Canada 150 Scrapbook: Image Politics

-------------------------George Hum (100885150) / CDNS3600 / December 9, 2016------------------------- This blog critically analyzes 10 artifacts related to Canada 150. You can use the Table of Content to navigate to the various sections. Additionally, the tags underneath each artifact link to related artifacts.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction

Major artifacts:

ARTIFACT 1: Department of Canadian Heritage Priority One

ARTIFACT 2: Canada 150 Logo

ARTIFACT 3: Haida Gwaii Royal Tour Footage (2016)

ARTIFACT 4: Parks Canada Webpage

ARTIFACT 5: Ottawa 2017 Logo

Minor artifacts

ARTIFACT 6: Ottawa 2017 Event

ARTIFACT 7: Logo from the150logo.ca

ARTIFACT 8: Gord Downie’s Secret Path

ARTIFACT 9: 4Rs Youth Movement

ARTIFACT 10: Roots Scarf

Conclusion

Works Cited

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Works Cited

Adese, Jennifer. 2012. “Colluding with the Enemy?: Nationalism and Depictions of “Aboriginality” in Canadian Olympic Moments.” The American Indian Quarterly 36: 479-502.

Carty, R. Kenneth. 2015. Big Tent Politics: The Liberal Party’s Long Mastery of Canada’s Public Life. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Curtis, Bruce. 2003. The Politics of Population. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Edwardson, Ryan. 2004. Canadian Content: Culture and the Quest for Nationhood. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Harvey, David. 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hayday, Matthew. 2010. “Fireworks, Folk-dancing, and Fostering a National Identity: The Politics of Canada Day.” The Canadian Historical Review 91: 287-314.

Liberal Party of Canada. 2015. “Real Change: A New Plan for a Strong Middle Class.” Accessed December 2, 2016. https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/10/New-plan-for-a-strong-middle-class.pdf

Marland, Alex. 2016. Brand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in the Age of Message Control. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Nimijean, Richard. 2005. “Articulating the ‘Canadian Way’: Canada™ and the Political Manipulation of the Canadian Identity.” British Journal of Canadian Studies 18: 26-52.

Nimijean, Richard. 2006. “Brand Canada: The brand state and the decline of the Liberal Party.” Inroads 19: 84-93.

Osborne, Brian S. 2006. “From Native Pines to Diasporic Geese: Placing Culture, Setting Our Sites, Locating Identity in a Transnational Canada.” Canadian Journal of Communication 31: 147-175.

Rankin, Pauline L. and Richard Nimijean. 2016. “Marketing the Maple Leaf: The Curious Case of National Flag of Canada Day.” In Celebrating Canada Volume I: National Holidays and the Evolving Contours of Canadian Identity, edited by Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

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CONCLUSION

The Liberal Party has long been defined by its brokerage politics that seek to accommodate distinctive interests in society (Carty 2015, 56). This manifests as a party that speaks from the left and governs from the right, as programs and policies shift to reflect the needs of a given time. This necessitates the use of political branding and marketing values to convince citizens “that all is well with the product” (Nimijean 2005, 46). In other words, branding and rhetoric are used to guise or justify contradictory policy decisions. Not all of the artifacts chosen reflect official expressions of Canada 150, but many highlight a disparity between political branding and actual policy. Examples of this dynamic include artifacts three and four. Other artifacts, such as two and five, have contradictory or problematic substance beyond the surface. Ultimately, the major artifacts demonstrate a rhetoric-reality gap that presents a progressive image contradicted by actual policy on matters such as youth engagement, indigenous reconciliation, and environmentalism. Through this exercise, the role of the bureaucracy in promoting a party’s brand is also evident. However, given careful message control, the rhetoric may continue to outweigh the reality. Rhetoric help guise government actions, though the reasons why this is effective are beyond the purview of this exercise. The core takeaway is that party rhetoric and government actions need to be examined critically to reveal what lingers below the surface (for example, neocolonial attitudes towards indigenous peoples and the environment for artifact three and four). However, this exercise also revealed that many initiatives and artifacts originating civil society do have positive outcomes that match the rhetoric proclaimed, such as the 4Rs movement and Secret Path.

From a bureaucratic perspective, this exercise calls into question the true independence of the bureaucracy. While the bureaucracy needs to inarguably implement the government’s program (provided it is constitutional), it should not be used to promote a particular party’s brand. The public service needs to serve (and reflect) all Canadians, not just targeted demographics. Non-partisanship is one way to work towards this outcome. This presents a grey area within the bureaucracy, as the lines between rhetoric and reality are not always clear.

While the artifacts chosen were of personal interest, the methodology of this assignment could be improved by explicitly choosing artifacts related to Liberal decisions at the federal level. While some artifacts, such as artifact seven, are quite interesting, they are not related to Liberal policies or rhetoric. Additionally, the introduction of artifacts from municipal initiatives and the previous government cannot be pinned to the Liberal government. For example, the Liberal government would not throw out the design of someone who fairly won a competition spearheaded by a previous administration or completely overhaul the process when a design is available. While these reveal critical insights about rhetoric-reality gaps and Canada 150 at large, a stronger analysis would require a more careful selection of artifacts. Additionally, a comparative selection of artifacts that draws on initiatives from two different parties could provide deeper insight regarding political branding in Canada. Overall, the artifacts assessed demonstrate the rhetoric-reality gaps evident in Canada 150 with respect to the core themes outlined. These gaps are not necessarily malicious, though by understanding reality from rhetoric, we can hold governments to account.

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CANADA 150 Scrapbook: Image Politics

INTRODUCTION

Many things can be learned about commemorative events based on the bureaucratic decisions surrounding them. While the Canadian federal government was initially apprehensive about involving itself with the cultural industry (Edwardson 2004, 11), a gradual bureaucratization of the cultural sphere emerged in response to growing Canadian nationalism in response to American influence and Quebecois separatism (Edwardson 2004, 19-20). Given the role governments play in the regulation and promotion of the cultural sector, insights can be gleamed from the analysis of bureaucratic planning and policy documents. This scrapbook presents nine artifacts that speak to the various orienting themes highlighted by the core artifact: the Department of Canadian Heritage’s first priority from their 2016-17 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP). RPPs are expenditure plans for each appropriated department and agency of the Government of Canada, and highlight departmental priorities in addition to programs, expected results, and resource requirements (Government of Canada 2016: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/ae-ve/cee/pubs/lex-eng.asp). Specifically, Canadian Heritage's first priority identifies thematic areas to support “a spirit of hope and optimism”: promoting diversity and inclusion, engaging and inspiring youth, promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and connecting Canadians with their natural environment (Canadian Heritage 2016, 11). This presents clear ideological preferences that can be assessed in greater detail. The other nine artifacts each relate to this priority to facilitate this critical analysis, usually by speaking to one or two of its specific facets or themes.

Overall, these artifacts are analyzed to explain the role of image politics leveraged by the new Liberal government, though not all artifacts reflect explicit Liberal actions. For the purposes of this assignment, ‘image politics’ refers to the use of superficial political branding (containing inherent rhetoric-reality gaps) to present a political message that may not coincide with actual governmental actions. As Alex Marland explains, political branding can be used to advance a political agenda (2016, xxiv). However, this use of ‘image politics’ can be used to guise actual governmental actions by deflecting attention away from reality and towards the rhetoric: there are “gaps between rhetoric and reality that symbolic communication seeks to cover rather than address” (Rankin and Nimijean 2016, 411). For Canada 150, these dynamics of obfuscation are at play. Specifically, there is a distinct neoliberal agenda underpinning an ostensibly progressive government. Neoliberalism, in broad terms, refers to an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, free markets, and free trade (Harvey 2005, 2). In other words, this refers to the preeminence of the private sector over the public sector, with government policies oriented accordingly (e.g. deregulation, tax reduction, government retrenchment, and privatization). While neoliberalism originated within conservative parties, many centrist and centre-left parties adopted the “neoliberal consensus” regarding economic policies and helped consolidate the role of neoliberalism globally (Harvey 2005, 93). Strategically, many centre-left parties have attempted to reconcile ‘progressive’ social and cultural politics with neoliberal economics.

In Canada, both the centrist Liberal Party and centre-left New Democratic Party (NDP) have adopted neoliberal economics to various degrees, with the Chrétien Liberal government’s spending cuts being a clear example. This economic orientation often contrasts with the social and cultural politics proclaimed, leading to the disconnect between rhetoric and reality. At least historically, this has resulted in Liberals creeping onto territory to distinguish themselves from the Conservative Party (Nimijean 2006, 84). Commemorative events such as Canada 150 along with associated programs and symbols present an opportunity to espouse a political brand. Many artifacts discussed in this scrapbook superficially espouse progressive goals such as promoting social integration and environmental stewardship, but they are undercut by superficiality. Given the core themes highlighted in the Canadian Heritage priority, some of the artifacts represent a branding campaign to convince Canadians that “the political agenda of the Liberals fits squarely into the core set of Canadian values” irrespective of whether policy and brand are aligned (Nimijean 2005, 46). Ultimately, these artifacts demonstrate that bureaucratically-managed commemorative events like Canada 150 (and associated cultural politics) can be used by political parties to develop and promote their political brand, even if a commitment to a particular value is superficial rather than substantive. Identities developed in tune with political branding can be used to ‘market’ political parties, creating a superficial sense of alignment between an individual and a party.

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ARTIFACT 10: Roots Scarf

http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/ottawa-2017-and-roots-gear-up-canadians-for-the-countrys-150th-birthday-celebrations/

The Ottawa 2017 Roots scarf is interesting because of the multiple corporate ties underlying the artifact. The website announcing the partnership contains interesting wording: “ Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, in collaboration with lead partner CIBC, are pleased to announce that Roots is the Official Apparel & Leather Goods Retailer of Ottawa 2017.” This demonstrates the corporate partnerships underlying official commemorations. This reflects the dynamic present for the Ottawa 2017 logo (artifact five) itself. While this is not controversial, it is interesting to see the degree to which the private sector and public sector collaborate. It reflects the conflation of corporate brands with Canadianization, where wearing this specific corporate product also advertises Canada and Ottawa. Luckily, the scarf does not have the CIBC logo, making it more palatable.

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ARTIFACT 9: 4Rs Youth Movement

http://4rsyouth.ca/

The 4Rs Youth Movement is an initiative designed to promote cross-cultural, face-to-face dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people. It corresponds with the themes of engaging and inspiring youth and promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. A $398,000 contribution to the group was made by Canadian Heritage as part of Canada 150 (Government of Canada 2016: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1070919). Unlike some of the pageantry associated with the Royal Tour, 4Rs is a genuine example of rhetoric matching reality with respect to reconciliation. However, this may be because of its origins in civil society rather than the bureaucracy. Interestingly, 4Rs offers a large variety of programs including delivering training, hosting workshops, and hosting general gatherings. It also engages young people by letting them play an active role in steering the conversation, which contrasts with the hierarchy present in the bureaucracy. The funding of such groups can also be understood in the context of neoliberalism: rather than using limited resources to emulate an existing service offered in civil society, governments can instead invest in these groups.

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ARTIFACT 8: Gord Downie’s Secret Path

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/arts/with-secret-path-gord-downie-is-illuminating-a-way-forward-to-indigenous-artists-1.3810699

Secret Path is an interesting artifact because, while it is not an official expression of Canada 150, it has been tied to the theme of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in advance of celebrations (Globe and Mail 2016: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/gord-downie-cries-as-afn-honours-him-for-work-telling-story-of-first-nations-boy/article33218309/). It tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a boy who died running away from a residential school. This artifact can be contrasted with the Liberal government’s attempt to use the Royal Tour to demonstrate reconciliation, as it is a direct acknowledgement of the brutality of Canada’s residential schooling system. However, it also raises questions of allyship. The CBC article linked praises Downie for using his status as an artist to tell the story, but it remains important for these stories to emerge for Indigenous Peoples as well. While dialogue and acknowledging the truth is an important step in reconciliation, it is important that events are not appropriated and reinterpreted. While this does not seem as if it was an issue for Secret Path, care should be paid to avoid this potential issue. This artifact is thematically similar to the 4Rs movement (artifact nine), which seeks to facilitate dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

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ARTIFACT 7: Logo from the150logo.ca

http://the150logo.ca/

This artifact is an alternate logo designed by Greg Mühlböck. Like the other logos on the site, it was designed to protest the official logo and the process in which it was developed. While I find that this design is too complicated to be an effective logo, I still find it visually appealing. The design itself also evokes environmental imperialism. A city seemingly represents civilization in the first image, while the second image presents the wilderness and natural environment. The third image presents dominion over nature and leveraging it for commercial benefit. The distinction between city and wilderness also evokes the garrison mentality (i.e. shelters against a harsh and empty wilderness). While these themes are most likely unintentional since they do not match the designer’s explanation of the design, they do correspond with Euro-Canadian attitudes that celebrate mastery over nature. This artifact relates to the Parks Canada webpage (artifact four) as it also evokes this environmental imperialism. Since it was produced electively, it can also show these attitudes are both entrenched in the public sector (evident though the webpage example) and society-at-large subconsciously.

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ARTIFACT 6: Ottawa 2017 Event

http://www.ottawa2017.ca/ottawa-students-to-add-youthful-momentum-to-canadas-150th-anniversary-celebrations/

This article highlights the engagement of students to promote involvement with Ottawa 2017 celebrations. Specifically, it mentions the partnership between Ottawa-area school boards and the Ottawa 2017 Bureau. Through this partnership, students have an ability to participate in and volunteer for Ottawa 2017 events. Overall, despite being a municipal initiative rather than a federal one, this artifact ties to the theme of engaging and inspiring youth. The header photo additionally (and likely intentionally) highlights the diversity and inclusivity of the initiative. This artifact is interesting because it demonstrates the role of the state in using its various components (in this case, education) to support large horizontal initiatives. It shows that there is a degree of coercion involved in some “youth engagement” programs, as it is likely that individual schools will make some participation obligatory (such as for mandatory volunteer hours required to graduate). However, this may help engage students who might not be otherwise. Similar to the Canada 150 logo design process, such programs help the state prepare and organize events. In this case, a pool of volunteers can support the official festivities. This artifact can also be contrasted with the 4Rs movement, which represents a more explorative and elective mode of youth engagement.

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ARTIFACT 5: Ottawa 2017 Logo

http://www.ottawa2017.ca/about/what-is-ottawa-2017/

Ottawa 2017 is a municipal initiative designed to complement national Canada 150 celebrations. Canada 150 speaks to municipal partnership, engagement with the profit and non-profit sectors (especially tourism), and implementing Canada 150 activities in the National Capital Region specifically. This logo not only evokes the Canada 150 logo, it also evokes these elements. Like the Canada 150 logo, there are thirteen triangles representing each of Canada’s provinces and territories. Both logos also use the same font, which implies connectivity. However, the prominence of the CIBC logo is particularly striking: while it is typical for festivities to have corporate sponsorships, the prominence of a corporate logo within the actual design can reveal underlying attitudes. This relates to Edwardson, who argues that Canada’s neoliberal prioritization of the private over the public sector creates cultural disenfranchisement, which corporations can profit from (2004, 25). As such, corporations can use cultural events for advertising and to embed themselves within symbols, helping to further entrench “an increasingly corporatized national identity” (Adese 2012, 497). While Ottawa municipal politics are non-partisan, this logo reveals overarching neoliberal interests and the conflation of cultural and economic policy decisions (Osborne 2006, 162). Overall, corporate interests are entrenched within a symbol meant to celebrate Ottawa’s party within Canada 150. This is not inherently a bad thing, since part of the goal of Ottawa 2017 is to boost the tourism sector. However, it does demonstrate an alignment between state (in this case, municipal) interests and corporate interests. The alignment of such symbols can be explained through the broader processes of globalization, where globalization and corporatization are linked with social well-being and security (and therefore values) or a furthering of corporate rule (Nimijean 2005, 43). In this case, the incorporation of the CIBC logo creates a positive association between the event and the brand, which could increase receptivity towards corporations and financial institutions as they are aligned with the Canadian identity.

Critical reflection and relation to other artifacts:

The Ottawa 2017 is interesting to me because of its prominence throughout the city. Interestingly, it can be seen on infrastructure such as the O-Train, on underpasses, and even on pedestrian bridges (such as the Algonquin College bridge over Woodroffe Avenue). Given the presence fused public and private symbolism present in the logo, this personally exemplifies the idea of public-private partnership in the delivery of services. It highlights how prevalent these partnerships are within Canadian society. On an aesthetic level, it is my impression that the design of the Ottawa 2017 logo seems purposely off-balance to give room for any key corporate sponsorships. This artifact is related to the Roots scarf (artifact ten), as both artifacts highlight collaboration between the municipal government and private sector in the delivery of Ottawa 2017 festivities and apparel. It is another example of corporations easily affiliating themselves with the overall process of Canadianization, albeit on a smaller scale due to Ottawa 2017 being a complementary municipal initiative. Ultimately, both hint at a neoliberal dynamic where “money-making becomes the foundation for cultural activity and domestic expression” (Edwardson 2004, 25).

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ARTIFACT 4: Parks Canada Webpage

As part of Canada 150 festivities, free admission is offered to all Parks Canada locations. This is an explicit government program and appears in the Liberal Party’s 2015 election platform (44). This clearly supports the theme of reconnecting Canadians with the natural environment by encouraging them to visit national parks. The purpose of promoting domestic and international tourism is explicit, and items (such as the Discovery Pass) can be unpacked. Symbols related to Canada’s natural environment often contain implicit messages of nativism grounded in a metanarrative of Euro-Canadian environmental imperialism, conquest, and transformation (Osborne 2006, 164). The name ‘Discovery Pass’ continues to evoke this image, whereby Canadians “discover” their natural environment, and the promotion of tourism frames national parks as a commodity or tool to generate revenue.  As Osborne notes, tourism plays a formative role in the creation of identities (2006, 162). Such programs allow Canadians to project environmentalist values externally while also aligning these values to economic interests. By marketing this initiative internationally, this program also allows Canada to be branded for this audience, further entrenching certain brands. Overall, this initiative creates a brand that promotes Canada as one inline with its natural environment, and this has underpinnings of environmental imperialism where Canada’s natural environment exists to be exploited for economic gain. This artifact creates a disconnect between image and policy, albeit on different layers: while the policy contained within the webpage reflects the environmentalist theme, it cannot be easily reconciled with other environmental decisions such as the approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This also reflects the dilemma faced by neoliberal centrist and centre-left parties: while their voter base may desire strong environmental protection, business interests seek to curtail environmental regulation and exploit the natural environment (Harvey 2005, 66). While this predominately applies to the Canadian energy sector, it is also evident in the tourism sector in this example (though in an admittedly more innocuous way).

Critical reflection and relation to other artifacts:

While there are a few implicit messages underlying this artifact, the initiative itself is commendable and can be used to promote environmental stewardship. For examples, Canadians and tourists who take advantage may come out of the experience with a different outlook regarding environmental protection. In a sense, this initiative could instil symbolic images as to what environmentalists are trying to protect. However, such initiatives can also guise other policy decisions, and this shows how bureaucratic initiatives can be tied to a political party’s attempt to brand itself. If there are other complementary programs such as conservation education, this could be a very powerful tool for fostering genuine engagement and attachment to the natural environment. This artifact is related to the unofficial Canada 150 logo designed by Greg Mühlböck (artifact seven). While it is not an official expression, it does highlight Canada’s natural environment along with our transformation of it. Similar to the Parks Canada initiative, it highlights the commercialization and development of the natural environment (i.e. urbanization and agriculture). As such, it reflects the history of Euro-Canadian environmental imperialism, along with how it can emerge subconsciously.

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ARTIFACT 3: Haida Gwaii Royal Tour Footage (2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IyWK-4H4VQ

Between September 24th and October 1st, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Western Canada. The royal visit was timed for the lead-up to Canada 150, and another Royal Tour is being planned for 2017 (Ottawa Citizen 2016: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/government-eyeing-royal-tour-to-coincide-with-canada-day-celebrations-in-2017). Many items on the itinerary ostensibly touched on the theme of indigenous reconciliation, with the royal couple meeting several First Nations and participating in traditional ceremonies and activities. Artifact three is a still from the Haida Gwaii portion of the tour, where the royal couple was invited to participate in a canoe trip. This image is particularly interesting as it subverts two of the core themes of Canada 150: promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and connecting Canadians with their natural environment. While it is somewhat hard to see in the picture, many of the Haida wore shirts emblazoned with ‘NO LNG’ to protest the controversial approval of the liquefied natural gas facility near Prince Rupert (Global News 2016: http://globalnews.ca/news/2975504/royal-visit-2016-royal-couple-caught-in-no-lng-protest-on-trip-to-haida-gwaii/). Additionally, many BC chiefs refused to attend a reconciliation event held earlier in the week (Huffington Post 2016: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/26/royal-visit-bc-chiefs-reconciliation-event_n_12200730.html). These protests are an elegant rebuke to the thematic priorities. While the events throughout the itinerary can be interpreted as Indigenous Peoples being asked to “play Aboriginal” as part of the spectacle of the Royal Tour, this protest resists the “symbology produced within the parameters” of Canada 150 (Adese 2012, 496). These acts turn an event designed to propagate the image of reconciliation on its head to highlight the disparity between rhetoric and reality on the two related themes. While the event is used to market a multicultural brand, this act subverts this and demonstrates a disregard for environmentalism and substantive reconciliation on the government’s part (Global News 2016). Part of the branding of the ‘Canadian Way’ seeks to appropriate Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples in spite of increasingly poor socio-economic living living conditions (Nimijean 2005, 36, 38), and this act introduces reality into the rhetoric.

Critical reflection and relation to other artifacts:

I found this protest to be a very elegant way of leveraging the large media coverage surrounding the Royal Tour. By embedding the protest within the event, there was likely more media coverage than there would have been for a more traditional protest. As such, the rhetoric-reality gap that could have gone unnoticed by the public was clearly presented. Similar tactics could be used to protest other rhetoric-reality gaps where actual policy does not match the brand or image that the Liberal government is trying to promote. While it may not result in a change in policies, it could influence public opinion and highlight issues that might go unnoticed by the general public. This artifact is related to artifact eight, Gord Downie’s Secret Path project. Both artifacts speak to the theme of reconciliation, though Secret Path tells the story of a boy who died running away from the residential school system rather than presenting a sanitized image that presents “nostalgic recollections of pasts filled with harmonious relationships” with Indigenous Peoples (Adese 2012, 485). The reality is presented, rather than the rhetoric.

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ARTIFACT 1: Department of Canadian Heritage Priority One

http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1456860096099/1456860154244

The main artifact chosen for this scrapbook is the first priority from the Canadian Heritage Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP). As mentioned in the introduction, this priority highlights the core themes of promoting diversity and inclusion, engaging and inspiring youth, promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and connecting Canadians with their natural environment. Outcomes, such as promoting tourism, and key departmental activities, such as working intergovernmentally to engage youth, Indigenous Peoples, and ethno-cultural communities, are also noted. Priorities are plans or initiatives that a department focuses on for a given planning period, and articulate what is important for a given timeframe (Treasury Board Secretariat 2015: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/ae-ve/cee/pubs/lex-eng.asp). In a high-level fashion, this priority articulates how the Government of Canada is organizing Canada 150 celebrations through its bureaucracy, along with the key values the government wishes to promote through the festivities. As a whole, the priority reflects the modern process of Canadianization outlined by Edwardson, wherein cultural vitality is aligned with economic interests and that there is a diversion of attention towards developing a Canadian identity promoting the myth of the ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ in spite of reality pointing to the contrary (2004, 25). While values such as multiculturalism, engagement, and environmentalism are promoted, other ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ values such as equality, social welfare, and peacekeeping are not explicitly or implicitly noted. This priority directly links Canada 150 with economic growth, demonstrating that attention is paid to the economics underlying cultural politics and identity formation. Within the priority, it is also explicit that these values are being projected both domestically and abroad. Through this artifact, it is clear that the machinery of government is being leveraged to promote certain values even if they are at odds with actual policies being implemented. Since the core themes are to be reflected in the projects that get promoted, there is a degree of hegemony in which values are promoted. This evokes Bruce Curtis’ argument, where administration and bureaucracy can be used to create an identity (2001,316).   Overall, these values present a framework that can be used to assess other artifacts in this scrapbook.

Critical reflection

This artifact is significant on a personal level for multiple reasons. As a public service employee, the values articulated here reverberate throughout the public service and will likely affect my work in one way or another. Given that the values promoted are aligned with Liberal values, the ostensible non-partisan bureaucracy is being used to promote a particular political brand. Alex Marland previously warned about the implications of political branding: it has a “tightening grip” on civil servants who are supposed to work on the public’s behalf (2016, xxiv). Rather than implementing a government’s agenda, public servants play a performative role in the promotion of a political party’s projected image. While I find that the core themes are agreeable, consideration must be paid to alternate visions of Canadian values that exist within a diverse country. If this is not done, then the public service risks siding with the governing party over the interests of the citizens (Nimijean 2005, 39). By not including dissenting voices, a lopsided image of Canada, one amenable to the governing party of the day, is presented, possibly alienating large swathes of the country. Overall, this artifact highlights the relationship between the bureaucracy and the governing party, along with the issues that can arise. Namely, this refers to the bureaucracy being complicit in promoting rhetoric over substantive policy, with actual policy consequences being ignored in favour of the image.

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ARTIFACT 2: Canada 150 Logo

http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1469537603125

The Canada 150 logo is an official symbol of the Canada 150 celebration. Symbolically, each segment represents each of Canada’s provinces and territories and the maple leaf shape is distinctively Canadian. The logo was the winning design in a national competition aimed at students. Officially, this corresponds with the theme of youth engagement, as “young Canadians had the opportunity to participate and contribute in an original way to [an] important milestone in Canadian history” (Canadian Heritage 2016). However, this competition also drew significant criticism. For example, Stuart Ash, the creator of the 1967 centennial logo, criticized the design and the former Harper government for not commissioning design concepts from professional graphic design firms (CBC News 2015: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-150-logo-called-confusing-by-centennial-logo-creator-1.3154959). Kevin Mar, principal of Blue Planet Design, considered the contest exploitation and the equivalent of using unpaid interns instead of paying for professional work (Toronto Star 2015: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/28/controversial-canada-150-logo-design-contest-won-by-university-of-waterloo-student.html). Two main takeaways can be drawn from this artifact. On one level, it represents a rhetoric-reality gap with respect to youth issues. While the initial iteration of this logo was designed and chosen during the Harper government, it (understandably) remains in use. However, given the paltry award of $5,000 for the winning design, the winner and other entrants are arguably not being properly compensated for graphic design work. The competition overall can be seen as diversionary: under the guise of youth engagement, entrants (especially runner-ups) are effectively designing logos without proper compensation - especially galling due to the current youth issue of unpaid internships. This also reflects the overall politics of neoliberalism and austerity. Evoking Ninijean, the challenges of globalization and neoliberalism create a complex policy environment where expectations of government increase, but “the resource capacity and influence of the federal government would decrease” (2005, 32). While there are genuine expectations of well-funded festivity planning and youth engagement, neoliberal governments oriented against excessive public spending may seek alternative solutions (such as a competition) to save money. Given that the logo is also used in promotional material to generate tourism revenue, the private sector is benefiting from the public who participated in the competition. While there is not much that the Liberal government can do in response, they could have decided to properly compensate the winner given the logo’s continued widespread use.

Critical reflection and relation to other artifacts:

Personally, the process of the competition and initial iterations of the final logo are both disappointing. The competition reflects attitudes that devalue the work of younger Canadians, and a devaluation of creative work generally. The priority statement reflects tapping into the creativity of all Canadians, though this assumes another meaning where significant work (used for domestic and international marketing) for is done for a paltry sum. The process itself seems like there were a few wasted opportunities: as Matthew Hayday notes, employees of the federal government and state organizers sought to use festivities to foster a sense of national community given a vast geographic distribution (2010, 312). Rather than having internal boards assess the designs, there could have been a online survey that allows Canadians to vote for their favourite design. This would be a good way of using the internet to easily engage Canadians. While online surveys can be a superficial mode of engagement, this topic is fairly low stakes in comparison to a topic like electoral reform. This artifact can be contrasted with the 4Rs Youth Movement (artifact nine), which represents a more genuine attempt at fostering youth engagement through cross-cultural dialogue. Unlike the competition, where the end product of “engagement” is used for the government’s own ends, the 4Rs movement fits into the long-term goal of reconciliation and dialogue with Indigenous Peoples. This also highlights the different methods in which cultural activities can be promoted, with 4Rs representing a civil society organization partially funded by government rather than a direct government program.