Turning 50 is often the catalyst for reflection, re-examination, and the occasional mid-life crisis. Quillblog hopes the Canada Council for the Arts is nowhere near its mid-life point, but in its 50th anniversary year, the Council is working on a new strategic plan that will guide it from 2008-2011. It has opened the discussion up to the arts community and interested Canadians with a paper posted on its website. It is a government document, so it isn’t exactly scintillating reading, but it does ask important questions such as:

1. What do you believe the Council does best?

2. How important do you think a national arts council is, and why? In what ways would you like to see the Council be a “leader”?

3. Is there anything the Council does that it no longer needs to be doing or that could be done by others? If so, what is it and who should do it?

4. Is there an important environmental trend that should be added to the list in this paper? What is it? Why?

5. What are the two most important things the Council could do to improve its support of the arts?

6. Where should the Council be spending more of its resources? Where should it be spending less? (see Appendix B for facts on the Council’s funding)

Now is your chance to have your say, plead, vent, gripe, whine, or even offer constructive suggestions. The Council is accepting feedback from now until June 15 and will report back in July via the website.