Issue 25 - March 29 2012

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the newspaper The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly

Since 1978

Dan Leznoff from the Breezes shows off his skills. in Canadian Music Week

GEOFFREY VENDEVILLE

Failed methods to Ford’s madness. Page 3˚Chinese Propaganda posters: A thing of beauty. Page 4 ˚ Shooting the breeze with Montreal psych band. Page 5

VOL XXXIV Issue 25 • March 29, 2012

Who needs art and culture anyway?

BODI BOLD

Prof of philosophy Mark Kingwell and writer John Ralston Saul discuss the importance of culture as part of the Toronto In Question lecture series

Professor Mark Kingwell and writer John Ralston Saul believe hand gesturing is the best way to get your point across. They suggested that we should reconsider our view of culture and its place in society. Saul said that culture is misconceived as a luxury reserved for “sissies and entertainment.” It is seen as an attraction for tourists or as the preserve of the wealthy. For Kingwell, the popular understanding of cul-

Ontario ruling gives green light to brothels On safety of sex workers, U of T professors say court’s decision didn’t go all the way Cara Sabatini On Monday, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the prohibition of bawdy houses is unconstitutional in that it infringes on individuals’ rights to liberty and security, protected under section seven of the Charter. The court reasoned that the current provision forces prostitutes to work alone, which makes them vulnerable to violent clients, or

risk imprisonment for up to two years. “These laws—the bawdy house laws—hurt the very people they’re intended to protect,” said U of T Law Professor Brenda Cossman. The court’s ruling takes effect next year and allows prostitutes to conduct services at fixed locations, such as commercial brothels or their private homes, which was prohibited by a provision added to Canada’s Crimi-

nal Code in 1985. “When people use the word ‘brothel,’ they’re thinking about some big, garish mansion with a million cars driving in and out,” said Cossman, describing what she saw as a distended public response to Ontario’s latest ruling on bawdy houses. While Canada v Bedford has been hailed a “landmark case,” Cossman is not alone in her view that the court

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ture has been reduced to an economic calculation- what he referred to as “use-value.” As a result, culture in Toronto, even when there is a revival of interest in the arts, has been seriously devalued. Both speakers also touched on the relation between culture and location. Ralston Saul in

particular argued for the importance of place, or how the physical design of the city shapes our interactions and ability to make use of it. “Toronto is a northern city and we need to build things accordingly,” he said. The fact that the City of Toronto has not done so has led to

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Inside this issue

BODI BOLD

“Who needs arts and culture in Toronto?” was the topic of the final lecture in the Toronto In Question series hosted by the U of T Cities Centre on Tuesday. The event’s two speakers, author John Ralston Saul and U of T Professor of Philosophy Mark

Kingwell, pointed out that the answer to this question is obvious: “everyone.” But what is culture and what part does it play in our lives? Both Saul and Kingwell argued that our understanding of culture has taken on an economic dimension—a change that has been for the worse.

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Aberdeen Berry

Made in China: a look into the past

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