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Literacy, arts receives funding

Arts and literacy got a recent funding boost thanks to grants from the federal government. John Weston, member of Parliament for West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country was on the Coast Jan.

Arts and literacy got a recent funding boost thanks to grants from the federal government.

John Weston, member of Parliament for West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country was on the Coast Jan. 9 meeting with representatives from the written and fine arts communities. He also addressed the Pender Harbor Rotary Club and followed up on funding announcements that occurred in December.

The federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage invested in various Coast-based enterprises that promote the ongoing production, promotion, and distribution of books by Canadian authors.

Coast funding recipients included Gibsons' Nightwood Edition, Halfmoon Bay's Caitlin Press, Madeira Park's Harbour Publishing, and Madeira Park's Douglas and McIntyre, all publishers of trade books.

"The Canada Book Fund has been providing supplemental operating funding to the Canadian publishing industry for over 20 years and is responsible for enabling a whole generation of great Canadian books, from those of Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro to regional histories like Raincoast Chronicles," said Howard White, interim publisher of Douglas and McIntyre." The federal government is to be congratulated for having the vision to renew and continue this program, which will help us to rebuild the historic imprint Douglas & McIntyre so it can go on publishing the best in Canadian writing for decades to come."

Stacia Leech from the Roberts Creek Schools Society received funding for a program called Mind the Gap, which focuses on social and emotional learning for students transitioning to secondary or post-secondary school. Students at this time often face anxiety and impulse-control problems that can lead to drug abuse. The program aims to prevent this by strengthening social and emotional skills of students, in order to prevent drug abuse. It will deliver training to both educators and parents.

"I am delighted to announce strong support to the literacy industry of the Sunshine Coast as well as providing tools to educators and parents to better assist the new generation in what can be a tough transition time. These investments of taxpayers' money will also multiply the opportunity for Canadian authors to prosper," said Weston.

- Submitted