No more hidden agendas

The production industry in Canada has cast a suspicious eye on the growing maze of conflicting cultural and industrial agendas emanating from government.

The danger, according to one of the country’s leading independent producers, is that incoherent policy from a myriad of competing decision-making centers undermines the industry’s ability to fulfill its vital strategic goals.

In a wide-ranging speech to The Canadian Institute conference on film and television in Montreal recently, Cinar chairman and ceo Micheline Charest said: ‘Like it or not, government has enormous power and can contribute to the growth of our industry, or amputate it irremediably.

‘One thing is for sure,’ said Charest, ‘the rules of the game are being irrevocably modified by a combination of uncontrollable factors. In an era of scarce public resources, reduced bureaucracy, equitable and sound guidelines and a coherent decision-making process hardly seem like luxuries.’

Charest points to the exclusion of certain coproductions from the new Cable Production Fund as an example of the problem: ‘At a time when producers need this money, this not only contradicts efforts being made in other departments to facilitate coproduction, but once again, it presumes accessing foreign partnerships compromises Canadian programming.’ Such restrictions, she says, fail to recognize the creative contribution of coproductions.

‘We are good, but not that good that we can afford to shut ourselves to the world in the creative process.’

Per Charest, it is time the industry in Canada admitted u.s. investment in Canadian productions has been beneficial.

Access to foreign financing has led to more Canadian programs on air, at home and abroad, the cost being the evolution of Canadian content, says Charest.

‘Million of dollars have become available to Canadian producers, so let’s recognize it as an asset and work with it.ÉWe are extraordinarily lucky to have such a market available to us, just ask any European producer. The success of the Canadian industry is unparalleled anywhere in the world today. Let’s be bold and clever and use it for our own needs.

‘No one (country) is able to finance 100% of its programming domestically, one should no longer expect to play under the same rules. But please, let’s have faith in our own ability to remain in charge,’ she says.

Charest says Canada’s best guarantee for control lies in quality programming, ‘because within a decade or less, (broadcast) signals will be delivered on a worldwide basis by large conglomerates, which we may or may not be a part of.’

And while Canadian delivery systems must be defended, she says this cannot be done at the expense of an aggressive production industry forced to compete worldwide for airtime.

In an increasingly rude world economy, the industry must insist on coherent support from government for new growth industries, including the knowledge industry of which film, TV and new media are the cornerstone.

Says Charest: ‘There should be no hidden agendas. (Policy) should be articulated and producers should be obliged to accept responsibility for their actions.’