Vancouver: The b.c. Producers’ Branch of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association is spearheading a co-ordinated effort to keep the proposed British Columbia Film Investment Program on the provincial government’s agenda.

Working with unions and other groups such as the B.C. Motion Picture Association, the Producers’ Branch is launching a three-phase grassroots program to lobby government officials and politicians to educate them about the scope of the industry and the potential loss of business to other jurisdictions that offer better incentives.

The goal is to gain enough support to get bcfip through b.c.’s Treasury Board – the provincial body that will pay for the program – in September.

The bcfip tax-rebate program, which has been pitched for more than 18 months, was cut at the last minute from the March budget because of the ndp government’s need to slash spending and its ‘overall lack of understanding of the industry and the affect of the proposed program,’ states a letter to branch members.

With the expressed support from b.c.’s Culture Minister Bill Barlee, industry groups are striving to keep interest from flagging so they will be second-time lucky.

‘When (the politicians) see so much production going on, they don’t think the industry needs help,’ says mow producer Harold Tichenor of Crescent Entertainment. ‘They’re not making a distinction between overall volumes of production and Canadian production. As long as we remain a service center for American producers, we’ll be subject to the vagaries of taste, exchange rates, and union concerns.’

Tichenor says government officials are being ‘obtuse’ about the benefits or implementing bcfip. He claims they don’t see the need to better develop the local infrastructure so that if the Americans take their business elsewhere, there is enough local momentum to keep the industry and its 6,000 jobs alive.

Julia Keatley, an indigenous producer with Keatley Films, says government has been distracted by the more pressing political issues of the day and agrees that politicians look at the increasing levels of production and wonder why the industry is asking for subsidy.

But with lower production volumes this summer, and with the Prairie and Maritime provinces and Ontario picking up more service work, the message about job loss may become more clear to the labor-friendly government, she explains.

A provincial election looms, perhaps next year, and this fall will be good time to take advantage of pre-election generosity, Keatley adds.

In the first phase of the campaign, the association members and supporters are meeting one-on-one with politicians and Treasury Board officials. In the follow-up stages, the group plans to back up the importance and impact of the local industry – outlining its role as an employer and economic generator, for example – and offer evidence from other provinces that shows how a bcfip-style system can positively affect tax revenues.

Keatley says she hasn’t encountered anyone who opposes the bcfip.

‘If there are dissenting voices, they aren’t speaking publicly,’ she says.