The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper

Corin Raymond—WECC Acu Hall

What’s an icon, daddy? Well, in this case it’s a small piece of paper bearing the image of Sandy McTire, issued by Canadian Tire and transmogrified by a wonderful storyteller, Corin Raymond (Bookworm, several Fringes ago).

Imagine if you will, a world in which you could pay for your art-making (in this case, time in a recording studio). And imagine if other Canadians shared your dream, or at least wanted to put their shoulder to the wheel and their 5¢ scrip into your pocket.

It’s always been a tough slog to work in the arts, but Raymond sums it up with, YOU HAVE TO WORK YOUR ASS OFF not to have a job (a job as the term is understood by his Presbyterian grandmother). The opening night audience certainly got their money’s worth, and the love flowed both ways.

Ron Robinson