OTTAWA – Canada’s public broadcaster is calling the government’s decision late Thursday to not endorse the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s report on CBC/Radio-Canada a “missed opportunity.”
The move would have enabled the government to enhance the accountability and transparency of Canada’s national public broadcaster, said the CBC in a statement released Friday.
A seven-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that links the public broadcaster’s objectives with its services and funding should be signed between the CBC and government, recommends the report, CBC/Radio-Canada: Defining Distinctiveness in the Changing Media Landscape.
“We are disappointed that the government has not endorsed the…
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OTTAWA – The federal government asked the CRTC on Friday to report on the accessibility and quality of broadcasting services offered to minority French- and English-language communities.
The request is part of a government-wide initiative, called the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013, that is aimed at strengthening the vitality of minority official language communities.
The government said in a statement that it was time to re-look at the issue given the proliferation of new technologies that has transformed the broadcast industry in recent years.
“As the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality attests, our government takes very seriously the…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s film and television producers say proposed Senate amendments to Bill C-10 reflect their concerns, and if passed, can help return stability to the industry.
“Canada’s independent film and television producers feel that they have been listened to and understood. The proposed amendments to Bill C-10 are fully consistent with Criminal Code compliance recommendations made by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association to the Senate committee,” said CFTPA President and CEO Guy Mayson.
The proposed amendments were released Wednesday by Senators Francis Fox and Wilfred Moore, and will be introduced when the Senate banking committee proceeds…
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WINNIPEG – Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) CEO Jean LaRose praises the CRTC for seeking to “strike a fair middle ground” in its recommendations on how to fix the Canadian Television Fund (CTF).
He added that he’s pleased that the regulator recognized the “special place” that APTN has in meeting the goal of the Broadcasting Act of reflecting the country’s Aboriginal people.
The CRTC recommended that APTN be permitted to tap into both the public sector and private sector streams it is suggesting be created. The CRTC’s suggests APTN get one-third of its funding from the public sector side…
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OTTAWA – Just prior to Parliament’s summer break, the federal government tabled new amendments to the Copyright Act “that will bring it in line with advances in technology and current international standards,” it says.
The bill (C-61) is “a win-win approach because we’re ensuring that Canadians can use digital technologies at home with their families, at work, or for educational and research purposes. We are also providing new rights and protections for Canadians who create the content and who want to better secure their work online,” said Industry Minister Jim Prentice, in a press release.
"These proposed amendments represent…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC said today that while many things should change about the Canadian Television Fund, Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media still have to pay into it – and in a timely manner.
And, while the Commission also said it would alter the BDU regs to make monthly contributions to the CTF mandatory, the report says it won’t make that move until the federal government has dealt with the substantive issues covered by the report.
That means distributors could still choose to withhold monthly payments in favour of quarterly or annual ones until Heritage Minister Josee Verner and…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC will make public its recommendations for the future of the Canadian Television Fund at 2 p.m. today.
It’s a story Cartt.ca has been following closely for about 18 months and the release should be a sensation at the Banff World TV Fest beginning this weekend in the Alberta town (Cartt.ca will be there, of course, covering that gathering).
In December of 2006, cable companies Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media decided to withhold their contributions to the fund, citing numerous issues the companies had with the fund, from its corporate governance to the types of programming being…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC said today that while many things should change about the Canadian Television Fund, Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media should not be able to opt out of paying into it.
As reported today by Cartt.ca, The Commission today submitted its report on the CTF to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. It contains 11 recommendations relating to the CTF’s mandate and governance structure. (Click here to follow the links to the full background of this story.)
“It is our hope that the recommendations we have put forward will assist in resolving the issues surrounding the CTF,” said…
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TORONTO – Canadian actor R.H. Thomson joined union members to demand government action on cultural issues at the Canadian Labour Congress Convention (CLC) that began in Toronto Monday.
"We’re turning up the volume on culture at the house of labour today," said Thomson. "Canadian workers agree that government censorship of the film and television industry as proposed in Bill C-10 is bad news for culture, bad news for jobs, and bad news for the economy."
A policy resolution on cultural issues was on the floor for CLC debate today, the first day of the five-day CLC convention being held…
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OTTAWA – John Hutton has been named a member of the board of trustees of the National Film Board.
Hutton has been involved in cultural industries for 35 years as an entertainer, manager, spokesperson, agent, and entrepreneur. He has served on numerous provincial and national boards and committees in Atlantic Canada.
Currently, he’s working as a realtor with Reardon Construction and Development and Prudential Reardon Realty.
The appointment was announced last week by Canadian Heritage.
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