Move will let broadcasters keep $30 million
OTTAWA – While Canadian broadcasters have been working extraordinarily hard to deliver the news to Canadians during the Covid-19 crisis – and entertain them when they need diversion – this very crisis has caused revenue to bleed away from them as advertisers pull back facing an uncertain economy.
So, the federal government announced today a bit of a break, announcing it is waiving the payment of annual CRTC Part I licence fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
“The government knows that our Canadian broadcasters have been working around the clock to deliver news and…
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TORONTO – The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees met with Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault to discuss ways in which the federal government could best support the entertainment industry and its workers.
IATSE represents technicians, artisans and craftspeople in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, as well as motion picture and television production.
The conference-call meeting included 40 IATSE local union leaders who stressed the Covid-19 pandemic has brought economic hardship to all workers, but with virtually 100% unemployment, the entertainment industry has been hit particularly hard.
“Minister Guilbeault spoke knowledgably about the situation facing workers in both the film…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted business operations far and wide, including TV and film producers in Canada, who are calling for the federal government to pledge a financial aid package for the industry.
Boat Rocker Media has jumped out ahead as the first TV producer this week to register its intention to ask the federal and Ontario governments for financial support to continue to create, produce and distribute its content. The Toronto-based company’s subsidiary Temple Street has produced the popular show Orphan Black and its kids content has been enlisted in CBS All Access’s roster. Insight…
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GATINEAU — The federal government announced Wednesday it is taking action to support Canada’s publishing and news sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of the announcement made by the department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) confirmed the Independent Advisory Board on Eligibility for Journalism Tax Measures is now in place. The advisory board’s role is to make recommendations to the CRA on whether a journalism organization meets criteria to receive the Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO) designation, which is a prerequisite for organizations to take advantage of new tax measures introduced in the 2019 federal…
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By Steve Faguy
OTTAWA – Despite a demand from the premier of Prince Edward Island to do so, the federal government has apparently chosen not to intervene to force the CBC to restore its local TV newscasts.
As Cartt.ca reported, on Wednesday, the CBC announced it would suspend local newscasts, except at CBC North, and instead rebroadcast CBC News Network on local stations. PEI Premier Dennis King demanded Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault intervene, saying “now is not the time to scale back.”
The Canadian Media Guild, representing most CBC employees, and lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, also demanded the decision…
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By Konrad von Finckenstein
THE BROADCAST AND Telecom Legislative Review panel’s lengthy report is divided into institutional recommendations, telecom recommendations, broadcasting recommendations and others.
It made 46 regarding the Broadcasting Act. Apart from the recommendations on the CBC about which I express no comment, some are well thought out and would improve the present system substantially. The extension of the Broadcasting Act to “electronic communications services” on the internet is the area of greatest concern.
The Panel recommended:
… the Telecommunications Act be amended to establish explicit jurisdiction over all persons and entities providing, or offering to provide, electronic…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications last week announced its keynote speakers for IIC Canada 2020, to be held April 20-21, at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
The big names are:
Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage
Monika Ille, president and CEO, APTN
Grace Koh, U.S. representative and head of delegation to the International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference 2019
Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO, Quebecor
Ian Scott, CRTC chair
Catherine Tait, CBC president and CEO
Details of IIC Canada plenary sessions are also now available on the IIC Canada website. The session subjects…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – After hearing Janet Yale and Monique Simard from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel on Monday, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage had the new Heritage Minister, Steven Guilbeault, in for a discussion about the contents of his mandate letter.
He appeared with Hélène Laurendeau, his deputy minister and Jean-Stéphen Piché, the Heritage Ministry’s senior assistant deputy minister for cultural affairs. Of course, some questions were on other subjects and there was some discussion about the BTLR/Yale Report.
First, the Minister said not once but twice that he would table legislation based on the…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – We’re going to have to wait a little longer to learn more about the next steps in the legislative process following the publication of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) panel report.
In its first public meeting after the 2019 election, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage invited representatives of the panel to brief the committee members on its report, which is actually called Canada’s Communications Future: Time to Act, issued on January 29th. Many are also calling it the Yale report.
In its appearance at the committee today, the panel’s chair, Janet Yale and panel…
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To effectively regard the whole communications field through the broadcasting lens results in a distorted view
By Konrad von Finckenstein and James Mitchell
IN AN EFFORT TO PROVIDE a critical overview of the recent report by the Broadcast and Telecommunications Review Panel (the so-called Yale Report or BTLR Report), with particular focus on its ‘machinery’ recommendations (i.e., those having to do with institutional and ministerial mandates and powers), this analysis will highlight why the new-concept CRTC should be set aside.
What the panel recommended
The BTLR was asked, as part of its mandate, to comment on the institutional framework employed for the regulation…
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