OTTAWA – The CRTC must ensure a vibrant, healthy Canadian television industry or risk losing Canadian talent and audiences, the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) told the Commission during its appearance at the Let’s Talk TV hearing Thursday.
“The great success stories of Canadian television came about because Canadian creators have had opportunities to collaborate with experienced colleagues,” said executive director Maureen Parker. “Quantity is needed to create quality. If the industry shrinks as a result of some proposals on the table, the talent will simply leave the country.”
Speaking on behalf of its members, some 2,200 professional English-language screenwriters across Canada, the WGC also proposed that over-the-top providers become “fully included in the Canadian television industry, both contributing to and benefiting from the system”.
It further called on the Commission to ensure that overall expenditure requirements for the creation of Canadian television remain strong, particularly if pick-and-pay and proposals such as the elimination of genre exclusivity and the reduction of exhibition requirements move forward.
In addition to screening a video aptly titled Canadian TV Delivers, the organization also urged the CRTC to take a measured approach to change.
“So many major regulatory changes are proposed that implementing all of them could have multiple impacts for years,” Parker added.
