In an interview with Montreal newspaper La Presse, Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda admits that she does not read books, listen to music, or watch Canadian television programming.
As the cabinet member responsible for Canadian culture, one would think that staying up-to-date and engaged with said culture would be part of the job description.
But when asked by La Presse to name the last Quebecois album she listened to, Oda had little more to offer than a pathetic excuse: “You know what? I don't have the time to listen to music.” And the last book she read by a Quebec author? “After spending the day going over paperwork, there is little time left to read novels.”
Nor does she have time to watch any Canadian television programming, she told La Presse, except, of course, to watch the news (perhaps she has a masochistic streak in her).
Indeed, after a long day of slashing funding to women's groups and ensuring continued campaign funding from US copyright lobbyists, there are precious few moments left to throw a CD in the stereo.
I can't quite decide what is more distressing; that Oda clearly has no interest in Frencophone culture (her English-only website is further proof of her botched bilingualism), or that she hides her ignorance of French-language art behind her apparent disinterest in the arts altogether.
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