By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Faced with an advertising market that has been cut in half in some cases, broadcasters are scrambling to survive the Covid-19 pandemic (to say nothing of the shifting media sands in general) and are seeking stronger lifelines from the federal government.
Earlier this month, during an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, representatives of the Independent Broadcast Group (IBG) said while the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has helped keep staff on the payroll, broadcasters need further relief.
On behalf of the IBG, a consortium of 10 independent Canadian television broadcasters, Luc Perreault…
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OTTAWA — The two vacant commissioner spots at the CRTC have been filled, with the announcement Thursday by Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault that Ellen C. Desmond (pictured, left) has been appointed as commissioner for Atlantic Canada and Nunavut, and Nirmala Naidoo (right) as commissioner for Alberta and Northwest Territories.
Desmond is filling the vacancy left when former Atlantic Canada and Nunavut commissioner Christopher MacDonald’s five-year term ended June 16. Naidoo is taking over from former Alberta and Northwest Territories commissioner Linda Vennard, whose term expired in May. Each new commissioner will serve a five-year term.
Desmond, of New Brunswick,…
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TORONTO — The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) has asked the federal government for targeted funding to convert 50% of temporary and precarious workers at CBC to full-time staff.
The funding request was made by CMG CBC/Radio-Canada branch president Kim Trynacity during a 40-minute meeting with Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, said the union in a release.
“Many of the temporary employees are Black, Indigenous and people of colour,” Trynacity told the minister, according to the news release. “Converting so many temps to full-time will make the corporation more reflective of Canada, and go a long way to repairing a damaged…
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Including two that won’t cost a cent
By Greg O’Brien
CAL MILLAR DOESN’T want to kick the federal government while it is scrambling hard to keep Canadians healthy and our economy upright. However, broadcasters need more help and Millar and his fellow broadcasters have some ideas.
The president of Channel Zero (owners of CHCH, Rewind and Silver Screen Classics) is genuinely thankful for what the federal government has already done for broadcasters, and the country, in trying to manage an unprecedented health crisis that has decimated the economy while we all tried, and try, to do the right things to make sure…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – The next tranche of funding from the federal government’s $500-million emergency response fund for cultural, heritage and amateur sports organizations during the pandemic announced two months ago will be rolled out in the coming days, while legislation modernizing the Broadcasting Act will have to wait until Parliament resumes its normal sitting this fall, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said on Tuesday during a Covid-19-prompted virtual edition of the Banff World Media Festival.
The deadline for applications for the first phase of funding concluded on June 12, and was targeted to organizations which have already received…
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TORONTO — The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and broadcast partner CBC today announced the 2020 Juno Award winners will be revealed in a virtual presentation on Monday, June 29 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the free CBC Gem streaming service and CBC Music’s website and social media pages.
This follows the cancellation of the 49th annual Juno Awards event, which was set to take place in Saskatoon in March, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virtual presentation will feature a lineup of guest presenters and special performances, with the award winners announced across all…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – There is something new about the indirect result of governments’ stay-at-home advice in the age of Covid-19. Many more people than usual are channel-surfing, binge-watching streaming services and other things, but all this watching will eventually get old once the staleness of replaying reruns sets in and viewers want something new.
While broadcasters and streamers alike are assuring viewers they have enough new content to satisfy us at least for a few more months or so (except for sports channels, perhaps) Canadian creators are not only itching to get back to work to create new content,…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Part of the federal government’s multibillion-dollar Covid-19 Economic Response Plan will be a $500-million emergency response fund for cultural, heritage and amateur sports organizations to continue to support artists and athletes, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault announced on Friday.
“This targeted measure will provide financial support consistent with the government’s existing Covid-19 support measures for wages and fixed costs of organizations,” he said at the daily ministerial briefing in Ottawa. Please click here for the Minister’s tweeted video of the announcement.
The fund will be administered by Canadian Heritage “with the support of our partners, such…
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OTTAWA — The federal government announced Tuesday funding for projects that will help to prevent misleading Covid-19 information and to support social cohesion across the country.
Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault announced $3 million will be invested in several organizations through the Digital Citizen Initiative’s Digital Citizen Contribution Program. This funding will help combat false and misleading Covid-19 information as well as the racism and stigmatization that are often the result, says the news release.
“We want to remind Canadians to be careful when searching for online information about Covid-19 and to ensure the reliability of the sources. We…
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OTTAWA – Production volume in Canada hit a record high of $9.3 billion in 2019, the Canadian Media Producers Association said today.
The sector created 180,900 full-time equivalent jobs, while contributing $12.8 billion to the national GDP, adds the CMPA’s annual report, Profile 2019, which is compiled by Nordicity and developed in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage, Telefilm Canada and the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM).
The full report can be downloaded here.
“As Canada’s production industry faces unprecedented upheaval caused by Covid-19, these numbers are a great reminder of the robust sector that we have built…
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