This is a conversation series by Donna Kennedy-Glans, a writer and former Alberta cabinet minister, featuring newsmakers and intriguing personalities.

Festival after festival across Canada is heading to the edge of the fiscal cliff. Edmonton’s Fringe Festival and Toronto’s Hot Docs report massive deficits and dire straits ahead without an infusion of funds. Just for Laughs has been forced to cancel festivals in Toronto and Montreal. In a post-pandemic world, festivals are vulnerable; many find themselves precariously caught in the financial squeeze of spiralling inflation and reduced government largesse.