OTTAWA – Recording movies inside movie theatres will soon be illegal in Canada.
“Canada’s new government is taking action to curb film piracy by bringing forward amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada. Piracy and mass copying of films has had a significant and direct impact on the entire film industry, including producers, directors, actors and creators,” said the Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, in a press release.
Right now, it’s only sort of illegal to record a movie from your seat in the theatre. However, while the theatre owners normally have policies against…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. as a public broadcaster should foster democracy, and needs stable long-term funding to operate effectively, says new CBC board chairman Timothy Casgrain.
Appearing Tuesday before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Casgrain told the committee though that CBC Television, unlike public radio, shouldn’t be totally free of advertising.
“CBC Radio doesn’t compete with Hollywood and CSI and Lost, and you the viewers make that choice,” he said. “CTV and Global are a rebroadcast of U.S. shows with different commercials – that’s what the CBC is up against. Should we come to the House…
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OTTAWA – Auditor-General Sheila Fraser isn’t as worried about the appointment process at the CBC as Friends of Canadian Broadcasting Corp. or the unions, which complain it’s too political.
Asked repeatedly by Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Committee members on Tuesday about the appointment process for the CBC’s chair, other board members and president, Fraser would not criticize the government.
“You have to recognize that the CBC is a Crown corporation and the government is the shareholder of the CBC and it is usually the shareholder who appoints the president,” she said. “The real issue is to make sure you…
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OTTAWA – Calling the CBC the most important outlet for Canadian programming, representatives from the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) urged the government to provide the public broadcaster with long-term stable funding.
Appearing Thursday before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson complained though that the CBC was asking for unduly long periods for the rights to programs under the its broadcast licences. He also noted multiple-platform rights were being sought, sometimes indefinitely, without fair compensation.
He added though that the CBC is not the only one seeking these kinds of deals;…
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OTTAWA – CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch called on the federal government to come up with a long-term strategy for the public broadcaster, including spelling out how it would be funded.
Appearing Thursday before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage which is in the midst of an examination of the role of the public broadcaster in the 21st century, he said that strategy should be enshrined in a formal contract, as is the case in Ireland, South Africa and Hong Kong. In the United Kingdom, the BBC operates under a Royal Charter that is formally renewed, after debate,…
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OTTAWA – Official Languages commissioner Graham Fraser called Tuesday on the government to compel the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to spruce up its regional programming to help build cultural connections among Francophone minorities outside Quebec and English minorities inside the province.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage which is in the midst of an investigation of the role of the CBC in the 21st century, Fraser said one of the shortcomings of the public broadcaster is that it has become too centralized in Toronto and Montreal.
He noted that Francophone communities outside of Quebec need to have access…
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s budget was criticized Monday by the arts community for not providing increased and stable funding to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF), Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
While Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda announced last month public funding of the CTF would be extended for two more years, there was no increase.
“The Canadian Television Fund has not received any increases since 1996. The CTF desperately needs enhanced, long-term, stable funding,” said Stephen Waddell, national executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).
He added the government’s…
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TORONTO – After over a month of uncertainty and facing a serious funding shortfall, the Canadian Television Fund said today it welcomes the CRTC Task Force on TV production funding.
“The CTF is a dynamic organization,” said Douglas Barrett, CTF chair, in a press release. “We continually evolve to ensure our policies, programs and operations meet the needs of all our clients and stakeholders. The CTF welcomes the opportunity to work with (vice-chair broadcasting Michel) Arpin and the CRTC Task Force to examine the issues and improve the stability and strength of the Canadian television industry.”
The CTF is…
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OTTAWA – Saying he is "sufficiently assured" that change is in the works with the Canadian Television Fund, Jim Shaw told the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage this morning "we will restore our payments," to the CTF.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Shaw began withholding its $5 million a month in monthly payments to the $250 million annual fund, saying the fund is not accountable, pays for too few shows that are success stories and that too much money goes towards programs that appear on the CBC.
Shaw’s regulatory head Ken Stein said that the CTF funding, when established over…
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CALGARY – True to its word, Shaw Communications will not be resuming monthly payments to the Canadian Television Fund.
On Friday, Minister of Canadian Heritage Bev Oda was informed of the decision by the company which owns Star Choice and Shaw Cable – and is the largest CTF contributor.
"I am disappointed to learn that Shaw is not going to resume their payments to the Canadian Television Fund," she said. "Clearly Shaw does not recognize the importance of abiding by regulations in a regulated world.
"All cable and direct-to-home satellite companies are regulated by the CRTC," continued Oda’s statement….
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