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HALIFAX, FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE ON SUPPLY
10:05 A.M.
CHAIRMAN
Mr. Alfred MacLeod
MR. CHAIRMAN: Order, please. I'd like to call this session to order. The time is 10:05 a.m., and we have eight minutes.
The honourable member for Halifax Citadel.
MR. LEONARD PREYRA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I'll try to make my minutes good. I welcome the opportunity to speak with the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. This is our first opportunity, really, and I have, I think, three or four quick questions, all of them related to my constituency of Halifax Citadel. I know one issue we have talked about in general, but I wanted to ask the minister specifically about the department's plans for creating opportunities for young artists and spaces for young artists.
As the minister knows, Tourism, Culture and Heritage is an important asset for Halifax in particular, but Nova Scotia in general and, I would dare say, to the country at large. Nova Scotia has produced some fantastic artists and many of those, all of those, have been incubated in these small spaces where they've had the opportunity to demonstrate their talent and nurture it. I'm wondering if the department has any plans to create spaces for young artists so that they can provide this incubation space for a fantastic export industry, if you can call it that, but a fantastic asset that develops really at the grassroots level.
HON. LEONARD GOUCHER: It's a good question. We do, of course, as I think you probably know, work with the schools, with the Education Department, with regard to art, through the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia as well. We have programs that we run with a lot of the associations. As a matter of fact, I was down there one night with Phoenix House. The young people were there. So we run some really good programs down there.
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Plus, probably, one of the nicest ones is the Art Bank. I don't know whether you're familiar with that one or not. We actually purchase art work from, shall we say, up and coming artists - people who are emerging. It gives them an opportunity to have their art purchased by the province, shown in many of our provincial buildings.
The wonderful thing is we are finally trying to get that art work out more than we have in the past. It's no good to have it stored down in the Art Gallery in vaults. It has to be out there, and we have been doing that and we're getting a lot better at that. So I think we are providing the venue for young people. I can even think of my grandson in the schools and some of the programs that are offered there.
We are providing the ability for artists who, as I said, are up and coming, to at least get their work into the provincial domain and get it in the public domain.
MR. PREYRA: Thank you. I was thinking, in particular, about spaces where they develop those arts and I think the program of purchasing the final product is, of course, laudable, but I was thinking more of places like the Khyber Building in downtown Halifax. I was thinking about Bloomfield. You spoke about schools and, in particular, I'm concerned about - although I know this is not the minister's direct area of responsibility, but after the consolidation of St. Pat's and QEH schools in my constituency, they lost two auditoriums and the new Citadel High School is not going to have an auditorium. As the minister knows, this is where young artists, and really our culture, begins. St. Pat's, for example, has a play running right now and QEH has always had a play, very popular, but the artists coming out of that have served as the foundation of our arts, culture and heritage economy here and the arts in general.
I'm wondering if there is any attempt on the part of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, or if your department could support in any way the finishing of that auditorium at Citadel High School, because it will provide such a foundation for the arts, culture and heritage here in Halifax.
MR. GOUCHER: Probably the short answer is, from the standpoint of our department, we don't get into capital works, capital funding. However, I think you're probably familiar with the Halifax West situation as well. I will regress back to my former life as a councillor and the situation we had there, which is basically the same as the QEH, the new school on the Common, where the province provided the shell. The same thing happened up there and it took the community getting together and funding through capital programs with HRM, and I think there was even some provincial involvement there.
I've got to be honest with you, I can't remember factually what and if there was provincial involvement outside of the actual shell being constructed, which I think at that time was around $1.5 million, $1.6 million just for the shell. So the same thing is happening there as well, but most of those in the Khyber Centre, as well, are things that HRM has been
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involved in. From the standpoint of our intergovernmental committee with regard to the province, we look at the art side of it, the culture side of it. So I think that's about the best answer I can give you. As far as the actual construction though in the new school, that would not be within our mandate to do that.
MR. PREYRA: I only have, I think, two or three minutes left. (Interruption) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. GOUCHER: Lots of time.
MR. PREYRA: Could the minister just very quickly, I asked a question earlier, I think indirectly through the staff, about the Highland Games.
MR. GOUCHER: Yes.
MR. PREYRA: I received a request from the group, the Highland Games obviously, and the minister was there for Tartan Day.
MR. GOUCHER: Absolutely.
MR. PREYRA: We're very proud of our Scottish heritage, but I was really surprised and disappointed to hear that the department is not supporting that in any significant way and that the event is getting very close to staging. I wonder, if we can't support an event like that, if we can't support such an important part of our heritage, then what can we support? I certainly would strongly urge the minister to reconsider that decision because it is important, it's what Nova Scotia was founded on - that heritage.
MR. GOUCHER: I would like to respond to that just a little bit. I know with most things that happen around this province, the groups and organizations take a significant role. The problem I see with this one is, their ask, if I remember correctly from your letter - and I already had that letter by the way - is $342,000 of around $450,000. In other words, they wanted 80 per cent funding from the province.
Quite frankly, and given the questions that I've had and given the number of organizations, groups, festivals and events that are happening around this province, that is unrealistic and, again, it's not that I don't support it because I do, I think it's wonderful, but it's unrealistic to be looking for 80 per cent funding in this day and age. I'm sure you've volunteered in many organizations and committees in your area, the same as I have, you know, in mine, and in mine we have a $180,000 budget and of that $180,000 budget, HRM provides us with less than 10 per cent of that and 90 per cent is fundraised by the community. In this particular situation, I know it's a wonderful event and strongly supported, and I know that we are reviewing that and we do support the Highland Games through our budgets and
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we support it strongly, but to the tune of 80 per cent, $342,000, I would suspect - and I'm only, you know, because we haven't finished looking at it - but I think that . . .
MR. PREYRA: No, I'm not asking that they (Interruption) I'm just saying to consider that request seriously.
MR. GOUCHER: Absolutely.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Order, please. The time has elapsed. I would ask the minister to move the resolution, please.
MR. GOUCHER: Yes, and if I could, Mr. Chairman, I would just like to thank you for the time and thank the members opposite for all of their time and the questions, it has been a great pleasure. Also, if I could very quickly thank my deputy and all of the staff who have put so much time and effort into preparing the document, unfortunately just for a very short period of time, but at least we did get a chance to bring the questions forward.
I move Resolution E32.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Shall Resolution E32 stand?
Resolution E32 stands.
We now stand adjourned.
[The subcommittee adjourned at 10:13 a.m.]
