TORONTO – ACTRA has blasted the Conservative government over amendments to the omnibus bill C-10 which it says would allow the Canadian Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to film and television products it doesn’t like.
ACTRA National Executive Director Stephen Waddell suggested the Conservative government wants to set itself up “as the country’s morality police” through the proposed measures that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show it believes is not in the public interest. The bill is now before the Senate.
“The government is overstepping its bounds and interfering in an arms-length process,” Waddell said in a statement. “Withholding public funding for film and television productions it deems offensive is a dangerous direction for this government that smacks of censorship.
“These amendments have grave implications for film and television
productions, and for all artists. This is disastrous culturally and economically. It is chilling for artists, creates uncertainty for the production community, and is morally offensive to modern Canadian society,” Waddell said.
“Only two days after a federal budget that offered nothing for artists, this is really a slap in the face. First, we have no new funding for culture. Now we face censorship of what’s left. We strongly condemn these actions,” added ACTRA National President Richard Hardacre.
