right version of conservative.

According to the Calgary Herald, the party's leader openly denies global warming and does not support the public health care system.

For everyone's information and simply as a matter of record, I reproduce the Wildrose Alliance's policies, as taken from their website today:

BTW - don't miss the Wildrose Alliance's exciting policy item on Human Rights! (That is, they intend to "strike section 3 of the Human Rights and Multiculturalism Act".

Fun, fun, fun!

Quiz - What gets shorter shrift in the Wildrose Alliance's party platform: arts & culture or social assistance? Have fun!

---

• All Policies are preceded by: “A Wildrose Government will….”

DEMOCRATIC REFORM

Federalism

• defend Alberta against intrusions by the federal government by protecting the property, legal, constitutional and democratic rights of Albertans.
• work to remove inter-provincial trade and professional certification barriers by the expansion of the Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement to other Provinces.

Electoral Reform

• institute fixed election dates for Provincial Election every 4 years. The Legislative Assembly will be able to call a vote of non-confidence at any time.
• be accountable to the people of Alberta by having free votes with the exception of the budget and votes of non-confidence.
• institute the right of recall of elected officials if 20% of the electorate sign a petition calling for such an action and 25% if the electorate is less than 1000.
• hold elections for Alberta Senators at the same time as Provincial Elections.

Government Reform

• establish an independent agency to determine the compensation, pension, and severance packages of elected governmental officials.
• limit the Provincial Cabinet to 16 members.
• institute strict conflict of interest guidelines facilitated through the Provincial Ethics Commissioner’s office.
• establish set dates for Throne Speeches, Budget Announcements, and Legislative Sessions.
• institute an open and comprehensive Freedom of Information Act.

Municipal Government

• follow any downloading of services from the province to municipalities with the appropriate amount of funding.
• extend greater autonomy and better planning tools to local governments to reduce pressure on property taxes.
• ensure that crown corporations are subject to local zoning and land-use by-laws.

Property Rights

• entrench individual property rights within an Alberta Bill of Rights.

Human Rights

• strike section 3 of the Human Rights and Multiculturalism Act.

Referenda

• institute legislation allowing the citizens of Alberta to call for a binding referendum on a matter of significant public concern upon the presentation of a petition signed by at least 10% of the total voters of the last Provincial election in Alberta.
• only use Section 33 (the Notwithstanding Clause) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with the consent of the Alberta people in a referendum.

ECONOMY

Agriculture

• support the elimination of all indirect taxes and tariffs on farm inputs and the reduction of provincially controlled input costs.
• support marketing programs for Alberta agricultural products, nationally and internationally.
• support research and education into enhancing agricultural productivity and value added production for agriculture.
• oppose international agriculture subsides.
• develop an effective and financially viable long-term agriculture safety-net program.
• encourage private sector value added opportunities for Alberta’s agriculture sector.
• support Alberta producer market choice to sell grain independent of the Canadian Wheat Board or to sell through the Canadian Wheat Board voluntarily.
• take on the responsibility to negotiate commercially competitive access to international markets with respect to beef marketing.
• base government regulations of the beef industry on appropriate management of real risks and an accurate analysis of the costs and benefits of these regulations.
• leave investment in business and the development of beef marketing as the responsibility of the industry, not government and must be based on market signals rather than government programs.
• will allow government support for the beef industry to come from national programs that minimize the risk of adverse impacts on international and interprovincial trade, and do not distort free market behavior.

Budget

• institute a zero based budgeting program in all government departments. The program will require justification of all new funds spent each year.
• pass legislation that ensures all provincial finances are fully, accurately and honestly reported under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• support the Auditor General's Office to help identify and prevent wasteful spending in order to ensure value for money.
• use budget surpluses to pay debts owed by the Alberta Government first and secondarily deposits to the Heritage Fund.
• limit growth in program spending to the rate of inflation and population growth of Alberta.

Energy

• support a stable and price sensitive approach to energy production.
• ensure an internationally competitive fiscal regime that attracts investment capital and makes reinvestment attractive.
• support education and research into energy-efficient homes, businesses and government offices.
• require building and land use-planning codes to have high-energy conservation standards.
• recognize the importance of the energy sector to the province and strive to reduce the cost of doing business.
• support the diversification of Alberta’s energy supply.
• support the development of value added facilities through tax incentives.

Financial Responsibility

• cut red tape and the regulatory burden by 1/3 from 2009 levels.
• work to eliminate the duplication of government authorities and services.
• institute complete financial disclosure of all provincial finances including the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, Crown corporations and government investments. The disclosures will be made in the Legislature with a complete accounting available to Alberta citizens.
• establish a “Waste Buster” website to help report and stamp out government waste.
• grant the Provincial Auditor full access to all Government funded companies, Crown corporations and subsidiaries of Crown corporations.
• have open tendering on government contracts that allow fair competition for businesses and to provide
  better value to taxpayers.
• make sure the role of government is not to own and operate businesses when a competitive business
  market exists.

Forestry

• permit only ecologically sound and economically sustainable forestry management methods.
• invest in research to promote good forest stewardship.
• encourage other value-added uses of Alberta’s forestry resources.

Heritage Fund

• institute a policy of providing from the Heritage Savings Trust Fund when anticipated or prior annual Real Gross Domestic Product growth of Alberta is less than 2%.
• institute a policy of depositing a set percentage of government natural resource income each year into the Heritage Savings and Trust Fund.

Labour

• allow individual workers the choice to determine their membership in labour organizations.
• allow competition to the Workers Compensation Board.
• extend to workers the democratic right to a secret ballot vote on labour organization certification under the Labour Code and ensure that the same rule apply for de-certification as for certification.
• restore education as an essential service under the Labour Code ensuring that no child’s right to an education is denied by school strikes or lockouts.

Pension Plan

• withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and create an Alberta Pension Plan. The Alberta plan will offer at minimum the same benefits while giving Albertans control over the investment fund.

Taxation

• oppose unfair and industry specific taxation from the federal government.
• fight for Alberta’s deserved share of federal tax dollars through a more equitable distribution of federal transfer payments and contracts.
• establish a per child income tax deduction for parents or guardians.
• collect the Alberta personal income tax.
• increase the basic personal exemption to benefit the lowest income earners.
• provide greater tax deductions for charitable contributions.

Tourism

• encourage tourism as a major growth area of the Alberta economy.
• will stimulate tourism with international marketing in cooperation with tourism operators.

Transportation

• develop new transportation corridors to relieve the pressure on current routes.
• develop a comprehensive transportation strategy that recognizes the interdependence of Alberta’s economy with its neighbours.

EDUCATION

Courses

• ensure that the arts, music and physical education curriculums are fully funded and encourage entrepreneurial courses in Alberta’s public schools.
• enhance online educational initiatives for students.

Education Standards

• set high standards for education. These measured standards will include academic testing, teacher quality, and high school graduation rates including public reporting.
• eliminate the policy of social promotion in Alberta’s schools. Students will be expected to meet standards in order to be promoted to the next grade.
• institute methods to hold educators accountable for performance.

Post-Secondary Education

• give priority for admission and funding to Alberta students to post-secondary institutions.
• work with employers, post-secondary institutions and the Alberta Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission to increase training and apprenticeships in the trades and technical sectors.
• strengthen the network of colleges, institutes and on-line learning opportunities throughout the
  province.
• increase research and development funding for colleges, universities and institutes and encourage
  private sector partnerships.
• reduce student loans by 10% per year to students in the educational and health care sectors attending accredited schools of education provided they work in underserved communities.

School Choice

• support “School Choice” Legislation.
• institute a student based funding system for financing education which will allow funding via Alberta Opportunity Scholarships to follow the student to the accredited education facility of parental choice.
• mandate that Alberta Opportunity Scholarships include all funding for student education for instruction, support and capital.

School Safety

• invest in school safety to ensure a safe secure leaning environment for students.
• establish a school violence and crime electronic data reporting system.
• work to reduce absenteeism and truancy.

ENVIRONMENT

Clean Water

• encourage conservation of water taken from lakes or rivers for agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes.
• impose strict regulations on effluent producing industries.
• Develop and implement an on and off-stream fresh water storage plan.

Conservation

• recognize the value of parks to society and protect these areas from intrusive activities.
• require governments to meet responsible environmental standards in their procurement, recycling and construction operations.
• conserve Alberta’s environment and monitor environmental impacts with enforcement provisions while balancing economic development opportunities in the province’s future.

Energy

• invest in research for clean coal technology and provide tax incentives for capital investment.

Protection

• establish an environmental ombudsman for Alberta.
• require Ecological Impact Reports for all large projects. Projects in sensitive areas that use unproven technologies, or generate significant public concern will be a priority.

HEALTH CARE

Care of Patients

• enforce the five basic principles of the Canada Health Act which are: Public Administration,
  Comprehensiveness, Universality, Portability and Accessibility.
• provide coverage for authorized out of province medical treatment that is unavailable in Alberta.
• ensure the care of persons with a disability to ongoing access of medical benefits.
• develop a Medical Machinery and Equipment Plan that ensures existing medical diagnostic and care equipment is adequately staffed, fully utilized and properly maintained and that provides for future investments in new equipment and technology.
• establish and fund a fully independent Health Ombudsman in Alberta.
• fully fund and implement a mental health initiative.
• focus funding on patient care and reduce wasteful spending in the system.
• provide expanded home care and palliative care services to assist chronically and terminally ill patients with supportive home environments as an option to institutional care.

Delivery

• performance measures that are annually audited and publicly reported.
• build a unified, universal and cost-effective health services information network that will improve care and reduce long-term costs.
• give all citizens better access to their medical records and treatment histories.
• institute a Health Management System that rewards cost effective cost-saving administration by providing incentives to doctors, nurses and health care professionals.
• encourage and support innovations in the delivery of health care.
• alleviate pressure on emergency room services by expanding the funding for and the number of multi­disciplinary 24-hour-a-day community based health care centres.
• work with non-profit societies to develop an Intermediate and Long-Term Care Facilities Plan which will address the needs of our aging population including increasing capacity.
• establish a rural and remote health initiative to ensure Albertans get the care they need.
• implement legislation protecting the “conscience rights” of healthcare professionals.

Funding

• provide health care funding that will follow the service to the health care provider and approved facility of choice.
• increase funding for home care, supported housing, assisted living, long-term care facilities and palliative care hospices to provide less expensive and more patient-friendly alternatives to hospital care.
• reduce transportation and lodging costs for rural patients who receive treatment that is not locally available by developing a rural medical travel assistance program.
• ensure that patients living at home in palliative or long term care are entitled to the same pharmaceutical benefits they would have received as in a hospital.
• deliver an annual individual statement of benefits to each resident of Alberta.

Training

• expand training and post-secondary programs to graduate more Health Care professionals.
• develop and implement a retention and recruitment plan in full consultation with health care service providers.

Wellness

• institute a preventative health care and wellness program.
• increase funding for physical fitness and amateur sports.
• enhance efforts and funding to prevent drug and alcohol abuse and addiction.

JUSTICE

Courts

• institute a program where all sentences given in provincial court will be subject to a truth in sentencing provision..
• support the right of compensation from convicted persons to the victims of their crimes.
• introduce initiatives for Maintenance Enforcement to bring about improved compliance with maintenance and visitation orders.
• support legally enforceable arbitration between all parties in a legal dispute to settle non-criminal actions.
• all Albertans have access to legal representation and justice.

Policing

• expand the role of sheriffs to handle Provincial justice issues.
• ensure sufficient funding for municipal policing to allow for effective policing and protection of Alberta people.
• require young offenders to participate in crime prevention courses and other measures.

System Confidence

• work to ensure that the rights of crime victims take precedence over those found guilty of committing crimes.

SOCIAL

Equality

• recognize that all Albertans have equal rights, privileges and responsibilities.

Arts and Culture

• encourage and support through funding community projects and school programs for arts and cultural activities as an essential enrichment of life and integral part of Alberta's communities and cultural diversity.

Families

• implement educational activities to help the abused overcome the effects of abuse and to stop further abuse from abusers. Access to therapy will be provided where required.
• work with foster parents to help them improve the care and placements of foster children.
• enhance and increase the training, resources and authority of social service providers to properly protect children at risk and improve services to families.
• earmark a significant portion of the revenues generated from gambling for the rehabilitation of
  gambling addicts and for educational programs aimed at reducing gambling.
• collaborate with non-profit societies and commit funding for emergency residences for victims of
  violence.
• ensure people fleeing violent situations are provided with sufficient time and support including
  increased stays in transition houses as necessary.

First Nations

• create a permanent First Nations Forum to provide aboriginal citizens living on and off reserves direct communication with government about their priorities and ideas to materially improve their quality of life.
• devote special attention and resources to addressing the challenges and needs of aboriginal women and youth.

Responsibility

• support social responsibility within the framework of a free enterprise economic system and promote compassionate service, volunteerism, individual responsibility and care for those unable to care for themselves.

Social Assistance

• implement a timely and effective Social Assistance to work program.

Cruise lines cutting two more Alaska cruise ships

Vancouver's convenient little sideline business as "that place you stop at on the way to an Alaskan cruise" is going to be losing significant volume in the near future.

Holland America and Princess Cruises announced yesterday that each of them will be deploying one ship from Alaska to Europe for 2011. This in addition to cuts that four other cruise lines had already announced, resulting in a total annual reduction of close to 170,000 cruise visitors to the state by the time all is said and done.

An article in the Anchorage Daily News states that the cruise lines are blaming the cuts on new Alaskan taxes voted in in 2006. Whereas Alaskan tourism sources are skeptical, saying that passengers have been ok with paying the taxes and perhaps the cruise lines aren't being totally up front with their explanations.

Regardless, this situation is going to have repercussions for Vancouver. As in: when a substantial amount of your tourism is based on being "someplace on the way to another place", you really have minimal control over that part of your industry.

Over the past 35 years, B.C. has been one of the world leaders in terms of marketing its natural attributes to the worldwide tourism industry. However, we can be reasonably sure that much of the world has now caught up to B.C. in that regard and, in some cases, passed it.

Time now to create some new attributes.

What is going on with freedom of speech in Canada?

Recently I was interested to read an item questioning the quality of free speech in America in the People's Daily Online English edition from China.

The article is written by Rong Xiaoqing, a Chinese journalist based in New York, and reflects upon the fact that there are surprising limits to free speech in America, although U.S. journalists enjoy relatively strong freedom of speech rights, in comparison even to other other western countries, let alone China.

The author explains how people in a multitude of corporate and government situations are routinely muzzled and prevented from speaking to the press even on subjects unrelated to their jobs.

For example, he says: "In New York the 130,000 teachers in the public schools are not allowed to talk to reporters before getting approval from the Department of Education."

None of this comes as a surprise to Canadians. In fact most of us could come up with numerous examples of similar restrictions in our country. This may or may not be entirely acceptable in theory, or in law. In practice, a lot of people just tend to avoid rocking the boat when the rewards for doing so are doubtful and the potential consequences can be severe. They can also be insidious, lingering, cloaked or unexpected.

"Discretion is the better part of valor" - is not a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Yes, "discretion is the better part of valor" is often a smart way to conduct oneself.

But, this folk saying does not describe the law of the land, nor is it a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A few things have got me pretty worried

1. I heard that Vancouver passed a by-law that you are not allowed to protest the Olympics. (or anything at all? or even put up a sign?)

2. I heard that Alberta is or was contemplating censorship of films critical of the Tar Sands.

3. I heard that the Stephen Harper government has abruptly canceled funding for Kairos, a Canadian human-rights organization, purportedly because its work doesn't meet current priorities of the Canadian International Development Organization. However many are speculating that Kairos' stand on certain issues such as Copenhagen and the Tar Sands is what got them into trouble.

4. I heard that the City of Montreal canceled a work of public art on Ile des Soeurs that had gone through a rigorous selection process and was already nearly completed, just because there was some vocal opposition (since when did irrational pretensions become valid qualifications for Joe citizen to influence public art space?) and supposed safety concerns. (apparently this artwork, entitled "Milieu Humide" or Wetlands is now on a reprieve, pending a study that will assess its safety)

"Milieu Humide"

5. I also saw an extremely worrisome report that indicated the Conservative government will be evaluating the political stance of all types of groups before doling out funding.

6. Local newspapers and many other sources of news are dying out. This is going to come to a head in the near future and it is democracy that stands to pay the price. School boards and various councils across the country are already operating without the presence of journalists. Sooner or later these politicians will feel the need to exclude journalists altogether.

All of these situations are worrisome. The Olympics issues are still playing out in Vancouver under quite a bit of exposure. In Alberta, a sizable chunk of the population spends so much time watching Faux News that they are still oblivious to the Tar Sands facts in front of their noses. Science funding tied to outcomes that the Reform Conservative government is interested in is becoming a major issue in Canada. And so forth.

My sense is there is a dangerous proliferation of attempts to unduly control what we think, say and do. Please be aware and do something about it if you can. Sometimes valor is the better part of discretion.

A Canadian vision for northern eco cities, wilderness education & sustainable technologies

The lack of Canadian action on the ecological front has been surprising. Behind the leadership of Stephen Harper, our government is charging headlong backwards into the coal age. Scattered initiatives are chipping away at our carbon footprint, with a project here and there but so far nothing has occurred to inspire Canadians with a hope that we will be leaders of a planet with a sustainable future. Meanwhile, the haunting shadow of the tar sands looms in the background, giving us all reason to worry just a little about the consequences of our lifestyles and our climate apathy.

Canada does have an admirable legacy of environmental action, notably nurturing such global forces as Greenpeace and Dr. David Suzuki. Most provinces are dabbling in alternative energy initiatives, but Canada is far from a leader in any of these areas. The one thing we do have is a certain level of awareness from coast to coast that is accentuated by the fact that one is always close to nature wherever you are in Canada. But the fact remains there are few, if any, landmark projects that would be capable of capturing the public's imagination.

Reflecting on this over the past few years, the one concept that keeps returning to mind is the idea of constructing a northern eco city. This is exactly the type of thing that could consolidate a Canadian vision of a sustainable future.

The project would consist of the construction of a complete city in the middle of an untracked wilderness, probably nearly untouched by humans at present. The idea from the outset would be to minimize any incremental effects of the human presence on the environment. The city would definitely include a university and technical schools. Power and heating would be by wind and geo-thermal. There would be accommodation for all sorts of experimental projects in agriculture, in urban development, design, communications, etc.

This project makes more sense the more one considers it. Firstly, at some point in time Canadians need to acknowledge that we are occupying 6.7% of the world's land mass, but only account for .5% of the population. As the population of the world expands, there will come a time when Canada's empty spaces will become coveted as living space for people living in impossibly crowded conditions elsewhere. Secondly, if we look at settlement patterns over previous centuries, it is obvious that most cities and populated areas have evolved near fertile agricultural zones. Already today, it can be assumed there is little or no particular need for a city to be located near fertile farmland. What has happened is that cities have just continued to spread out from their historical locations. So, with these two facts in mind, it makes a lot of sense to begin to explore the capacity of Canada's north to house population in a sustainable and successful way.

It so happens that the entire planet is just at the beginning of a transformation to green energy sources, so this whole idea can dovetail neatly with a northern eco city project. Overall, Canada could hope to realize a wealth of knowledge and expertise from this type of a project. On top of that, it could be expected to be a big tourist attraction and something that could inspire Canadians' passions and dreams from coast to coast.

As there is no such thing on the drawing boards at present, the assumption can be made that this is a project that needs to be kindled from the ground up. We are going to try to get it started with some art initiatives.

Could artists leverage Montreal conference centre's ambitions?

The new head hombre of Montreal's Palais des Congres wants to double the number of events held there over the next five years and increase the economic impact of its conferences and conventions for the Montreal area to $300 million per year.

According to an article in French in today's La Presse, the new President and CEO, Marc Tremblay, intends to attract major international events to Montreal by getting to know everything there is to know about the 6,500 congresses that exist on the face of the earth and by "making them offers they can't refuse." It looks to me like M. Tremblay is well on his way to a great start. It also looks to me like he and Canadian artists could be of much assistance to one another.


The Palais des Congres de Montreal with sculpture by Jean-Paul Riopelle, "La Joute" (The Joust") in the foreground.

Presently, the Palais des Congres already ranks first in Canada and third in North America in terms of number of international events held.

Tremblay expects to grow this, for one thing, by exploiting a specialization for Montreal in the the environmental and sustainable energy fields. Beginning with the world summit on climate change in 2005 Montreal has been establishing itself as a presence in this area. The 21st World Energy Congress will be held here in 2010, and the Eco City conference is slated for 2011.

Tremblay pitches the Palais as a super eco-friendly facility, in walking distance to thousands of hotel rooms, with direct access to Montreal's groundbreaking "Bixi" bike-borrowing service, and with a Metro station in the complex.

This all sounds great and good. And it looks like Tremblay is off to a high energy start, just a few weeks into his mandate.

I think that the Palais team has always had an adequate appreciation of the importance of art for a city in its efforts to maintain a really powerful international profile among conference planners and decision makers. Regardless, when we see that a Times U.K. online survey with 1.4 million responses fails to name Jean-Paul Riopelle among the top 200 artists of the 20th/21st Centuries, or any more than a mere one Canadian (Jeff Wall), then we can be sure that we are up against a little problem. Whereas, if we would find 5-10 Canadian artists in this list of 200 noted artists of our times, which would be normal to expect, then I think it would only stand to reason that the cultural influence of Canada and Montreal on attracting worldwide congresses would be that much stronger.

It could also be expected that all Canadian artists could benefit from corresponding raised profiles and international status in general, leading in turn to greater recognition for Canada as a cultural center to be reckoned with.

So, how can the Palais des Congres help Canadian artists? I acknowledge it will not be a simple job to increase the standing of Canadian artists in the international milieu and anything that a conference centre could possibly do would be of relatively small impact. Competition in the world of art, and amongst the cultural forces of countries, is fierce, just as it is in the business of conferences. So every little bit of help is needed and I see this as an issue of 'you scratch my back I scratch yours'.

And, it would certainly seem to be in the interest of the Palais des Congres and Marc Tremblay to include promotion of Canadian art as an important consideration together with each and every activity the Palais undertakes. So maybe there is some way to facilitate and develop this idea further.

Surprise, surprise - Canada's artists completely ignored in Times ratings

Not exactly the most up-to-date report in the world of art news, as this came out back in June. Worth mentioning though due to its pertinence for the subject of this blog. Again, a very depressing (if predictable) result for Canadian art. At the same time, maybe it will be useful in some small way for inciting our art establishment to some kind of more effective action than the status quo has been.

The results of the Times Top 200 Artists of the 20th Century to Now survey were announced June 8, 2009. The Times Online poll was taken in conjunction with Saatchi Online and all artists received over 1.4 million votes.

Riopelle doesn't even make the list

In this entire list of 200 artists, there is only one Canadian to my knowledge - that is Jeff Wall, in 116th place. No Riopelle, no Carr, no Jackson, and none of the ~below~. Admittedly, I'm not sure what the methodology of this survey was. There must have been a list that you could pick from - so how many Canadians were on that, I do not know. Anyway, the end result is yet another slap in the face for Canadian art.

The very existence of this list now goes on to further perpetuate the fallacy that Canadian art has no place on the world stage. The work of all Canadian artists is devalued and the way ahead for future artists wishing to climb the rungs of recognition is made that much more difficult.