By Doug Barrett, adjunct professor in the Arts, Media & Entertainment MBA Program at the Schulich School of Business. From 2004 to 2008 he was the chair of the Canadian Television Fund
Phil Lind was an unlikely hero, but a genuine one. Since his passing, much has been written about his decades’ – long service to Rogers Communications, his role as consiglieri to Ted Rogers, his determined recovery from a major stroke in his mid-fifties, his art collection, and his love of the Yukon.
However, scant attention has been paid to what I think is his greatest accomplishment: he was the godfather of Canada’s modern independent production industry. Before Phil it would be a compliment to say that independent production industry was nascent. Today, it is a creative powerhouse supporting tens of thousands of full-time jobs.
Phil was the catalyst. Here’s the story.
Thirty years ago, in a ground-breaking decision, the CRTC decided to let the cable industry keep capital expenditure rate increases that were designed to sunset. The condition was that 50 per cent of them were to be contributed to a new Canadian production fund. (Later the CRTC would substitute this arrangement with one that requires the cable/satellite industry to contribute 5 per cent of its annual gross revenues.)
Immediately after the 1993 decision the commission called for input on the structure the fund and in early 1994 set out its the governance and operating parameters. It was to be a private, non-profit corporation with a board composed of cable operators, producers, and broadcasters. Phil took the lead, organizing meetings to set the thing up, hiring staff in Toronto and Montreal and becoming the founding chair of the board.
The initial meeting, organized by Phil, was held at a Toronto airport hotel in mid-December 1994 with a Who’s Who of the Canadian broadcasting, cable and production industries flying in to attend. I was at that meeting representing the producers’ trade association. Shortly after, I became the fund’s corporate secretary and legal counsel. Ten years later I became the 5th board chair after Phil, Peter Herrndorf, Richard Stursberg and Janet Yale.
Money from the cable industry began to flow in early 1995 and the fund commenced operations. To say it was a hit would be a major understatement. There were actual line-ups of broadcaster supported projects at the door. Within months the government wanted in. The then Heritage Minister Sheila Copps proposed adding $100 million per year to the pot to create a private/public partnership in return for a name change to reflect the government’s role.
At first Phil was very uneasy about this. He liked his efficient, high profile, cable supported private enterprise and thought that the presence of public money would bureaucratize everything. In the end though $100 million is $100 million, and non-binding assurances were given that the operating style of the fund would continue. With this fresh infusion the Cable Production Fund became the Canadian Television and Cable Production Fund (later simplified to Canadian Television Fund). That same fund continues today as the Canada Media Fund operated by that same private non-profit corporation, now the great grandchild of the Cable Production Fund. The contributions from the cable and satellite distribution industry continue, as do the contributions from the Canadian government made under an annually negotiated Contribution Agreement.
During my time as chair of the board there was an unexpected crisis: in mid-December 2006, Shaw Communications and later Videotron announced that they were pulling approximately $80 million out of the fund. This of course jeopardized its very existence. While the fund’s board, the relevant politicians and the CRTC worked to find a solution, Phil was staunchly supportive and ensured that Rogers and others continued their funding. In June of 2007, there was a high risk, high stakes meeting in Banff that I chaired. As the meeting began, I felt Phil quietly pulling up a chair to sit immediately behind my right shoulder. He never said a word; he simply glared at the malcontents. Those who know Phil will attest to his capacity as a world-class glarer. And somehow it worked! The meeting went well, the crisis abated, the withheld funds were paid up and things returned to normal.
Over the years, the results of this simple public/private project have been astounding. In just the 2022-2023 fiscal year: $365 million went out the door, supporting 1350 projects in English and French and generating almost $1.8 billion in production activity with about 25,000 direct and 11,000 spin-off jobs. Each of those 1350 projects is fully Canadian: written and directed by Canadians, starring Canadians, crewed by Canadians.
In addition to his foundational work with the Fund, Phil brought Rogers’ support directly to the table. First there was Rogers Telefund, established in 1981 out of the Canadian Cablesystems’ acquisition, then in 1996 it was the Rogers Documentary Fund, and finally in 2000 the Rogers Cable Network Fund. Now called the Rogers Group of Funds, and ably managed since 1989 by the formidable Robin Mirsky, Rogers has injected over $650 million into Canadian production in its 40-year history.
Until his passing, Phil was the board chair, architect and spiritual leader of all the Rogers funds. For over 30 years, he went to the Banff Television Festival every year to meet and greet, and to host a large and raucous industry dinner. For the same period, he hosted a major must-attend industry event at TIFF. He clearly loved to do all that.
Phil’s imprint has been indelible. While he has left many great legacies, the most substantial to me is his outstanding contribution to the creative industries in Canada. For that we all owe him a deep debt of gratitude.
While the views in the piece are entirely mine, I’d like to thank Robin Mirsky, Pam Dinsmore, Bob Buchan, Richard Stursberg, Peter Grant and Bob Ramsay for their input and advice.
