Two governments faced with hard times. Two very different approaches to arts funding during a recession.

Though not ready to break out the balloons and party hats, groups like the Canadian Arts Coalition and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) are expressing relief that the federal government's budget, announced March 3, has sustained its investment in arts and culture, and particularly in the Canada Council for the Arts. Just a day earlier, B.C.'s Liberal government announced a budget that the Alliance for Arts and Culture estimates will cause a 32.5-percent cut to arts funding from its 2008-09 level--when it ranked ninth among provinces for per-capita arts spending.

And now comes word B.C. is poised to axe gaming funds from "adult" arts groups

The stark difference in approach has not escaped Amir Alibhai, executive director for the Alliance of Arts and Culture. "Given some difficult decisions at both levels, it's at the federal level that they decided not to make the cuts because they value the investment in the arts. They're really focused on job creation," Alibhai told the Straight, adding the country has 600,000 people employed in the cultural sector now. That's one in 30 people.

The province, he observed, seems to see arts not as an investment in the economy but as "discretionary" spending.

So we see two strategies: arts funding as part of a stimulus package and arts cuts as part of belt-tightening. The question is, will they just cancel each other out?