OTTAWA – With many Canadians concerned about the economy, environment, and our troops overseas, you’d think culture would not be on the radar in the federal election, but the parties have made promises that could affect broadcasting.
The Conservatives have vowed to change the make-up of the CRTC commissioners to better reflect the regions and francophones. Leader Stephen Harper said the chair position would alternate between English speakers and French speakers, the vice-chair positions (in broadcasting and telecom) would be split with one anglophone and one francophone, at least one-quarter of the commissioners would be French-speaking and would be appointed in consultation with Quebec and linguistic minority groups, and hearings related to French-language or Quebec broadcasters would be heard by a panel of mainly francophones or Quebeckers.
The Conservatives have also pledged an additional $25 million over five years to fund TV5, the international French-language network. Some $15 million would go to TV5MONDE to increase Canadian programming on the global channel from 6% to 9%, while $10 million would go to TV5 Quebec Canada to develop partnerships, provide high-definition programming, and improve technology, such as video-on-demand. About 6.4 million Canadian households receive TV5.
There’s been no official word from the Tories about reinstating any of the $45.5 million arts cuts they made just before the election call, including axing the Canada New Media Fund, administered by Telefilm Canada, and killing Trade Routes, the Department of Canadian Heritage program allowing producers to promote and export their work internationally.
The Liberals and NDP have pledged to reinstate the cuts to arts funding. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has promised an additional $530 million over four years for culture.
Both parties have committed to long-term, “proper” funding for the Canadian Television Fund, while New Democrat Leader Jack Layton says his party would also extend stable funding to Telefilm and CBC/Radio-Canada. The Liberals would also create a $25 million Canadian Digital Media Strategy, and boost the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit from 25 to 30%. Both parties would implement income averaging for artists.
The Liberals would instruct the CRTC to continue requiring broadcasters to produce and air Canadian content as a condition of licence, while the NDP would go much farther with Cancon, requiring the CRTC to ensure that all primetime television shows were about Canada and produced by Canadians.
The Bloc Québecois’ platform document also pledges income averaging for artists, but makes no specific mention of policies or programs relating to broadcasting.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters is conducting a grassroots campaign to advocate for the importance of private broadcasting. It’s sent leaflets to some 1,200 election candidates across the country, stating that the federal government must set clear guidelines for copyright payments, pass laws dealing with new technology, and use “strong incentives” to encourage Canadians to convert from analog to digital television. The leaflet points out private broadcasting’s $6 billion annual contribution to the Canadian economy, and the $1.6 billion the industry spends on Cancon every year.
– Laurel Hyatt
