Our drummer Larry received a $3000 grant from The Canada Council for the Arts to bring Ghanaian master drummer Francis Kofi Akotuah to Canada for a month of performances and workshops in schools and universities in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Francis is also scheduled to be the featured guest artist at our Halloween show at Lula Lounge in Toronto. In spite of being married with two small children, Francis has been denied entry as Canadian immigration officials concluded he was at risk to stay here, claiming that he didn’t have strong enough ties to Ghana. You can read more about this frustrating situation in today’s Toronto Star.

It’s tempting to suspect that the government’s stance in this matter has something to do with Stephen Harper’s inexplicable disdain for artists, but it’s not just artists who are having a difficult time visiting our country. According to The Toronto Star, visa officers abroad working for Citizenship and Immigration Canada have in recent months refused visitors’ visas to three Asian film directors scheduled to attend the Vancouver Film Festival; the Eritrean foreign minister; the head of the national Nigerian library association; four Nigerian wrestlers; 19 Iranian scholars and artists; as well as labour leaders from the Middle East and Nigeria invited by the Canadian Labour Congress.

Larry is making another appeal to authorities on Francis’ behalf, armed with more documents and a letter from NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow. But if Immigration Canada doesn’t change its original decision, Larry will be forced to return the grant money to the Canada Council, which means that he would have to take about $2000 out of his own pocket to cover the return plane ticket he purchased for Francis when he was awarded the grant. Stephen Harper’s famous remarks the other week indicate that our prime minister thinks artists belong to some kind of privileged, cocktail-sipping class and that Canadians aren’t interested in quality music, film or theatre. Well, I do know a lot of Canadians who live for arts and culture – I see them in the audience every night on tour – but I don’t know any artists who can afford to throw away $2000. 

Thanks to all of you who help us do what we love. 

/Johan