OTTAWA – As the country’s biggest broadcasters release their fall programming schedules this week, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) said that it has its collective fingers crossed that those schedules will include a strong slate of quality Canadian drama.
“Broadcasters also have to know in a world where we can watch anything at any time, the only way they will stay relevant is to offer distinctive, Canadian programming,” said national president Ferne Downey, in a statement Monday. “Filling their schedules with just made-in-America product we can get anywhere would be a massive strategic mistake.”
Canadian performers have been a regular presence at the broadcasters’ schedule launches in previous years, holding demonstrations to demand more Canadian content on Canadian airwaves. This year, with the CRTC’s group-based policy and accompanying spending requirements taking effect, ACTRA hopes that may not be necessary.
“Normally we’d be standing outside the broadcasters’ launch parties singing ‘Hey Big Spender’, but now that the CRTC requires them to spend money on Canadian drama we expect that they’ll do the smart thing and also give it pride of place in their schedules,” added national executive director Stephen Waddell. “Obviously if they don’t fulfill their obligations to the Canadian public the broadcasters will be hearing from us.”
ACTRA represents the interests of 21,000 professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada.
