Karma hits Stephen McNeil as Halifax filmmakers get involved in politics

by Ron Foley Macdonald

John Wesley Chisholm
John Wesley Chisholm

It was inevitable after Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government decimated the Nova Scotia film industry in April 2015 that politically-conscious film industry professionals would fight back. In the year and two months since that disastrous decision – one of many mistakes made by the McNeil Liberals, who have pinballed from self-made crisis to self-made crisis during their three years in office – we have seen a massive protest at Province House, the rise of Screen Nova Scotia as a politically active lobbying group, and a non-stop barrage of letters to the editor, radio interviews, and articles from film industry workers determined to defeat the government at the first possible turn (a factor that probably led to the election of NDP MLA Marian Mancini in the Dartmouth South by-election last year by a tight margin).

Now two veteran and award-winning Halifax-based filmmakers, both of whom were instrumental in crafting the old film funding system during their time as Program Administrators at the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation in the 1990s, have decided to take the fight against the Liberal government one step further. John Wesley Chisholm and my friend and colleague Paul Kimball have decided to seek the nomination for the Progressive Conservative Party in the ridings of Halifax Chebucto and Halifax Needham, respectively.

Paul Kimball
Paul Kimball

Besides being filmmakers and former civil servants, the two have a lot of other things in common. Both were active in the Halifax music scene at the height of the Halifax “pop explosion” in the 1990s, for example – Chisholm with Blackpool and the Johnny Favourite Swing orchestra, and Kimball with Tall Poppies and Julia’s Rain. In other words, they are experienced and natural performers.

Both are also highly educated – Chisholm has a commerce degree from Dalhousie and an MBA jointly issued by the London School of Economics, HEC Paris, and Stern Business School in New York, and Kimball graduated from Acadia University as a University Scholar and Class Medalist in History, and then went on to receive his law degree from Dalhousie.

Each of them also served a term as President of the old Nova Scotia Film and Television Producers’ Association.

They are known to be outspoken straight-shooters with strong opinions backed up by a broad range of interests and knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. They are very articulate and very media savvy. 

Finally, both are also post-ideological, which makes them perfect avatars for the emerging 21st century zeitgeist – and exactly the type of people who might be able to appeal across party lines in an election, particularly to younger voters.

“I’m not even the least bit interested in political parties,” said Chisholm in a recent interview. “I don’t care about that at all; I care about people and ideas.”

“We can achieve prosperity for everyone,” stated Kimball, “but only if we move forward into the future together in a positive spirit based on cooperation, innovation, and a willingness to be bold.”

Quite the contrast to the hyper-partisanship of the McNeil Liberals.

In what is already shaping up to be a very interesting election (which looks increasingly likely to be called for the fall), John Wesley Chisholm and Paul Kimball might just be Stephen McNeil’s worst nightmare.

The irony is that he will have no-one to blame but himself.

Ron Foley Macdonald

Ron Foley Macdonald

Ron Foley Macdonald is a filmmaker, musician, author, and arts journalist who lives in Halifax, NS. He has written for such publications as the Halifax Daily News, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, and Take One. He taught film history for 15 years at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and has also taught at Dalhousie University and Mount Saint Vincent University. For two decades he was the Senior Programmer at the Atlantic Film Festival. He is currently the curator of the film and video series at the Dalhousie Art Gallery, and the producer of the recent feature films Exit Thread and Roundabout.
Ron Foley Macdonald

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14 thoughts on “Karma hits Stephen McNeil as Halifax filmmakers get involved in politics

  • June 29, 2016 at 9:21 am
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    Glad to see the Liberal dishonest, reckless mismanagement of the Film Industry Tax Credit have provoked two experienced, articulate filmmakers are taking a political stand.

    Pity the Halifax Needham NDP fumbled Kimball’s candidacy. Their loss is the Tories gain, and after all the fine, hard work Lenore Zann especially has done on this brief too.

    Reply
    • June 29, 2016 at 5:09 pm
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      Hi Tim,

      Thanks for the note and the kind words. Just to be clear, however – the local NDP folks in Halifax Needham were absolutely fantastic and had nothing to do with the decision to not allow me to run. That was solely a call from the central party HQ, and was communicated to me directly by the party secretary, not the local EDA. Indeed, it was Maureen who first encouraged me to seek the nomination. I talked to more than a few local party members afterwards who were appalled at the decision by the party brass, which went against the recommendation of the candidate selection committee here in Needham.

      Best,
      Paul

      Reply
  • June 29, 2016 at 9:31 am
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    I guess John Wesley Chisholm is worried about loosing his literal $10,000 every two week CEO pay. Can’t have that now can he.

    Reply
  • June 29, 2016 at 2:28 pm
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    Would be really good to see people of vision and know-how taking on our nearsighted and stubborn premier! Hopefully, they will attain the nominations!

    Reply
  • June 29, 2016 at 5:01 pm
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    ART AND DESIGN ARE THE FORCES THAT DRIVE AND CREATE INDUSTRIAL SECTORS WITHIN ALL SECTORS/ ALL TRADES INVOLVE SOME AREA OF ART AND DESIGN/ ALONG WITH RESEARCH///

    Reply
  • June 29, 2016 at 6:07 pm
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    “I’m not even the least bit interested in political parties,” said Chisholm in a recent interview. “I don’t care about that at all; I care about people and ideas.”

    Just out of curiosity, why doesn’t Chisholm run as an independent? He can’t rise above partisanship by running for a political party. Like it or not, he will be representing the N.S. Progressive Conservative Party and will be bound by their platform and will be signing away any ideas to the contrary by officially seeking the nomination.

    Reply
    • June 29, 2016 at 7:30 pm
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      That may be how it works in other parties, Alex (and my own recent experience with another party is illustrative of that sad reality), but the PCs have made it clear that they welcome all ideas to the table, including progressives like me. Nobody has to “sign away” their ideas – rather, those ideas are put in the mix when it comes time to crafting and implementing policy. They understand that in the 21st century, anything else will lead to failure.

      Reply
      • June 29, 2016 at 9:00 pm
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        Hi Paul, I can completely agree with your reasons to run for the PC’s. I was elected as a PC MLA in Dr. John Hamm’s government in 1999. Jamie was his Chief of Staff during part of my term. I found both Premier Hamm and Jamie to be open, flexible and forward thinking during my term. Many positions were reconsidered and new policy initiatives brought forward during that time. I certainly was never pressured to accept anything and we made decisions at Caucus after broad discussion, considering all opinions – and our Caucus had a very wide variety of characters with very different backgrounds and positions.

        Good luck to both of you. You will be great assets for our province and our government

        Reply
        • June 29, 2016 at 9:31 pm
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          Hi Mary Ann,

          What you describe is exactly how my discussions with Jamie have gone, and what he assured me was the basis of his leadership style. I was very impressed, because it stands in such stark contrast to what I’ve seen from Stephen McNeil and Gary Burrill. It’s the kind of inclusive leadership this province so desperately needs.

          Best,
          Paul

          Reply
  • June 29, 2016 at 8:38 pm
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    Apparently, these two men forget what the Progressive Conservative Party did to the arts community in Nova Scotia. And their current leader had major role in that as the premier’s chief of staff.

    I for one don’t buy the Tory BS about being pro arts now.

    Reply
    • June 29, 2016 at 9:28 pm
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      Closing the arts council was a mistake. All governments make them. But the Tory record on the creative economy has always been very strong – Hamm was the best friend the film industry ever had, for example, and the current PC caucus was there from the get-go defending the creative economy from the McNeil government’s cuts last year. Jamie’s commitment to the arts has always been clear, as can be seen in his service as Chair of the Board of Neptune Theatre and in his plan going forward to make the creative economy in Nova Scotia a pillar of innovation and prosperity as we move further into the 21st century. http://view902.com/nova-scotia-pc-leader-jamie-baillie-on-arts-culture-and-the-creative-economy/

      If I wasn’t sure of their commitment, I wouldn’t have signed on to run. So you can call it BS, because we’re all entitled to an opinion, and I appreciate your passion for this – but the record says different.

      Reply
  • July 1, 2016 at 6:31 am
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    Funny how our McNeil government acts so much like the Harper government. May they suffer the same fate.
    Nova Scotia has been a have-not province for so long that even the youth in university that want to prosper know where the door to the West is.
    I wish both candidates well. Something has to change here.

    Reply
  • July 3, 2016 at 11:23 am
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    I worked at Bens for 30 years,our sweat and blood was in that plant.Canada Bread worked out a deal with N.B. to steal 35 jobs and close the plant in Halifax.A plant that has been a part of N.S. for over 150 years.And what did MCNEIL say on CTV .Live at Five.I DID NOT KNOW THAT WAS GOING ON.This is the way he does things.McNeal get OUT.OH BY THE WAY.THERE GOES MY
    PENSION .

    Reply
  • July 24, 2016 at 4:38 am
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    Looks like McNeil doesn’t need to worry about karma as your buddy Kimball finished third in a three man race in Needham. Sure Chisholm got nominated, but only because nobody ran against him. Burrill will bury him. The film peeps are all talk and no action.

    Reply

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