A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned Tuesday it was rejected for funding.
The news arrived at Montreal's Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto's Pride week, and just days before the beginning of the event.
The directors of Montreal's Divers-Cite had actually sprung to the defence of Stephen Harper's government earlier this month, telling The Canadian Press that the Conservatives had never treated them differently. Some in the gay community attacked them for their comments.
They had submitted a bid under the new Marquee Tourism Events Program for $155,000 to add performers and promotion to this year's $2-million event.
Ummm, yeah guys - if you haven't figured it out yet, the TheoCon$ are happy to take your defense of them, and they'll still try to punish you for your "licentious lifestyle".
When he phoned to check on the bid Tuesday, Mr. Girard says he was told by a senior bureaucrat that the $100-million program had received so many requests, the government simply had to make a choice.
Right. Fine. In light of the recent demotion and public humiliation of Diane Ablonczy, it's time for the government to come clean and prove their claim. Otherwise, I'd put better than even odds that the wingnuts have been screaming loudly, and this is a response by a government scared of alienating their extremist base.
No comments:
Post a Comment