(OTTAWA) Minister Pablo Rodriguez on Thursday defended the Department of Canadian Heritage’s new policy of cutting funding to artists in the country who have ties to the Russian government. Its officials have undertaken a review of activities allegedly linked to Russia or Belarus.
Posted at 1:43 p.m.
“I think you have to keep an open mind and give the benefit of the doubt. It’s really not a witch hunt, ”he said in a press scrum on Thursday.
The news of this funding review, first reported by Radio-Canada, has raised fears in the cultural community. Organizations have received a letter from Canadian Heritage, The Press obtained a copy, asking them to “suspend until further notice” their activities involving Russian or Belarusian state organizations or their official representatives or their funding will be cut off. This includes partnerships, tour funding, co-productions and festival participation.
Canadian Heritage issues a warning. “Organizations found to have ties to the Russian or Belarusian state will not receive funding from the Ministry,” he wrote.
“We are only talking about artists who have a link with the state, artists who could be used as propaganda by the state,” said Minister Rodriguez. It has nothing to do with the Russian culture which brought us so much in terms of music, ballet or anything else. »
He added that cultural organizations can easily verify such links in the contracts they have signed.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, welcomes this new policy “with enormous discomfort”. “The Canadian government is confusing a dictator with the people who suffer the dictatorship,” he said. He confuses the Putin regime and the people, many of whom are still on the streets. He confuses the Putin regime and the artists. He added that “punishing the artists will not help the solution of the crisis and the war in Ukraine”.
Rather, the Conservatives believe, on the contrary, that “taxpayers’ money should not be used in a way that conflicts with the sanctions that Canada imposes on Russia and Belarus”. Ontario MPP John Nater said he expects the government “to be rigorous and ensure that no grants or contributions are given to individuals or organizations that hold incompatible views with Canadian values. »