OTTAWA – While the broadcasters who air their work were facing the Commission, Canadian actors descended on Ottawa today, too, to talk about what they see as a "drama crisis" in Canadian television.
Day one of the CRTC’s TV Policy Review hearing is to feature CBC, TQS, CanWest Global and CTV, but ACTRA, the actors union, wanted to be heard on the first day as well as they want to make sure the Commission protects their jobs.
"Our culture defines us as a nation yet we can’t hear or see ourselves when regulations encourage Canadian broadcasters to show American drama series and movies," said ReGenesis star Wendy Crewson. "Canadian broadcasters are filling their prime-time slots with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of U.S.-made drama programs. We’ve been shut out of our own home."
ACTRA formally presents before the CRTC on December 4, 2006.
"These hearings are crucial for fixing the destructive policy that removed spending requirements for Canadian broadcasters as they continue to spend an all-time high on American programming," added R. H. Thomson, most recently seen in the CBC’s poorly-rated October 1970. "Canadian stories and dramas are being marginalized more than ever on our public airwaves. We are pleased to see that CRTC has recognized the problem and hope that they will now address it."
ACTRA’s submission calls for regulations requiring Canada’s private broadcasters to spend at least 7% of their advertising revenues on new Canadian English-language drama programming and to schedule at least two hours more of new Canadian dramas in real prime-time (Sunday to Thursday, 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.).
