Just so we’re clear. When it comes to cultural funding, the Harper government has never shied away from changing the rules to make sure queer content isn’t eligible for federal support.
A pile of conservative commentators have pointed out that the federal government’s decision not to fund Pride Toronto doesn’t make economic sense. No matter what you think of the parade, they say, it kicks up a huge cloud of economic activity in its wake. Therefore, it makes sense to support them.
Riiiiight.
Newsflash: that’s not how Stephen Harper rolls. A good example is Montreal’s Black and Blue festival, which used to receive economic spinoff dollars from the feds for exactly that reason: the program was based on the size of the economic cloud, not the content of the activities. Not so much since 2006.
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