What is Stephen Harper Reading?

Dedication:

To Stephen Harper,
Prime Minister of Canada,
S.O.S. (Save Our Shakespeare),
From a Canadian writer,
With best wishes,
Yann Martel

Letter:

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0A2

Dear Mr. Harper,

Yesterday was the Ides of March, and so Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. There is nothing sacred in or about Shakespeare, but one can lose and find oneself in his work the way one can lose and find oneself in the Bible. Both are full worlds, one secular, the other religious, and both have spawned generations of readers and scholars who can quote chapter and verse from any given book or play. If one were on a desert island with only the Bible or the complete works of Shakespeare, one would do all right. If one had both, one would do well.

There is everything in Shakespeare (including dullness in the history plays). The English language and the nature of drama were still on the anvil in the smithy when Shakespeare was around, which was between the years 1564 and 1616, and the formative beatings of his hammer mark to this day the English language, theatre, and our view of the world. To give you just two small examples: in Act I, towards the end of Scene II, Cassius asks Casca if Cicero had anything to say about Caesar fainting. Cicero did, but in Greek. Casca deadpans, “It was Greek to me.” Later, in Act III, Scene I, Caesar is making clear that his will is firm and that he is not easily put off his course. He is, he says, “constant as the northern star.” These are but two of the many expressions that Shakespeare brought to the language he was working in. He brought more than that, of course. His plays, besides being vivid and dramatic, overflow with insights into the human condition. The adjective “Shakespearean” is a broad one. If that single man was a spring, we now all live in his delta.

Julius Caesar is a play about politics, more specifically about power. The potential power of one individual, the power of tradition, the power of principles, the power of persuasion, the power of the masses—all these powers clash in the play, to deadly effect. Shakespeare take no sides. His play is a tragedy, but it is not only Caesar’s tragedy. It is also the tragedy of Brutus and Cassius, of Portia and Calpurnia, of Cinna the Poet, of Rome itself.

Since Julius Caesar is about power and politics, we might as well talk about power and politics. Let me discuss concerns I have with two decisions your government recently announced.

My first concern is about the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. New money allocated to the Council is apparently to be spent exclusively on ”business-related degrees.” Don’t you feel that there’s a measure of contradiction between the libertarian, small-government ideals of your party and telling an arm’s-length body how to spend its money? Aren’t you making government bigger and more intrusive by doing so? But that’s an aside. More troubling is the denaturing of SSHRC’s role. I’ve never understood why public universities, funded by the taxpayer, should necessarily have business departments. Is making money really an academic discipline? Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing shameful about money, or the making of it, but we’re losing sight of the purpose of a university if we think it’s the place to churn out MBAs. A university is the repository and crucible of a society, the place where it studies itself. It is the brain of a society. It is not the wallet. Businesses come and go. Shakespeare doesn’t. A university builds minds and souls. A business employs. The world would be a better place if rather than having business types infiltrating universities, we had Shakespeare types infiltrating businesses. I imagine this line of argument is falling on your deaf ear. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood. To paraphrase Antony speaking of Brutus, you are an honourable man and you must know what you’re doing.

My second concern is the announcement by the Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore that funding from the new Canadian Periodical Fund might be restricted to those magazines that have a circulation greater than five thousand. That will pretty well kill off every single arts and literary magazine in Canada. “Good thing,” you might be thinking. “Elitist little rags, who needs them?” Well, we all need them, because good things start small. I’ll give you just one example: my own. I was first published by The Malahat Review, which comes out of Victoria, B.C. Their early support, when I was in my twenties, galvanized me. It made me want to write more and to write better. It’s because I was published in the Malahat that I won my first literary award, that I met my literary agent, that I came to the attention of Toronto publishers. The Malahat is where I was born as a writer. If it goes, so does the next generation of writers and poets. But perhaps I’ve misunderstood. You are an honourable man and you must know what you’re doing.

Turning SSHRC into an MBA funding agency and eliminating arts and literary magazines are incomprehensible measures to me. The sums involved are so small relatively, yet the purposes they serve so important. Is it really your aim to transform Canada into a post-literate society? As it is, many young people are post-historical and post-religious. If literacy is the next pillar to go, what will be left of our identity? But perhaps I’ve misunderstood. You are an honourable man and you must know what you’re doing.

In Act III, Scene 3 of Caesar, you will meet Cinna the poet. He is torn to pieces by the rabble, who mistake him for another Cinna, one of  the conspirators. That is not the Canadian way. Here in Canada, at this time, it is the Canadian government that is attacking Cinna the poet. But perhaps I’ve misunderstood. You are an honourable man and you must know what you’re doing.

Yours truly,

Yann Martel

encl: one inscribed paperback book

Reply:

1)

May 1, 2009

Dear Mr. Martel,

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence regarding the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Periodical Fund. I would also like to thank you for the enclosure of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

Please be assured that your comments have been given careful consideration. I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your correspondence to the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, so that they may be made aware of your concerns.

Once again, thank you for writing the Prime Minister.

Yours sincerely,

S. Russell

Executive Correspondence Officer

2)

June 16, 2009

Dear Mr. Martel,

The Office of the Prime Minister forwarded to me a copy of your letter on May 5, 2009, regarding the Budget 2009 decision to allocate the temporary increase of Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to students pursuing business-related degrees. I regret the delay in replying to you.

The Government of Canada recognizes that talented, skilled and creative people are the most critical element of a successful national economy, and has committed to strenghtening Canada’s People Advantage in our Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage. Our government has not only maintained, but increased the level of ongoing federal support for graduate students in Canada. In Budget 2007, we expanded the CGS program to support 5,000 students annually across all areas of study. Of these recipients, 2,600 are supported by SSHRC, 1,600 through the Natural Sciences and Englineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and 800 through the Canadian Institutes for Health Reserch (CIHR).

Budget 2009 announced a further, temporary increase in the number of CGS awards that will be granted in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. This increased funding will help students deepen their skills through further study at a time when they face a weakening labour market. Of the 2,500 additional scholarships made available through Budget 2009, 500 will be awarded by SSHRC to students pursuing business-related degrees.

The S&T Strategy addresses the need to foster more advanced business training in Canada as a means to improve innovation and the overall health of the economy. Our focus on business-related studies will provide additional support and encouragement to students pursuing advanced training in an area critical to Canada’s future economic success.

This government recognizes the important contribution of all social sciences and humanities disciplines to a vibrant economy and society. Research in the social sciences and humanities advances knowledge and builds understanding about individual groups and societies. Knowledge and understanding informs discussion on critical social, cultural, economic, technological, and wellness issues. They also provide communities, businesses and governments with the foundation for a vibrant and healthy democracy. SSHRC will continue to award Canada Graduate Scholarships across the full range of social sciences and humanities disciplines through the ongoing CGS program. Over the next three years, SSHRC will award an expected 5,700 Canada Graduate Scholarships, and 5,200 of these—more than 90 percent—will be available in all areas of the social sciences and humanities.

The additional awards will be granted in keeping with SSHRC’s mandate to support excellence in research and research training in the social sciences and humanities. They will help to ensure that top graduate students in business-related fields of study contribute to enhancing Canada’s prosperity.

Thank you for writing and please accept my best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Clement