Green candidate pours out passions at forum
John Streicker, the Yukon’s Green Party candidate, used last night’s all-candidates forum on the arts to make an impassioned case for his fledgling political movement.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
DEBATING ARTS AND CULTURE – The four Yukon candidates for the May 2 federal election are seen at Tuesday evening’s forum. Left to right: The Conservatives’ Ryan Leef, the Green Party’s John Streicker, Liberal incumbent Larry Bagnell and the NDP’s Kevin Barr.
John Streicker, the Yukon’s Green Party candidate, used last night’s all-candidates forum on the arts to make an impassioned case for his fledgling political movement.
While he and the other candidates – New Democrat Kevin Barr, Liberal-incumbent Larry Bagnell and Conservative Ryan Leef – spoke glowingly about the arts, Streicker used the topic as a launch pad to address wider issues.
“The CRTC had a political appointment ... Linda Keen, from our nuclear watchdog agency was asked to step back,” said Streicker, outlining a laundry list of meddling the Conservatives allegedly engaged in with respect to government boards.
“And then we asked our scientists to stop talking to the media at all ... we need to stop moving power into the executive office, into the PMO, and we need to make sure that Parliament is accountable, because it’s Parliament that we elect,” Streicker said.
The Green candidate then questioned why Green Leader Elizabeth May was excluded from recently televised debates – a decision that was widely viewed as undemocratic.
“I was concerned that the consortium made the decision not to allow (May) to take part in the debates,” said Streicker. “That was a million votes and a national party (ignored).”
When a question about what each candidate would do to get Jim Robb and Ted Harrison – Yukon artists and governor general award winners – into the National Gallery, Streicker admonished his political rivals for suggesting they would simply “put them in there.”
“We just had a question earlier about the arm’s length importance,” Streicker said. “There’s a whole acquisition arm to the National Gallery ... let’s not confuse ourselves with politics and the arts.”
This remark received enthusiastic applause and was a breath of fresh air for those resigned to forums in which candidates generally agree with one another, at least in principle.
Cuts in 2008 by the Conservative government to programs that promoted Canadian art abroad and its dealings with the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and CBC dogged Leef during last evening’s arts forum.
Nevertheless, all, including Leef, spoke glowingly of the arts and their importance to Canada.
The cancellation of Trade Routes and PromArt three years ago after the 2008 general election which returned a minority Conservative government, and recent musings by Conservative senators about disbanding the public broadcaster, were the focus of two of three questions established prior to the forum.
To cut through the platitudes offered on keeping the CRTC and CBC at arm’s length from government, a look at each party’s platform is instructive.
The Conservatives pledged an additional $60 million in funding to the CBC, the Liberals have offered “stable and predictable” funding and the New Democrats “are committed to maintain the CBC’s current levels of funding until Canada’s budgetary outlook improves,” but the Green Party has promised much more.
The Greens say they will inject $100 million more into the CBC’s annual $1.7-billion budget for 2011, an additional $150 million in 2012, ramping that up to $200 million in 2013.
While Leef said that keeping tabs on taxpayer-funded institutions should be the government’s responsibility to ensure “we receive the service we’re supposed to.” Barr said managing arts funding should be left in the hands of experts, and offered a personal perspective.
“I’ve been subjected to being removed from boards because of political interference,” Barr said.
“We have to combine the people who know what arts are about and with a business sense to be able to move it along ... people that fix cars fix cars, artists know about artists.”
Bagnell also took shots at the Conservative government for arts funding cuts, particularly several million slashed from museum funding.
“$4.6 million was cut from the museum assistance program and the president of the Treasury Board at the time, John Biard, described it at the time as trimming the fat,” said Bagnell. “If I was a small museum, I would’ve been pretty upset about that.”
The candidates will face off one final time for CBC North’s forum on April 27, at the Gold Rush Inn beginning at 7 p.m.
Voters will go to the polls for the 41st general election on May 2.
JC
Apr 20, 2011 at 4:28 pm
And where is this new age yuppie party (Greens) going to get the money for their spend thrift projects? Oh yeah, I forgot, the military has lots of money. And since the Liberals, NDP, blocs and now the Greens believe that the US will protect our land and sovereignty anyway, why waste all that money on the a military thats not necessary. The truth be told, which Iggy, Layton, and Duceppe seem to be devoid of, thats really where they will get the money for their expensive programs from. The Liberals have been doing it for years and know the drill. And of course now the Greens have discovered the golden goose. If I’m wrong, I would like Mr. Streicker to tell us where he would get it and what existing programs he would have to shut down.