SUSAN LEBLANC « » : NSCC's Music Business Program attracts top talent. Grammy-winning artist Dyson Knight of the Baha Men recently said he was excited to enroll in this program so his "music can step up a bit." That's a quote, and I will table it. We're hearing that this program is being cut because it doesn't fall within any of the government's priority areas. My question to the minister is: Why is support for the music industry not a priority for this government?
HON. BRENDAN MAGUIRE: I am confused, Speaker. You want us to not interfere with academic freedom on one hand, and then the next person gets up and says to interfere with academic freedom on the other. This government has supported the arts more than any other government. There is an announcement today around a sound stage for the arts. The film industry and the arts industry are flourishing in Nova Scotia. The government is not directing the NSCC on what programs to have and what not to have. They make decisions based on enrolment and what they see fit for their own institution.
SUSAN LEBLANC « » : This government is intent on aligning post-secondary institutions with their own agenda. We have heard it over and over again, and we have a bill in front of us saying that very thing. The loss of the Music Business Program shows that this government's agenda is having a really negative consequence on the lives of Nova Scotians. Speaking of film, many of the people who write and compose music for our film industry will have gone through this program that's being cut. Without this program, we will lose talented people, and the continued success of our music industry will be put at risk. Why is the government putting Nova Scotia's vibrant and valuable music industry at risk?
BRENDAN MAGUIRE: I don't know how many times I can repeat it before it sinks in. We are not going to tell schools what they can and cannot teach. What we're saying is that when you have positions that are not being filled - health care positions - we need them filled. We are asking them because they are seeing a shortage in funding because of the temporary student caps to align with the workforce, to work with the workforce. Guess what? NSCAD is just as valuable as Dal. The School of Theology is just as valuable as any school. We appreciate the arts. We will continue to support the arts. NSCC is an institution all to their own.