Applications for pre-eligibility open October 30
MONTREAL — Telefilm Canada today issued an industry advisory announcing the details and criteria for applying to the government of Canada’s Short-Term Compensation Fund (STCF) for Canadian audiovisual productions are now online.
The STCF was created as a temporary measure to fill the void left by the lack of insurance coverage for filming interruptions and production shutdowns due to Covid-19 in the Canadian audiovisual production sector. As we reported here, the fund will make up to $50 million available to the industry.
“Through the Fund, Telefilm Canada will indemnify eligible producers for Canadian…
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By Catherine Tait
IN ANOTHER CRUEL TWIST of this pandemic, just when trusted local news has never been so important, its survival is in peril.
If there’s one thing this COVID crisis has shown us, it’s that accurate information can literally be a matter of life and death. And the most critical information is often the news that is closest to home: Is my child’s school safe? What businesses are open or closed in my community? Where can I get a COVID test? What can I do, safely, to support my parents in their retirement home?
Since this pandemic officially began in…
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OTTAWA — The federal government announced Tuesday Justice Luc Martineau (above) has been appointed as chair of the Copyright Board of Canada. The announcement was made by Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains.
Martineau’s five-year appointment as chair was effective October 2. In his new role, he will “help further realize reforms to the Board and eliminate backlogs in decision making to ensure a transparent and predictable marketplace,” reads the government’s press release.
Martineau was a lawyer for 24 years, eventually establishing his own firm in 1996, before being appointed judge of the Federal Court of Canada and…
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TORONTO — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced today it is investing $40.6 million in the development, production and marketing of 94 Canadian audiovisual projects through seven of CMF’s funding programs.
“In addition to administering over $120 million in Government of Canada Covid-19 Emergency Support Funding, the CMF has over the past several months continued to deliver funding though its various programs,” said Valerie Creighton, CMF’s president and CEO, in a press release.
“We have made — and will continue to make — every effort necessary to ensure Canada’s creators take their stories to screens here at home and around the…
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TORONTO — The Ontario government announced Monday it is investing almost $1.3 million in Ontario Creates grants to provide 99 organizations with funding to help promote Canadian film, TV and digital content globally.
The announcement was made by Lisa MacLeod, Ontario minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture industries, who was joined by Ontario Creates board chair Aaron Campbell and Shaftesbury chair and CEO Christina Jennings, at 401 Richmond in Toronto, an arts-and-culture hub which is home to imagineNATIVE and Reel Asian, two previous and ongoing Ontario Creates grant recipients.
The Ontario Creates grants are being provided through several investment programs,…
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OTTAWA – The federal government announced Friday it will make up to $50 million available to help film and TV productions get re-started in a Covid-19 world.
As we first reported in June, insurers have not extended coverage for potential coronavirus outbreaks on sets and the Canadian Media Producers Association has been working for months to try and get coverage and so the film and TV industry can back to work. It was originally seeking $100 million from the federal government.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault made the funding announcement Friday morning.
Administered by Telefilm Canada along with the Canada Media Fund,…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – “This fall, in addition to extending the wage subsidy, the Government will take further steps to bridge vulnerable businesses to the other side of the pandemic by introducing further support for industries that have been the hardest hit, including travel and tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries like the performing arts,” reads Wednesday’s Speech from the Throne, kicking off the next session of Parliament.
“The Government will also identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality… by addressing corporate tax avoidance by digital giants. Web giants are taking Canadians’ money while imposing their own priorities. Things must…
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TORONTO — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) today announced it is taking two key actions to support creators from Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities.
The first step is a top-up in Covid-19 emergency relief funds for companies owned by Black people and people of colour. The CMF also announced it has engaged three new team members to support and connect with BIPOC communities.
The top-up is part of phase one of the federal government’s Covid-19 Emergency Support Fund for cultural, heritage and sport organizations and is available to companies that are majority-owned by Black people and people of…
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Minister raises, and tamps down, expectations
By Greg O’Brien
HERITAGE MINISTER STEVEN Guilbeault gave precious little away last Wednesday afternoon during a CMPA- and AQPM-sponsored town hall meeting.
As is well known by now in the TV and production communities, after five years of study and work through three different Heritage ministers, the federal government will finally have something concrete to announce sometime during the next session of Parliament this fall. It is expected Wednesday’s Throne Speech will have something to say about new broadcasting legislation.
While Minister Guilbeault was asked a few different ways during the interactive virtual session (he’s pictured…
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CREATIVE ORGANIZATIONS across the country reminded the Canadian government about its commitment to new legislation to force web giants to pay their fair share when it comes to Canadian content, a commitment which they hope to see represented in Wednesday’s speech from the throne, which will kick off the next session of Parliament.
In a press release issued Monday morning, leaders of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), AQPM (Association Québécoise de la production médiatique), ARRQ (Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec), CMPA (Canada Media Producers Association), DGC (Directors Guild of Canada), SARTEC (Société des…
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