Thursday, August 6, 2009

who will stand up for edmonton?

In June 2009, the private Royal Glenora Club (located in Edmonton-Centre), received $1,000,000 in Federal stimulus funds, which Edmonton-Centre MP Laurie 'Red Dawn' Hawn claimed "will ensure that this 50-year-old facility can continue to thrive...."

A cornerstone of the festival circuit, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was recently denied Federal funding through the same grant that gave over $350,000 and over $250,000 to folk festivals in Calgary and Winnipeg.

It was reported by the Edmonton Journal that Hawn 'deliberately didn't lobby for Edmonton festivals.'

As a constituent in Edmonton-Centre, I would like my reprentatives to stand up for and lobby for Edmonton festivals.

UPDATE: Liberal candidate Mary MacDonald has responded to Hawn.

13 comments:

  1. The feds have given 4 million to a fundamentalist run school. I don't know who will stand up for Edmonton. Not the federal conservatives.

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  2. ...and "The Calgary Stampede will receive nearly $2 million in funding and is just one of the marquee tourism event recipients under the Summer 2009 stream" http://tinyurl.com/nu33f3

    I guess that will teach us for daring to vote NDP in one riding in Edmonton: No socialism for you!

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  3. We here in Edmonton demand to be pandered to! Especially those of us who will never vote Tory, we will especially be outraged if we're not pandered to! Todd Babiak will lead us in the pander-fest!

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  4. Public funding for a swanky, private club.

    Yet Laurie Hawn deliberately avoids funding for Edmonton Festivals.

    Laurie Hawn has done what for Edmontonians lately? Too bad Cardinall and the liberal candidate will divide the vote and allow him to pick up his pension this time around.

    More evidence that Harper hates the arts

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  5. Better yet who will stand up for Edmonton in keeping the Edmonton city centre airport open? Obviously not this blog.

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  6. I think the feds are just getting even for Edmonton electing a NDP MP - the nerve!!!!

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  7. Maybe Hawn doesn't believe these festivals are a good use of taxpayer's dollars. Boy is this blog ever biased.

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  8. Laurie Hawn continues to tow the Conseravtive party line. Trash and underfund the creatives in our society. Maybe he should stop sending those trashy 'Just Visiting' junk mailers I get every week and do some work for a change.

    Where can I send a cheque to help Mary MacDonald become my MP?

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  9. @adamgray: to help with Mary MacDonald's campaign by volunteering time or donating money, email her at electmarymacdonald@gmail.com

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  10. The Edmonton Folk Fest is the largest in the country and is extemely sucessful. Does it need taxpayer dollars to run? Not saying the Royal Glenora club funding isn't stupid, it is, but is every festival in the country entitled to tax payer dollars?

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  11. As a resident of Edmonton-Centre, I 100% support not using my taxpayer dollars towards the fok fest.

    Thank you.

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  12. @Bill C. - the government that your MP sits in already decided to hand out $100 million through the Marquee Events program. That's money that's now going to go somewhere, whether it goes to Edmonton or not. Bearing this in mind, are you still against funding of Edmonton events? Would you prefer that the whole $100 million of your tax dollars gets spread around the country but leaves you out? How can you support that, it makes no sense.

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  13. Edmonton gets its fair share. Politics and governance isn't about "me me me, and only me" it's about doing what is best for everyone.

    The folk fest will be just fine without this government grant.

    I stand by my position.

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