In the video above, Nathan Lawr of MINOTAURS explains why he’s spearheaded a campaign for Canadian Artists for Civil Liberties.
Living in Canada, one might be forgiven for taking our civil liberties for granted. Hearing about oppression and suppression in distant lands on the news makes it all seem so remote from our existences here, right?
A group of homegrown artists doesn’t necessarily think so and, on Dec. 1 at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, some of them will gather to perform a show raising awareness for the Canadian Artists for Civil Liberties initiative. Headlined by Ohbijou, the bill also features Maloo (Maylee Todd solo), spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan, award-winning poet George Elliott Clarke, journalist and activist Judy Rebick and a troupe known as Great Canadian Burlesque.
Co-headlining the bill is Guelph/Toronto’s Afrobeat ensemble MINOTAURS, whose leader, Nathan Lawr, spearheaded the event with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). He says the night is, first and foremost, a celebration of the arts and, over the last few months, Lawr has also convinced musicians like Feist, John K. Samson, Basia Bulat, Dave Bidini, Sarah Harmer, Jason Collett and CBC Radio 3’s Craig Norris to sign their names in support of Canadian civil liberties.
“Freedom of expression is something we don’t really think about because most of the time, we don’t really need it,” Lawr says. “For the most part, we can say what we want. The problem with curbing that freedom, especially as an artist, is it can interrupt the creative flow. If I think something I might say could be construed in a certain way, I may not say it. The fact that that’s on my mind in the creative process, you can construe that as a restriction and that’s something that a lot of people don’t consider.”
For Ohbijou’s Casey Mecija, getting on board to support the CCLA was a no-brainer, as the organization strives to highlight issues that hit her close to home.
“Many of my Filipino friends and family have been impacted by the frustrating processes of acquiring Canadian citizenship,” Mecija explains. “It feels like a much larger discussion that can't be justly summarized here, but many of us take our Canadian citizenship for granted. It remains a painful and precarious status for so many people in Canada and exposes vulnerable people such as Filipino live-in caregivers to abuse and exploitation.”
While Lawr insists that the CCLA is a nonpartisan, unbiased group, he believes that debate has been stifled in recent years, which in turn has impacted Canada’s democratic process. Observing this prompted him to take action and work diligently to support the CCLA and initiate the Canadian Artists for Civil Liberties project, which he urges other artists to get behind in any way they can.
“I worry that the majority of Canadians are either not concerned or have not been directly affected by this and that’s why they’re not concerned,” Lawr says. “If we’re not careful, the rights that we have could be pulled out from under us. Rights are a lot easier to lose than they are to get.”
The Canadian Artists for Civil Liberties launch event takes place Saturday, Dec. 1, at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) in Toronto.
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