TORONTO - The Canadian Taxpayers Federation isn’t shouting encore upon learning tax dollars are helping the curtain go up on a “sympathetic portrayal” of a convicted member of the Toronto 18.
As the Toronto Sun reported Saturday, Homegrown — the autobiographical play chronicling a lawyer/writer’s year and a half worth of visits with Shareef Abdelhaleem while he awaits his trial — is part of this year’s SummerWorks Theatre Festival.
The festival receives more than $90,000 from all three levels of government including $35,000 from Heritage Canada. Homegrown received $6,000 from the city funded Toronto Arts Council for a workshop.
The play’s writer, Catherine Frid, stressed Friday that the play isn’t condoning terrorism but is a “sympathetic portrait” of one of the men caught up in the terror bust.
“Homegrown does not promote, sanction or excuse terrorism. It looks at one of the men convicted of terrorism and points out some of the many irregularities in the Canadian criminal justice system that led to his conviction” she said.
But Kevin Gaudet, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said tax dollars shouldn’t be going towards a “terrorist love-in”.
“You want to put on a play? Fine. Hang up your shingle and ask people to pay for it ... and if it has to do with sympathetic portraits of terrorists who want to destroy my country, I won’t go,” Gaudet said.
The federation objects to funding for all festivals from Pride Toronto to the Calgary Stampede, he said.
“We advocate against all this type of funding in that context,” Gaudet said.
SummerWorks artistic producer Michael Rubenfeld said Friday that the play gives audiences the opportunity to hear Abdelhaleem’s story and share his perspective.
“I would say it gives a fair portrait of Shareef, the play in no way tries to tell audiences that he was guilty or innocent, it just gives a perspective that is his and probably more sympathetic than we’re used to hearing,” Rubenfeld said.
“In no way does it support terrorism.” Tax money is well-spent on the play, he said.
“His story is so relevant to this city ... so the opportunity to continue to explore what has gone on with the Toronto 18, I think it is exactly where money should be going,” Rubenfeld said.
Claire Hopkinson, executive director of the Toronto Arts Council, said the money to SummerWorks is for a full envelope of activities and was granted before the whole operating lineup of the festival was known.
“However I don’t want to distance myself from what they program,” Hopkinson said.
“We have high regard for Michael Rubenfeld and SummerWorks artistic choices. We know that they are a festival really specifically designed to encourage risk.”
A spokesman for Canadian Heritage said Saturday the department has supported SummerWorks financially since 2006.
The festival was granted $45,000 for 2010-2011 including $35,000 in base funding and $10,000 for community engagement.
The funding was granted through the department’s Canada Arts Presentation Fund “therefore no conditions are stipulated,” the spokesman stated.
“Funding for SummerWorks from the Department of Canadian Heritage is not for content or for any specific programming,” she wrote. “Funding is awarded for a festival series as a whole, a year in advance of when the festival line-up has been established.
“All recipients of funding through CAPF make independent programming decisions.”
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
