There will be no exception for small literary magazines in the changes around the Canadina Periodical Fund’s cuts to publications that sell fewer than 5000 copies. There’s a Facebook group protesting the cuts here. A glimmer of hope at teh end of the piece. If there’s one thing we know about the Harper government, it’s that they’re as desperate for power as anyone. Make a big enough stink (like the entire arts community did last year) and they’ll flipflop for votes. So yell, and let them flip and flop, and then vote as you would.

Whatever hope small literary and cultural magazines had that they could change the minds of Canadian Heritage about its 5,000 annual paid threshold for the new Canada Periodical Fund are pretty much dashed. The small magazine community started a letter writing campaign and a Facebook group and certainly made its needs and interests known through its industry association, Magazines Canada. But what they are receiving back from the minister, James Moore, is a form letter that seems to slam the door fairly firmly. It says, in part,

The CPF will support a broad range of periodicals, but it will no longer offer support to titles that sell fewer than 5000 copies total per year, or specialized support for arts and literary magazines, including those that sell fewer than 5000 copies a year. A recent evaluation of our existing programs found that specialized funding for arts and literary magazines currently offered by the Department was duplicating the funding offered by the Canada Council…I trust that this information is useful.

The Facebook group offers the following list of federal contacts to express your opinion to. If I’ve learned anything in the last few years of arts advocacy, it’s that letters trump phone calls and emails. I suggest writing in print and copying to email, if you can afford the time.

Minister of Canadian Heritage: Hon. James Moore

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-992-9650
F: 613-992-9868
E:

Constituency Office
2603 St. John’s St.
Port Moody, BC V3H 2B5
T: 604-937-5650
F: 604-937-5601

Liberal Heritage Critic: Pablo Rodriguez

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-995-5080
F: 613-992-1710
E:

Constituency Office
7450, Les Galeries d’Anjou Blvd, Suite 530
Anjou, QC, H1M 3M3
T: 514-353-5044
F: 514-353-3050

NDP Heritage Critic: Charlie Angus

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-992-2919
F: 613-995-0477
E:

Constituency Office
20 Duncan Avenue S.
PO Box 276
Kirland, ON P2N 3H7
T: 705-567-2747
F: 705-567-5232

Bloc québecois Heritage Critic: Carole Lavallée

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-996-2416
F: 613-995-6973
E:

Constituency Office
110-5540 Chambly
Saint-Hubert, QC J3Y 3P1
T: 450-926-5979
F: 450-926-5985

Liberal Leader: Michael Ignatieff

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-995-6364
F: 613-992-5880
E:

Constituency Office
656 The Queensway
Etobicoke, ON M8Y 1K7
T: 416-251-5510
F: 416-251-2845

NDP Leader: Jack Layton

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-995-7224
F: 613-995-4565
E:

Constituency Office
221 Broadway Avenue, Suite 100
Toronto, ON M4M 2G3
T: 416-405-8914
F: 416-405-8918

Bloc Québecois Leader: Gilles Duceppe

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-992-6779
F: 613-954-2121
E:

Constituency Office
1200 Papineau Ave, Suite 350
Montreal, QC H2K 4R5
T: 514-522-1339
F: 514-522-9899

Conservative Leader: Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper

House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
T: 613-992-4211
F: 613-941-6900
E:

Constituency Office
1600-90th Avenue SW, Suite A-203
T: 403-253-7990
F: 403-253-8203

Remember to write MPs c/o both the House of Commons and their constituency offices. That way their entire staff will know about your concerns.