TORONTO – The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) has made public its thoughts on the idea of a government bailout for Canadian broadcasters: “just say no”.
Urging the government to approach any such discussions “with extreme skepticism”, the organization called conventional broadcasters like Canwest and CTV “still profitable businesses” in a statement, and said it appears that "when Canwest reports to its shareholders, it’s an integrated business – but when they talk to government it’s all about the hardships of over-the-air.”
“How can the broadcasters ask for a taxpayer bailout when broadcasting remains profitable?”, asked Maureen Parker, WGC’s executive director, in the statement. “The creative community has been living in a recessionary economy for the last ten years as broadcasters have year by year spent less on quality Canadian programming and more and more to buy U.S. shows. There was no bailout for screenwriters, actors, producers and directors.”
Citing Canwest Global’s latest financial figures, where its broadcasting arm reported an operating profit of $32 million, up 60% increase from a year earlier, Parker said that broadcasters do not “deserve relief for failures in other areas of their businesses”.
“Broadcasters also have the audacity to request relief in the form of reductions in Canadian content expenditure and exhibition requirements. So after many years of enjoying stable profits and the support of public policy, these newly integrated businesses are petitioning for relief from the very thing that should give them purpose: providing Canadian programming to Canadian audiences. The answer should be a resounding ‘NO,’” she continued.
The WGC represents 2,000 professional English-language screenwriters across Canada.
