TORONTO – Add the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) to the list of stakeholders objecting to the CRTC’s recent changes to its policy framework for Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs).
The union of English-language professional performers is taking issue with the regulator’s decision to drop the minimum CAVCO point requirements from eight to six to fund a Canadian independent production, and criticized the Commission’s rationale that the move could “facilitate the hiring by production companies of non-Canadian actors or creators, who may increase a project's attractiveness and visibility in international markets.”
ACTRA says the ruling not only implies that Canada does not possess creative talent worthy of drawing international audiences and sales, it also threatens the future of the industry, one that contributes $8 billion to the economy and supports 150,000 jobs.
“The CRTC’s decision will result in fewer work opportunities for Canadian creative talent, and that means a weaker Canadian industry in the long-run,” said ACTRA national president Ferne Downey, in a statement. “Our industry is built on performers, writers and directors, but the Commission consistently treats us like a burden instead of an asset. We need to invest in our creative talent if we’re going to survive and thrive next to the U.S. market. Instead, the CRTC’s actions clearly show it believes we can tell ‘Canadian’ stories without Canadian creators. That’s wrong.”
ACTRA is calling on the CRTC to revisit this decision and hold public hearings to consult with Canadian creative talent. It is also urging its 23,000 members to contact CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais, their MPs, and to spread word of the changes on social media.
The Directors Guild of Canada also registered its displeasure with the decision, saying in its release the CRTC has decided: "Canada will win on the world stage by becoming America.
"The Commission’s approach for creating a robust, successful domestic production sector is to divert Canadian citizens' money to pay American writers, directors and actors to make generic programming which tells the world nothing about who we are as a nation or as a people. Once again Canada misses a chance to shine at home and on the world stage by proposing to eliminate all that is unique in what we make," reads the release.
