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9| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,O ctober 11,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca I was a studio instructor in the fine arts program at Wilfrid Laurier University for many years, teaching courses in drawing and painting. One of my top students was Renee van der Avoird, who is now the assistant curator of Canadian art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I am incredibly proud of her work as a student, and was thrilled to hear she will be speaking on a panel at the Universities Art As- sociation of Canada's con- ference, being held Oct. 25- 27 at the University of Wa- terloo. Her topic is The Ques- tion of Land in the Art Gal- lery of Ontario's new J.S. McLean Centre for Indige- nous and Canadian Art. Curious to learn more about the subject, I got in touch with her recently. "At this roundtable, I will be sharing my experi- ence working within the AGO's recently restruc- tured Indigenous and Ca- nadian department, dis- cussing the concept of land as the site of duelling sover- eignties between First Na- tions and Canada," she told me. Specifically, she will be focusing on the artwork of two of Canada's most fa- mous artists, Robert Houle (a Saulteaux First Nations artist, curator, critic and educator) and one of my fa- vourite painters and founders of the Group of Seven, Lawren Harris. It was while studying Canadian art history in university that I fell in love with Harris' stark and dra- matic landscapes, which feature deep golds, greens and blues. "There is a sense of brav- ery in Harris' work in that it was radical for its time," Renee told me. Renee spoke specifically about Harris' painting, Al- goma Country (1920-21), which exemplifies his ex- pertise of simplifying the landscape into its funda- mental and purest forms. "The pared-down, firm- ly contoured forms of his Algoma woods are serene, austere and suggestive of the spirituality he found in nature," said Renee. I asked her what draws her to the work of Robert Houle with his bold use of colour, working in both landscape and abstraction. "I love how he blends traditions of modernist painting with elements of his Saulteaux heritage," she said. "For example, his 1994 series Premises for Self-Rule features five monochromatic abstract paintings rendered in vivid colours and marked by his signature gestural lines." There is a room in the McLean Centre dedicated to Houle and Harris' work, and the overall goal of the pairing is to see these art- ists in a new light and to challenge our perceptions of history, Renee said. "Houle's legacy along- side the historical paint- ings of Harris offers in- sight on land as a place of spiritual renewal, a space of contested ownership and access, and a valuable starting point for decolo- nization within institu- tions." There's a quote attri- buted to Leonardo da Vinci about how a teacher should aspire to have their pupil "surpass the master." Though I don't consider myself a master, I can at- test, thanks to students like Renee, the joy of seeing a pupil become an exception- ally talented and princi- pled artist. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. CHALLENGING OUR PERCEPTIONS OF HISTORY OPINION MARSHALL WARD CATCHES UP WITH ONE OF HIS FORMER STUDENTS, RENEE VAN DER AVOIRD, OF THE AGO MARSHALL WARD Column As the Oct. 22 munici- pal election is rapidly ap- proaching, a dominant is- sue for the local business sector is the newly-elect- ed Ford administration's response to the ongoing issue of municipal ten- dering. For many years our Chamber and business organizations across the province have been ask- ing Queen's Park to change the Ontario La- bour Relations Act for ex- empting municipalities and school boards from the definition of con- struction employers. Current legislation does not allow many qual- ified Waterloo Region companies to bid on ma- jor infrastructure pro- jects based solely on the condition that they are not affiliated with one or more designated unions. It is now estimated that 70 per cent of the provincial construction industry is not able to compete for work on publicly owned and funded projects. The economic and budgetary implications for all levels of govern- ment as a result of re- stricted tendering prac- tices are substantial. Re- search indicates that open tendering can cut costs by 20 to 25 per cent. In the Region of Waterloo, where tendering has been closed since 2014, the number of bids has dropped by 50 per cent. The cumulative impact of restricted tendering is in- creased property taxes and inflated project costs which divert municipal expenditures away from other vital social and community services. At the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Thunder Bay on Sept. 24, a resolution was passed directing the federal gov- ernment to institute a pol- icy that all federal dollars going toward public in- frastructure projects must allow open tender- ing. The experience of Waterloo Region was prominently highlighted as an example of closed tendering resulting in fewer bids and higher prices. Our Chamber, along with the Cambridge Chamber, has requested a meeting with Premier Ford to further discuss municipal tendering and financial sustainability for cities and businesses. It is anticipated that new legislation will be tabled imminently to meet cam- paign commitments on other urgent matters that need attention, and our organizations have re- quested that this issue be included. At upcoming Chamber forums for regional coun- cil and mayoral candi- dates (who will also serve on regional council) we will be asking if candi- dates support a tendering system that is open and fair to all qualified bid- ders. It is important that if the matter is not re- solved before Oct. 22 all municipalities and busi- nesses across Ontario maintain pressure on the province to implement the necessary legislative changes for fiscal sus- tainability and allowing all qualified companies to participate on the bidding process for major infra- structure projects. Ian McLean is the pres- ident and CEO of the Greater Kitchener Water- loo Chamber of Com- merce. He can be reached at imclean@greaterkw- chamber.com. LOCAL COUNCILLORS MUST SEND MESSAGE ON OPEN TENDERING CURRENT LEGISLATION DOES NOT ALLOW MANY QUALIFIED WATERLOO REGION COMPANIES TO BID ON MAJOR PROJECTS SAYS IAN MCLEAN IAN MCLEAN Column Meet the PeoPle in your neighbourhood. VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA TO LEARN ABOUT LOCAL PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITY