ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Colleagues,

It is a great honour to receive the diplome d’honneur from the CCA.  

My first acquaintance with admirable organization came when I had the honour to be the President of the Directors Guild of Canada and Chairman of its Ontario District Council and attended meetings of the Conference. 

What was immediately and transparently clear was that staff of the CCA had an understanding of the “Corridors of Power” that was invaluable. 

Thus expressing the needs of our membership to staff and ministers of government was expedited and much more effective than it would otherwise have been.  

What became swiftly clear, too, was that the CCA was vital to both our past and future. Why? Let me suggest some answers. 

First, I have never thought of myself as being a Nationalist but have always been proud to be a Canadian. 

It became a central part of my identity when, in finishing university, I followed the advice of my professor of English, the great Canadian poet Earle Birney. He taught Milton. 

He said, “Do what Milton says; take a Grand Tour.” This proved invaluable not only to my knowledge of European civilization but it also led to a growing sense of my own identity. 

It became clear, too, that it is essential for a people to be able to speak to itself in its own voice and express its own vision. Why? This is why it is so important. 

What in fact are we talking about here when we talk about art? 

The pragmatist philosopher John Dewey came to the arts late in his life but provided a definition of Art that is certainly the best I have encountered in a lifetime. 

“Art is the Formed Expression of Feeling” 

This is what enables us to see, hear, and feel the experience of our fellow citizens and experience the world from their perspective. 

It is equally important in enabling us to experience the feelings and thus better understand the experience of other groups around the world, whatever their gender, colour, or faith.  

This is why it is also absolutely essential that governments both Federal and Provincial fund the arts for their own right and virtue, not tuck them under “heritage” or under “culture” or under “sports”.

There are dire times. 

It is now crucial that all groups involved in the arts press upon the Federal and Provincial Governments the fact that the cuts in budgets to Film and Television Production will drastically damage – even cripple them when, in the midst of a Global Crisis, we need most to hear and see what is going on in our world. 

Finally, I would like to thank the Conference for giving me a work of the great artist Bill Reid. It takes me back to my very beginnings in television: as an apprentice at the CBC’s television station CBUT in Vancouver. One of my tasks was to coordinate Master Control of the station and the introduction of Promos, Commercials and other programs. Once a week the sound operator was Bill Reid. What a wonderful memento it is. 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

March 12, 2009

CCA Awards Ceremony

Ottawa, Ontario