Whisper
May 8th, 2010, 08:31 AM
Received $400,000 in 2009, but not on this year’s recipient list
Canada’s Largest Ribfest, the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival and Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days are among nearly 50 organizations receiving funding this year through the federal Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP). Pride Toronto is not.
Organizers for the week-long celebration hosted by the gay community applied for $600,000 after receiving $400,000 in 2009, but the list of recipients released Friday has dashed those hopes.
“I find it strange – the criteria hasn’t changed,” said Tracey Sandilands, Pride Toronto’s executive director. “It seems a message to the community that queer arts and culture is not worthy of investment.”
Montreal’s annual gay festival, Divers/Cité, was also absent from the list, but it was not immediately clear whether it applied in 2010. A 2009 application was denied.
The government created the two-year, $100-million MTEP in 2009 to help festivals and other events boost their profile and weather the recession. Industry Minister Tony Clement said he wanted to spread funds more broadly across smaller cities, towns and festivals this year after Toronto and Montreal absorbed “the lion’s share” of last year’s dollars.
“We had to make a lot of tough choices. We limited the events program to two successful applicants per major city this year,” he said Friday.
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Luminato Festival are Toronto’s fortunate pair.
Some Tory caucus members reportedly vented their displeasure at last year’s grant for Pride Toronto. Two weeks later, the minister in charge of MTEP, Diane Ablonczy, was removed from the file, which was handed to Mr. Clement. The Conservatives insisted the shift had been planned all along, but former Tory cabinet minister Monte Solberg opined that Ms. Ablonczy was being “hung out to dry.”
Mr. Clement said Friday that ideology and values do not factor into decision-making.
Ms. Sandilands points to a study that found that Pride 2009 generated a direct return to government of $6-million, and $136-million in total economic spin-offs, drawing 1.2-million attendees.
“If that’s not qualifying criteria, then I wonder what is,” Ms. Sandilands said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/pride-toronto-denied-federal-funding/article1561360/
Canada’s Largest Ribfest, the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival and Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days are among nearly 50 organizations receiving funding this year through the federal Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP). Pride Toronto is not.
Organizers for the week-long celebration hosted by the gay community applied for $600,000 after receiving $400,000 in 2009, but the list of recipients released Friday has dashed those hopes.
“I find it strange – the criteria hasn’t changed,” said Tracey Sandilands, Pride Toronto’s executive director. “It seems a message to the community that queer arts and culture is not worthy of investment.”
Montreal’s annual gay festival, Divers/Cité, was also absent from the list, but it was not immediately clear whether it applied in 2010. A 2009 application was denied.
The government created the two-year, $100-million MTEP in 2009 to help festivals and other events boost their profile and weather the recession. Industry Minister Tony Clement said he wanted to spread funds more broadly across smaller cities, towns and festivals this year after Toronto and Montreal absorbed “the lion’s share” of last year’s dollars.
“We had to make a lot of tough choices. We limited the events program to two successful applicants per major city this year,” he said Friday.
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Luminato Festival are Toronto’s fortunate pair.
Some Tory caucus members reportedly vented their displeasure at last year’s grant for Pride Toronto. Two weeks later, the minister in charge of MTEP, Diane Ablonczy, was removed from the file, which was handed to Mr. Clement. The Conservatives insisted the shift had been planned all along, but former Tory cabinet minister Monte Solberg opined that Ms. Ablonczy was being “hung out to dry.”
Mr. Clement said Friday that ideology and values do not factor into decision-making.
Ms. Sandilands points to a study that found that Pride 2009 generated a direct return to government of $6-million, and $136-million in total economic spin-offs, drawing 1.2-million attendees.
“If that’s not qualifying criteria, then I wonder what is,” Ms. Sandilands said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/pride-toronto-denied-federal-funding/article1561360/