Everybody we talk to in government and in industry and the many people, the thousands of people, we talk to in public spaces all seem to agree, “Of course comedy is art. Isn't it already recognized as an art form?” The government has told us in response to our e-petition to have it recognized officially by the government, that they already support humour through the various funding for spaces, training and presentation.
Our point is that, especially without the opportunity to even apply to the Canada Council for the Arts, there's no funding directly to comedy artists. There's funding for presenters of festivals. There's funding for training facilities. There's funding for the construction and renovation of spaces. Those are all vital and very important, but individual artists don't have an opportunity to receive funding directly. We're told to go to the Canada Council for the Arts and apply as theatre artists, and then, very similar to what Sheri was describing, the message is that we're not valid, that we're not artists, and we don't count.