Money for golf but not culture

Eastern Graphic - March 21, 2007
- editorial by Paul MacNeil

If you believe some of the objections raised to locating the provincial artifactory in Murray River, you could get the sense that the quaint village is at the end of the earth, far removed from all civilization.

Of course that is not true. Murray River will be a wonderful home for the storage of 80,000 pieces of Island history.

What is troubling about the whole artifactory debate is the complete lack of appreciation for protecting and preserving our heritage shown by the Binns government.

Much has been made about the $5.9 million artifactory. Opponents contend it should be built as part of a provincial museum, both of which should be housed in Charlottetown.

That argument is rubbish. We live in a modern society. We have modern roads. We have modern communications tools. We have modern fire fighting capabilities.

What the artifactory debate has shone a light on is government's lack of respect for culture both from a preservation and economic generation. perspective.

If the Northumberland Community Development Corporation were not able to access federal funding the artifactory would not be built. Forget a provincial museum, the Binns government doesn't think enough of protecting our cultural treasures to fund construction of a building to meet modern standards.

While the Binns government willingly squanders $20 million on the Dundarave golf course it relies on the federal government to protect our treasures. Shameful. But not surprising considering ours is the only government in the country not to consider the music industry as an industry worthy of industry specific support.

We have a long history of ignoring culture.

And what it is ignoring is that there is money to be made in culture. Look at the demographics. Look at the research. Far more money can be made in the preservation and promotion of culture than can ever be made in golf .

Unfortunately for Islanders there are few political photo-ops in the culture business. Which means the Binns government will continue to ignore important initiatives while sending politicians and senior bureaucrats off for publicity pictures at money losing golf events.