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Canadian Content Still Needs Enforcing Says CFTPA

Ensuring Canadian producers have a place to air Canadian content was just one of the points made today by Elizabeth McDonald, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

èJack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America, told us at our annual conference in Ottawa this past February that no government can 'order citizens to watch what they do not want to watch.ç That is true. But what Mr. Valenti neglected to acknowledge is you can only decide what to watch from the choices you are offered. If you take away the Canadian content regulations of the Broadcasting Act, you will not have many Canadian choices,î said Julia Keatley, chair of the CFTPA and executive producer, Keatley Films Ltd.

The increasing consolidation and convergence of the industry have not necessarily led to more Canadian programming, but rather layoffs and questions about the future of indigenous dramas. The CFTPA believes this financial pressure is enticing large media companies to go after funds that are restricted to independent producers. èThe large privately owned broadcasters who dominate the Canadian television landscape are understandably beholden to their shareholders and their attention is focussed on the bottom line. This reality will always push them to assume increased control over production and distribution rights without fair compensation,î said Ira Levy, executive producer, Breakthrough Entertainment Inc., and CFTPA board member. èAnd now these large media companies are pushing for increased access to the production funding mechanisms that are the lifeblood of the independent production sector.î

The Committee is conducting an 18-month study of the Canadian broadcasting system.

Launched a year ago in response to the implications of the increasingly globalized communications environment, the Committee is asking witnesses whether 1991çs Broadcasting Act remains effective in the face of the industryçs current challenges. Within that question several issues are considered to be central: Canadian content, cultural diversity, ownership and private-public sector mix.

The CFTPAçs full submission can be found at www.cftpa.ca, under Publications The CFTPA is a non-profit, trade association representing almost 400 Canadian companies involved in the media content production industry. With offices in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, the association promotes the interests of media content producers by lobbying government on policy matters, negotiating labour agreements, offering mentorship programs, copyright initiatives, and producing industry publications.

For more information on this, please contact:

Jane L. Thompson
Director of Communications
Canadian Film and Television Production Association

Tel: 613 233 1444 ext 227