Clark Bryan is an award-winning concert pianist and recording artist. He has studied with some of the greatest pianists of our times. With more than a dozen albums to his credit, Clark has also recorded over two thousand piano works since the Pandemic. As a teacher, Bryan has taught thousands of students, adjudicated more than 75 music festivals coast-to-coast in Canada, given dozens of workshops and written a book, “Gateways to Learning and Memory”. In 2004, he founded The Aeolian Performing Arts Centre. Today, this historic and legendary Centre is recognized as a beacon for arts and culture in Ontario and regularly hosts musical artists of many genres and is prized for the gift of intimacy and acoustics it provides to both audiences and performers. Bryan believes that everyone should have universal access to music, art, education, and culture. Because of this belief, he launched El Sistema Aeolian in 2011. This free, UNESCO award-winning program has offered more than a thousand children and youth an opportunity to experience the joy of a rich musical education. “Music is one of the most powerful tools we have for social change,” he says. In all his work with the arts and education work, Clark displays a progressive, social-justice mindset. Other innovations have included Aeolian Pride Choruses, Rebelheart Collective, Aeolian Talks, A National Song Writing Competition and The Aeolian Jazz and Musical Arts Festival. Bryan was awarded Musical Personality of the Year (2005) and won a Jack Richardson Award for Community Contribution (2011). In 2017, Mr. Bryan was given the Western Alumni Award of Merit and inducted into the Don Wright Faculty of Music Wall of Fame. In 2018, Clark was recognized with a Canada 150 Award through the House of Commons for his contributions to community and the nation. In 2022, Clark won Best Classical Solo Musician at Forest City London Music Awards. In 2023, Bryan was featured in a book about London by renowned author Richard Bain. In 2023, Clark was awarded a Lifetime achievement award from the Forest City London Music Awards and inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame. In 2024, he was awarded The Mayor’s Honour List from The City of London. Bryan continues to extend his reach into the community. Whether speaking about the power and joy of music study in his TEDX talk or engaging in community activism, Clark is committed to community. He speaks regularly at events, is featured on radio, newsprint and television.

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Many Canadians are waking up to the reality of having our values threatened. The United States President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to make Canada the 51st state of his country. It’s more important than ever that we define ourselves and our strengths so that we can fight against this geopolitical tyranny.

We talk about Canadian values, but does anyone spell them out? We could really use a moral compass right now and some leadership to remind us of that direction!

Here’s an attempt at spelling out Canadian values from my own personal perspective, but also from a lot of research:

Equality and Inclusion:

Multiculturalism: This policy was adopted in 1971, celebrating diverse cultures. Canada was the First Nation to adopt this policy.

Gender Equality: Equal pay and rights protections along with legal and social activism towards equity.

2SLGBTQ+AI Rights: Broad protections for the Queer community culminating in same-sex marriage in 2005. We were among the first countries to legalize!

Peace, Order and Government:

Our Constitution Emphasizes:

Social Welfare and collective responsibility

Cooperative Governance: between parties and levels of Federal, Municipal and Provincial Government

Stability of the rule of law: respect for the rule of law

Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law:

The Canadian Charter of Human Rights came into being in 1982, giving us civil liberties such as freedom of expression, religion and assembly

The Environment:

Policies to protect natural resources, sustainability and mitigate climate change

Bilingualism:

Canada is officially Bilingual

Reconciliation:

Canada is working towards reconciliation with its Indigenous peoples including land rights, languages and cultural heritage

Compassion and Social Responsibility:

Canada’s social safety net is an expression of fairness, equity and community caring
This includes education, public healthcare, Canada pension plan and much more

Democracy and Civic Participation:

Canada has a strong democratic tradition based on strong institutions, free elections and the cultivation of civil society.

Most Canadians believe in looking after each other. We aren’t perfect and have some really challenging social issues right now.

What’s different about Canada versus the United States?

Whereas the U.S. emphasizes individual freedom, self-determination and personal responsibility, Canada emphasizes collective well-being, social harmony and responsible governance.

Canada has a policy of multiculturalism and encourages cultural retention alongside integration, whereas the
U.S. is a melting pot model for assimilation into a unified American identity. Canada celebrates diversity in official institutions whereas the U.S. often debates diversity politically.

Canada has a universal public healthcare and strong social welfare programs, whereas the U.S. has limited supports preferring to focus on charity or private initiative.

Canada has strict gun control laws, regulated and limited, whereas the U.S. see guns as a symbol of freedom and self-reliance.

Canada views itself as a peacekeeping cooperative nation with an identity shaped by moderation, diplomacy and tolerance, whereas the U.S. is shaped by independence, exceptionalism and ambition.

Canada is more secular in public life and government policy, whereas the U.S. has strong influence by religious groups on social issues and elections.

It’s important that we work to clarify, teach and really own these values that have evolved in our great country. We must fight to protect them and ensure we continue to work towards a more inclusive, diverse and equitable society.

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Throughout history, opportunities for great education have been limited to the few. Public education was put into place in large part to feed commerce. It has served to prepare workers for the workforce. The workforce was needed to create things for companies owned by the elite, wealthy and powerful people in our societies. Those from wealthy families could afford to send their children to elite schools and have them graduate to positions of power in both industry and politics. Having wealth was often the ticket to both higher education and power. As demonstrated in recent times, students from wealthy families have paid extra money to institutions of higher education in order to guarantee entrance for their children to those institutions. Not only can this wealth guarantee entrance to these institutions, but it can also guarantee the marks needed for graduation.

How are we doing in Canada? Are all schools equal and access equitable? Let’s start with elementary schools and high schools.

There are a growing number of schools that are marginalized by social-economic classes. These are the schools that don’t have parents who can fundraise for school trips or extra school equipment. These are the schools that don’t have enriched arts programs and have few if any afterschool extra-curricular activities. In Ontario, it’s up to the Principal of the school as to whether or not there are arts programs! No equity at all!!

Although the curriculum for all provinces in Canada includes the arts, if there is no arts specialist (such as music specialist) on staff, its up to the individual teacher how they will manage or not manage to teach music. In countries like Finland, Arts education is considered a human right and there are specialists in each school as well as 97 publicly funded music schools for an afterschool education opportunity. Of course there is also music in their public schools….each and every one. Teachers in Finland must have at least a Masters Degree to teach and it is a highly competitive profession where only about 10% of those who apply get the opportunity to teach. Music and Arts specialists exist in every school there.

Scientists at Standford and education specialists around the world have clearly stated that our future will rely on creative entrepreneurs. They will create the new economy and tackle our social and environmental challenges. Daniel Pink in his book “A Whole New Mind” makes creative education his thesis and the basis for his arguments about the type of economy that’s ahead of mankind. Manufacturing jobs will become scarce as automation and AI take over. Entrepreneurs who have been steeped in creative risk-taking and the skills needed will form a new economy based on invention.

Creativity comes in large part from the arts and not as much from STEM education. This is a supporting reason to include the arts as an essential part of our education curriculum and make that education happen! The fundamental reason for the inclusion of the arts in core curriculum is that it is equitable and good for us. It brings joy and fulfillment to our lives. Kids are often motivated to get out of bed and go to school for arts curriculum… more often than STEM curriculum.

Knowing that some families and children have access to an enriched education and other don’t, how do parents feel about this? The working class might not even notice as they are busy trying to hold their lives together. But when they do, I’m sure outrage and action is ahead. The United States is a great example of this. There are huge social-economic divides in the U.S. and there is a rising “us and them” political and cultural civil war happening as a result. Education equity is a huge factor creating this divide. This is not good for society or the economy. Let’s not let Canada slip further away, but act with awareness to ensure that we fight for equitable education for all Canadians! How? Start conversations about it. Talk to your teachers, school boards, family and governments and insist that what we are doing does not align with Canadian values. Protest and vote for the change. Change comes when you drag the politicians into it!

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Sheldon Kopp’s book with this title is definitely worth the read. The title actually comes from the 9th century Chinese Buddhist monk Linji Yixuan. I read it about twenty or more years ago and it was definitely food for the soul. The thesis in this title proposes rejecting external authority and dogma and instead trusting in your own experience and understanding.

In our culture here in the western world, we’ve largely moved away from the worship of an external god. Yes, many still believe and follow religions, but the worship has become more overtly directed at humans. A great example of this is the “Rock Star” of professions like sports, entertainment (actors), leaders and those who obtain large amounts of wealth. We want to follow them, be like them and think about them often when reflecting on our own lives. We also pay a lot of money to hear and see them. We talk about them incessantly and idolize their lives and achievements.

Having been steeped in the classical traditions of piano playing, those “Buddhas” are the composers, the great interpreters/performers, the great teachers that we bow down to. They are like gods to many. We worship the way they play or write music. Of course, great wealth and cult followings envelop these personalities. Historically, one can find concert halls filled with the “who’s who” in the audience: the worshipers. Sometimes the worshipers aren’t even interested in the art form/performance, they are just interested in being part of an experience where they can be seen as appreciating the “greatness” as presented. Even if it isn’t greatness, sometime worshipers follow because others do, wanting to be part of the crowd; sheep following the shepherd. It’s a bit twisted, don’t you think? These perceived giants are just people like everyone else struggling with their own lives. I’m not diminishing the authentic experience of listening to great music and being brought to tears, but how often do you see classical audiences react in authentic ways to the performance. Traditionally, it’s sit still, don’t move, and be quiet for fear you bother someone. It can even be about building Cultural Capital; connections through classical music to be exploited for other purposes.

I remember when the great musician/pianist Chick Corea came to perform at Aeolian Hall for the first time (28 Grammy Awards) and we had dinner together. Chick loved classical music, but he made a statement to me that I’ll never forget:

“Classical musicians take themselves too seriously”.

I asked him to explain this and he reflected on his own journey with classical music (incidentally, this was his greatest passion) and the culture he experienced.

He lamented the inauthentic pursuit of the best performance, the closest adherence to the written text and the elusive “truth” of the very best musician or interpreter of a work. Don’t you dare change a single note or detail the composer has written. It is a sacred text to be venerated and worshipped.

Then there are the composers. Throughout my career I get asked questions like: “who’s your favourite composer….pianist….work of music etc.” “What was the very best performance you ever attended?” Not a lot of talk about how the music or how performance affected your spirit. Authenticity is often completely lost here! It seems like it’s more like “collecting and possessing” than “experiencing and reflecting”. “Oh, that performance in Berlin that I attended of Turandot was certainly rated as the best ever presented…and I was there!” Aren’t I great and special?”

Then there’s the competitions. So many of them now and so many winners. Before international competitions, artists were recommended by their peers for their capabilities and artistry. Now it’s the olympics for the arts. Having art as a competition is antithetical to the creative process.

I worked for years with the great French pianist Cécile Ousset. She sat on the juries of many of the big competitions and had participated in competitions in her youth. I asked her how a decision was made to choose winners. She said: “we choose someone with a lot of experience”. I then asked her: “Why don’t we make competitions for older players who have lots of experience”. She said: “That’s a great idea”.

Completely messed up, right?

I also asked Mme Ousset if the jury ever heard much interesting playing. She said: “no, rarely”. Often Competitions make artists choose winning interpretations rather than their own authentic ones. Playing something in a way that pleases the most or working on technical perfection over spontaneous risk taking.

I hope society can find space for arts for “arts sake”. The creative process as being one of truly “living and experiencing” rather than worshipping and winning. We will all grow immensely and find our creative outlets if we return to building who we are with great authenticity.

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How Leaders Should Act

If you don’t know the writings of Laozi in the Tao Te Ching from approximately 500-300 BCE, it’s worth getting to know them. This is considered by most learned people to be one of the greatest philosophical works ever written.

I was drawn to a particular chapter today that seemed wisdom for world leadership:

“If anyone with the aspiration to rule the world exerts efforts toward this,

I perceive this will most likely be unattainable.

Oh, the world is a Venerated Object,

upon which no effort can be exerted-

they who exert effort upon it will fail, and they who grasp at it will lose.

Things can be either advancing or following,

hot or cold,

tough or bowed,

waxing or waning.

And for this reason sages will

dispense with exaggeration,

dispense with extravagance.”

(translation by J. H. Huang)

What does this all mean? There is no one who has the power to dominate the world. We must treat the world with absolute reverence as our lives are reliant upon it. We must not claim dominion over things as they must exist as they are. If we don’t follow this path, every achievement will be in vain and we might even destroy the world. In their own way, all things exist beyond our control. That is why leaders need to accommodate the world as it is.

There is wisdom to follow from many sources that can correct mankind’s misguided pathways. Education is key to saving our world…but a different kind of education than we find in our school systems. An education based on humanism, wisdom and respect for the Dao (or whatever you believe is the source of enlightenment). An education that helps us all understand how to treat the world and each other with respect and dignity. An education that prevents a domination over others and the world we live in.

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There are boundless books, videos, courses and more about how to practice music. How can we choose a way that works for us personally? Or is there just one way we should all practice?

The old school teacher would often have one approach that was mandated for the student. Often, no questions asked. In other words, let’s fill the empty vessel! This was passed on through the hundreds of years and thought of as a legacy. “I’m from the Viennese School” of piano playing” or “I have been taught the true bel canto approach to singing”. Better still, “I’m from the Anton Rubinstein lineage of piano playing” or in more recent years, “I’m an Alexander Technique practitioner. Disciples of hundreds, if not thousands of “schools” or “lineages” still abound!

If you’ve had a teacher, you’ve probably been told to practice at home. The really old-school way is basically just that: practice….and a lot! It’s a bit limiting and doesn’t help if you get stuck or aren’t sure how to break down practice projects and goals. It was all about hours spent and not necessarily well spent.

There is a saying: “Practice makes Perfect”. It’s actually quite a lie. Only perfect practice makes perfect. “Practice makes permanent” is closer to the truth. If you practice something the wrong way, it stays stuck in those neural-pathways. One has to work a lot harder to undo those bad connections and re-wire the brain with a good connection.

So now, down to the plan. First off, stay open. Don’t get a fixed mindset about how you go about learning. As lots of questions both to yourself and to your guides. See what works for you. Give things time. Something might not seem reasonable now but with lots of practice might seem great later.

Listen and watch great musicians. Not just the ones playing your chosen instrument. Learn a lot of music. I mean thousands of pieces of music. A musician is one who knows music. An instrument player like a “pianist” or “singer” knows how to play, but doesn’t necessarily know music or have great musicianship skills.

Motivation is not the tool that makes for great practice. Some days we are motivated and others we are not! Habits are the key; things we do daily like brushing our teeth-whether we like to or not! There is a great book I recommend to my students for habit formations: Atomic Habits by James Clear. The saying: “showing up is half the battle” rings true!

Getting organized for your practice with lists of goals and time units is also fundamental. There are many books and apps that can help structure good lists. A few I recommend are: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, Keep it Going by Austin Kleon and The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom (this is really fantastic for much more than organizing priorities for lists!). An online app like Todoist is also extremely practical. A practice journal at your instruments side is also helpful for jotting down accomplishments as well as goal setting for each practice session.

Being well rested, without distractions and excited to learn is critical to foundations for good practice. Excitement and enthusiasm help carve out those neural-pathways, but carefully coached repetition is critical. We can’t always practice with a real coach at our side, so we have to become our own coach using critical thinking. Checklists help with this. Asking questions like:

How was my note accuracy?
How was my rhythmic accuracy?
How was my articulation?
How is my balance?
Am I voicing the right notes?
How’s my pedalling?
How’s the style?
Am I paying attention to rubato and other tempo signs?

The list goes on and on. Each repetition can focus on a different aspect, shifting our perspective and helping us know the notes better in different ways.

Malcolm Gladwell publish a book called “The Tipping Point” that discussed the 10,000 hours needed to mastery of something. Although his observations have had some controversy in recent years (exactly how long it takes), we know that years of practice are key to proficiency at the very least! Being psychologically ready to embrace this kind of longterm discipline is critical to success. In other words, having the patience to wait for an outcome and not just throw up your hands and say “it didn’t work for me” or “I really have no talent for it”.

Anders Ericcson wrote a book called “Peak” which is all about practice. I highly recommend reading and applying the principles in this work. Ericcson dispels the concept of the “prodigy” and instead looks at three things:

The goal
The coach
The practice

These are just a few thoughts about “How to practice”. It’s not a manual or a program, just concepts to put into practice. There’s no “Hack” for the work that needs to happen, nor is there any guarantee that some of the practice won’t be boring or tedious. There will be days when you don’t want to practice. We all feel this way sometimes. Those who succeed are the ones who practice anyway!

Happy Practicing!

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Throughout history, the relevance of Arts and Culture has been debated. If our current education system in Ontario is a beacon for the current views, then it is considered a superfluous commodity.

I’m in the process of reading Mark Carney’s book “Value(s): Building a Better World for All”. This was published in 2021, long before a conceived run for Canadian politics.

Firstly, the book is really erudite. It covers the history of economies in various cultures from the beginnings of recorded history. Even though it is a heavy read, I highly recommend it as a deep dive into where we’ve come from and where we are now concerning economic and social values. It also speaks to the changes we need to make to have an economy that serves everyone and not just the few greedy men.

How does this economist view art and culture?

Firstly, he believes that societal values extend beyond economic metrics. He believe that art and culture contribute to our collective well-being, identity and sense of community. Carney also believes that art and culture build social capital, empathy, shared experiences and foster trust and cooperation.

Concerning the value of art and culture during economic crises, Prime Minister Carney recognizes their roles in keeping mental health and social unity. Carney believes that we need to redefine value beyond monetary considerations that include human dignity and creativity alongside economic stability.

This is a leader who believes in a morally grounded economy with shared identity and non-material wealth. What a refreshing contrast to those who just want to lower taxes, cut services and have a “me first” society.

Canadians have a real choice to make. I hope we choose values that get to the core of who we are. Those values are rooted deeply in arts and culture. Values that have us build strong community, identity and social wealth.

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I was speaking with a Finnish colleague recently about the relevance of what we both do for music and music education in the context of the current political and social turmoil. After some reflection, I thought I would write some thoughts on this subject: I’ve spent so much of my life journey as a musician and educator.

For fourteen years, I ran El Sistema Aeolian: a free, intensive afterschool music program I founded in 2011. The program is still running after my retirement and serves a community of youth and their families from diverse backgrounds. The majority of participants are either newcomers to our country or first generation. This group has two prevalent barriers to participation in regular paid programs: economic scarcity and lack of social fluency/social mobility. To be clear: they didn’t have money and they didn’t know many (or and in some cases any) people who could help them gain social wealth. This social wealth is the contacts they have that could help them succeed in the new Canadian Culture.

Recognizing the barriers to participation, I began to construct a social curriculum for this program. This curriculum included leadership, peer mentorship, social/emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-actualization, well-being and much more. I ran a weekly leadership class that included regular visits from politicians, activists, clergy, non-profit leaders, business owners, artists, musicians and others. The goal of the leadership class was to increase the ability of participants to see the world more broadly and help them find their place in it. All this through the inspiration of music.

We took the participants on expeditions to perform in places like the University, Homless Shelters, Police Stations, City Hall and others. Through these experiences, the participants were exposed to people who treated them with appreciation and respect. The participants not only knew where the University was, but they had met people who were kind and respectful towards them. This gave many kids the idea that they might see themselves there someday. In some cases, family histories had no relatives that had ever attended a post-secondary institution. Over the years, I witnessed and assisted many participants into their post-secondary journeys into Universities and Colleges.

This is just one example of how the arts can transform people’s lives. We need to embrace the value of an arts education during these turbulent times as a steadying factor of optimism and self-development. Not only are the arts important, they are crucial to finding ways to help us all thrive in society. Let all artists and art educators remember this! Let the general public be aware and learn to see the arts as vital and life changing.

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We are a long way from having any sort of education equity in our country. I’m optimistic that we can achieve equity once our people understand that it doesn’t exist now and understand the benefits of education equity. Having under educated people creates a society of “us and them”. It leads to social unrest and populism. It is the root of a diseased society.

Leaders would tell you that the inequality has to do with lack of funding, but why are the good educational opportunities most often present for the middle class and up? That is because they have the political power. End of story. They are the doctors, teachers, lawyers, architects, engineers and so many other professional positions in our society. They shape the system. They often believe that if someone is to succeed financially in life, others have to be subservient to them. They believe we should keep the lower classes lower.

We’ll fix that! I’m optimitic. It’s the soft revolution that will make a huge difference for all of us.

But once everyone gets access to the same education content, is the same education content serving us well?
Most education content is designed to exercise short term memory challenges. Learning for the test and quiz is critical for success, but it is short-lived. Hundreds of students have told me that they don’t see the point of this type of schooling. They forget most everything after the test or examination.

With AI finding information for us in seconds, why do we need to retain facts? Or better still, what facts do we need to retain and what skills do we need to develop? This is the question we need to ask. Some are. The problem is our education system is extremely bureaucratic and run by governments who often have no expertise. It responds extremely slowly to change. Change is now happening at lightning speed!

Besides the skills and knowledge we need to attain for success in our society, what experiences, skills and knowledge do we need to flourish as human beings? How do we build ourselves into strong, brave, resilient individuals with the necessary grit to face life’s challenges?

What could we be teaching consistently from the beginning? Not just one elective class in high school, but classes each year that teach:

Money/Finance class: not just one class, but classes each year starting from the beginning!
Earth class: empowerment and understanding to make our earth healthy again
Creativity Class
Teaching, Learning and Mentoring/Apprenticeship class: right from the very beginning, learning how
Critical Thinking class: not as part of something else, but how critical thinking works; every year of education
World Cultures Class: this includes a knowledge of world religions: every year of schooling and not elective
Great thinkers’ class: philosophy as a foundation for how to think and how cultures are formed
Role Models Class: investigating outstanding human beings and how they’ve lived their lives
Student driven subject class: put the learner in the driver’s seat
Values and Ethics class: sorely needed in our world today. We must teach good values, ethics and morals
The no curriculum class: a class where students shape the education they want
The unlearn class; this is where we question what we’ve learned: is it true? Is it valuable? Has it made me a better person?
The social justice class: a cause driven class
Leadership class: how to lead in any role and how to support leadership
How to get things done class: time management, goals, habits
Invention class: creating new things: this is extremely relevant with the problems our society is facing right now
Problem solving class: project based learning. Not just math, but real human challenges facing everyone
The Art of Being Class: what does it mean to be a human being?
How to build “self” class: the people we hang out with, the books we read, the music we play and more
Mortality class:  or perhaps:  Life Span Class: what is death? Yes, let’s talk about that
Beliefs Class: what do you believe? Why is it important?
Food Class: where does food come from, preparing it, sitting and having a meal together
Survival Class: grit and resilience to conquer or walk around life’s problems
The Great Teachers Class: who are the great masters? What wisdom did they leave us?
Performance and conquering fear class
Personal Development Class
Peace Class
Quiet Class (Meditation, Mindfulness etc.)
History: there is a huge focus on national history, but little else. How about that has repeated itself class?
Self-care class: How to look after my body class: understanding physiology
Sexuality class (every year of schooling)
Human behavior class: psychology
The class on what we don’t know.
The class on building a social movement: empowering the people
The class on global policy and politics
The class on diversity, equity and inclusion
The class on reconciliation: what does it mean? How can it be part of every day living?
Outdoor nature class
Personal Finance Class including investing
The doing nothing class:  naps, meditation, wasting time, sleep, unprogrammed time, how to observe and be present: The mandala class: The doodling class
The collaboration class: How to collaborate
The walking class (walks help the brain to think, notice, be creative, practice meditation, help the brain process ideas and much more). This would also include expedition learning outside of the classroom (what do we have to sit at desks to learn?

These are just a few ideas to spur some thought about things other than math scores and literacy. The arts are critical to our development personally and our development as a society. They need to be in every school “deluxe”. That means classes in dance, visual arts, theatre, music, and much more. Every year for every child!

Let’s work together to incubate a new education experience. One that liberates young people to be their best selves and at the same time, benefit society.

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I’m not sure I need to advocate for increased funding to Canada’s Health Care Systems. Most Canadians would agree that the systems are on life support. This is in large part due to the underfunding of these systems and sneaky conservative governments that would like to privatize them. If you make a system look dysfunctional and then offer privatization….well, many uneducated wouldn’t understand what is happening, right?

Yes, there might be some waste in the system and we need to continually work towards efficiency to leverage more money for care, but we are doing a very poor job overall. Shortages of doctors and wait times for procedures and specialist are just a few of the problems. We also don’t cover many procedures and need to have a national dental and drug program for all.

One thing I’d like to point out is that many Canadians don’t understand taxes and healthcare. Many Canadians talk about wanting to pay less taxes and have no clue what that does to healthcare and education. Less funding also guts Canadian Social Programs like Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Employment Insurance, Canada Child Benefit, Canada Workers Benefit, Social Housing and Rent Assistance, Disability Benefits, Indigenous Support Programs, Student Financial Assistance, Food Assistance and Community Support, Higher Education and more. In progressive countries France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and so many more citizens are happy to pay taxes as they see the social benefits. These countries put roughly 25-30 percent of their GDP into these social safely systems. They get angry when cash is going under the table and people bypass paying taxes on this money. They understand how it is robbing the social safety systems. Canada only put 21 percent of our GDP into our social systems. Imagine how much better they would be every time we up that by one percent! The U.S.A. by contrast only puts 13.8 percent of their GDP into social safety systems. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the results of inequity in that country!

On the education front, we have an extremely inequitable system of education. Its inequity is growing. Why do middle class parents want to send their kids to certain public schools, private schools or even schools, from the Catholic School Board? Because these schools have more. They have enriched programs, school trips, more extracurricular activities, more technology, more arts programs and often better teachers. How did we let this happen? Does our public even realize (especially the working classes), how they are getting screwed? That the future for their children is not the same as the children from middle class families in “richer schools”. It’s shameful.

I believe that a Canadian value is that of interdependence. We look after each other….well, mostly. Or at least we have believed in interdependence, otherwise we wouldn’t have these social programs. The concern today is the influence of those who believe that they would be ok without the social programs and that they can just pay for what they need out of their own pocket with little concern about others. This attitude is often permeating from our southern neighbours. Another interesting attitude is that some Canadians think that they should pay less taxes and still have all of the social safety systems. Where do they think the money comes from to run them?

I hope that the contrast in our media of the U.S.A. versus Canada is enough for most to understand the value of fighting for and improving our social safety infrastructure. Don’t let our governments erode it. Advocate for more spending to make sure they are equitable and serve the needs of our population. Be against the privatization of education and healthcare.

Get angry. Speak out. Use your voting power and learn more about these issues. The future of our children’s world is investments in social systems. A world where we believe in looking after our fellow man. A world where we don’t leave our people on the streets to suffer and die

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It’s so difficult to speak to audiences about the value of music education and music making. In Canadian culture and many others around the world, we start out with the added value of music outside of the value of music itself. We have to justify music making because research shows that it has the following benefits:

Improved physical health including eye-hand/body coordination
Improved emotional health
Improved cognitive health
Improved literacy
Increased social inclusion and cohesion
Calming the mind-body
Improved focus
Improved learning and retention

Of course, clinical trial studies are finding all of this to be true. Governments, educators and citizens will nod at this information, but still not put the resources in place to facilitate good music education. We think we’re making headway by spouting these facts, but they continue to fall on deaf ears. Music education is eroding in our country. It’s not considered by the powers-that-be as valuable as STEM subjects even though scientists are saying it’s at least equally important and some say more important!

We’re in a conundrum. Until everyone has the experience to learn and play music, it will be undervalued. If a child picks up a violin today, they will likely support an orchestra later in life. “I did that” is the most important element for engagement, understanding and equity of the value of a great music education. We can’t afford an “us and them” situation for any aspect of education. Just look south of our border and see what that leads to. We need equity in our education system with a rich, arts infused education including music! Our future depends on the creative entrepreneur who can help solve problems, create beauty and help us all experience the joy of living. The arts give that joy, but they also help us to create things like solutions to homelessness, solutions to our climate and ecological crisis, solutions to help us work together in peace on this planet.

I encourage everyone in our country to protest the inequities in our schools. Inequities that include the lack of strong music and arts education. Some schools have everything (orchestras, choirs, dance, drama, art classes), some schools have little to nothing. This is not the Canadian way.

If we do for one, we should do for all. When we do for all, our entire society will thrive!