Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty added his voice to defend the arts in the wake of controversial remarks by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.
"A society doesn't reveal itself through its roads and its golf courses," McGuinty said Wednesday at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
"It reveals itself through its architecture, through its literature, through its music and its art."
On Tuesday, Harper said in Saskatoon: "I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people, you know, at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough when they know those subsidies have actually gone up - I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people."
Ontario's Culture Minister Aileen Carroll, a former federal Liberal cabinet minister, said Wednesday that Harper's own supporters should be angry at his characterization.
"Because he is saying those people, they don't go to the arts. Their children don't want to take dance lessons. Nobody ever thinks they might want to sing in 'Mamma Mia,'" she said.
William Thorsell, CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum, also found fault in Harper's remarks, saying the Conservative leader isn't in tune with Canadians.
Millions of people across the country enjoy a wide range of arts programming, he said.
McGuinty said that the arts contribute about $20 billion annually to Ontario's economy, and he's not sure why Harper doesn't understand that.
This issue began percolating before the election. In early August, the Conservative government announced $45 million in cuts for arts funding. To defend the cuts, the government said grants had paid for travel by a "left-wing" writer and a punk rock group with an unprintable name.
The Tories have also announced changes to the way films will be funded, saying films found "offensive" will not receive tax credits -- something the arts community calls censorship.
The Tories have said funding for the Canadian Heritage department is up eight per cent, but analysts have suggested that includes all types programs funded by the department, not the arts.
Taborra Johnson -- an actor and spokesperson for ACTRA, a union that represents Canadian performers in film and broadcasting -- said Wednesday that the cavalier way the Tories announced the cuts was disgraceful.
"The arts contribute $85 billion per year to our gross domestic product. It creates 1.1 million jobs, which is 7.2 per cent of our employment," she said. "It is a huge industry in this country. We're tired of hearing that it's handouts to the arts but that it's funding to the auto industry or for the energy sector."
In the days leading up to the Sept. 7 election call, the Tories announced hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance for the auto sector.
With reports from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney and Andria Case
