Article By Warren P. Sonoda
The Town Hall on Arts & Culture that MP Arif Virani held (last night) was excellent - fantastic turnout from all of us in the cultural industries and wonderful to see so many peeps from the WGC, ACTRA, DGC and CIMA among many others.
Many asked to be updated on how it went and what was said. I can't possibly summarize the 2 hours of discussion, but several key themes emerged, basically:
- THIS IS THE BIG TICKET ITEM - THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: The CRTC relieved the big broadcasters (Bell, Corus, Rogers, etc) of financial obligations to the tune of over $200 million dollars (anywhere between $40-90 million a year) earmarked for Canadian Television (these are called PNI - or programs of National Interest -- this is exactly what you and I do for a living) -- that's 5-9 Canadian TV series, documentaries mini-series, etc cut EACH YEAR. This is the single most detrimental decision in the whole package of detrimental decisions the CRTC just ushered in.
- The CRTC Chair (in fact, the whole board) has never had someone FROM OUR SECTOR (the Canadian Cultural industries) be in charge. This has led to systemic attacks on content creators and cultural artists (i.e.: going from 8/10 to 6/10) and a deep lack of understanding of how our industry -- a 2 Billion Dollar Industry -- works.
- Along with the over $200 million dollar PNI cuts, ancillary programs and funds like the essential, successful and groundbreaking MuchFACT and Bravo!FACT, CMT VAP programs were unilaterally taken out of the broadcaster's obligations (amongst others - I'll be posting separately on that next week).
MP Arif Virani addresses members from WGC, ACTRA, DGC and CIMA, residents and other creatives.
And I just want to remind everyone - THIS IS NOT TAX-PAYER MONEY. This is money the corporations have now relieved themselves from spending on Canadian Culture. Obligations they agreed to when they were given the privilege of obtaining a Canadian broadcast license -- obligations the CRTC has a duty to uphold (please read the elegant and powerful Broadcast Act for more info - especially the Declaration which is a patriotic rallying cry for Canadian content: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-9.01/page-1.html)
We need to be LOUD about this because our industry is affected by it immediately. We've already seen Canadian TV shows go down and work/development stoppage on others.
It's happening now - and the Minister of Heritage has actually asked us to SPEAK UP and BE LOUD about how important our industry is. How important is our industry you ask? The Canadian Cultural and Information Industry (of which the film and television sector is the tip of the spear) is BIGGER THAN OIL AND GAS. We are bigger than Canadian Steel.
DGC Filmmaker Emily Weedon delivers a heartfelt speech during the Q&A at the Town Hall on Arts and Culture
We are important. We add value nationally and internationally. We are, as MP Virani stated tonight (which was nice to hear) Morally Good -- that is, there is a moral imperative for Arts and Culture in Canada.
So, what do we want?
- The Minister of Heritage to INTERVENE on the disastrous CRTC License Renewal Decisions and reinstate or enhance the $200 million earmarked for Canadian Television by the broadcasters that we lost. THIS WILL BE THE HARDEST FIGHT OF THEM ALL. And the odds are not in our favour. We need to be LOUD, COORDINATED and ARTICULATE about this. I'm trying to come up to speed on all of this (it's very dense) - but education for our peeps is key.
- To elect a Chair of the CRTC that comes from our sector and has a deep understanding of how the Cultural Industries work SO THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. This is a no-brainer. We need an ally for culture - not someone who will scorch the Earth as they exit their position (i.e.: exiting Chair Jean-Pierre Blais).
- To protect, reinstate and strengthen fundamentally essential programs like MuchFACT, Bravo!FACT, CMT VAP so that the next wave of Canadian content creators, artists, musicians, actors, writers, directors, designers, cinematographers, editors, craftspeople and production teams have these funding programmes so that we can keep our industry dynamic, developing and vital.
What else do YOU want to add? Let your voice be heard!
GREAT night everyone - THANK YOU for showing up, emailing, messaging, retweeting, etc -- your involvement - however you can - is essential and appreciated by all of us!
You can also show your support by signing this petition to help save MuchFACT and BravoFACT grants: https://www.change.org/p/minister-of-heritage-m%C3%A9lanie-joly-save-canadian-music-videos-short-films-restore-bravo-fact-muchfact
More to come...
WPS
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