Feds slash $18 million in cultural funding - CTF at risk

MONTREAL - The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Association des producteurs de films et de television du Québec (APFTQ) have called for an urgent meeting with the ministers from Heritage and Foreign Affairs to discuss the government's decision to eliminate cultural programs valued at nearly $18 million. Last Friday, the Conservative government announced that the A-V Preservation Trust ($300,000), the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund ($1.5-million), the National Training Schools Program ($2.5- million), PromArt ($4.7-million) and Trade Routes ($9-million) will be eliminated as of March 31, 2009. “These cuts risk diminishing Canada's international reputation," says...