TORONTO – "Without a doubt culture played a central role in this election,” said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA’s national president, in summing up Tuesday’s election.
“We hope that Prime Minister Harper heard the concerns of the thousands of Canadians who spoke up during the campaign and will make culture a priority in the coming months… We welcome the Conservatives’ campaign commitment to scrap their plans to give bureaucrats arbitrary powers to withdraw or withhold tax credits from Canadian films and television productions. And now the Prime Minister has an opportunity to re-consider his $50 million dollars in cuts to arts programs."
Issues that will need to be addressed, says the actors union, include “directing the CRTC to impose spending and Canadian drama content requirements on private broadcasters, increased funding for the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm and the CBC, as well as new copyright legislation to strengthen performers’ rights and bring Canadian laws into line with international standards,” says a press release.
ACTRA will also be looking to Prime Minister Harper to clarify whether his commitment to relax foreign ownership rules, and only review deals greater than $1 billion dollars, will also apply to Canada’s broadcasting industry.
"We can’t allow our airwaves to be sold off to the highest foreign bidder. We’ve seen what happens to other ordinary Canadians formerly employed in industries that get bought out by foreign interests. We must never let that happen with our culture,” added Hardacre. "ACTRA members worked hard to make sure culture was an issue in this campaign and we will keep working hard with artists across the country to ensure that it stays on the government’s agenda."
