Because the unabridged u.s. position on the few protective measures that exist to shelter Canada’s audiovisual industry is one of hostility, year after year the industry here has to stand up and defend itself.

The u.s. industry continues to lobby that its 90% share of the Canadian market really isn’t enough, so Robert Lantos, Alliance Communications ceo, was obliged to deliver the following message in a speech at the Montreal World Film Festival Symposium, explaining that the Canadian market is the most fragmented in the world:

‘We are the only country, for example, where every u.s. network signal is received in simultaneous transmission. Ours is the only market where Hollywood movies open day and date with the United States, backed by massive marketing campaigns which spill unrestricted over the border.’

And malgre tout ca, he notes even modest measures such as quotas and limited production funding are received with hostility.

Jack Valenti, president of the powerful Hollywood lobby group, the Motion Picture Association of America, was also at the Montreal symposium. Valenti says it’s all about telling ‘good stories.’ He promises Hollywood will abide by whatever rules are in place.

Then why does the record show a truly unrelenting tooth-and-nail attack against the commercial interests of Canada’s production and distribution industries on whatever platform is available, at all the trade negotiations, speeches to Congessional and Senate subcommittees, at gatt?

The facts are such: the Americans have 90% of our theatrical and home-video revenues, and they own 80% of Canada’s primetime programming.

And if Valenti and his colleagues so believe in choice for people, why is it foreign productions take in less than 2% of the u.s. box office, and occupy less than 2% of tv airtime?

When the storytelling is at an end, Lantos says the commercial reality looks like this: ‘The emergence of empires such as Time-Warner, Viacom Disney/Capital Cities makes it a whole new ball game. Their crushing debt load puts tremendous pressure on these companies to aggressively pursue an even greater share of the global market. Their control over the avenues of access to the consumer gives them the leverage to pull it off.

‘Hollywood is engaged in an obsessive drive for market share even at the expense of profit – and the great national cinemas of countries like Italy and Britain, and the nascent cinemas such as our own, are the roadkill casualties of this careening behemoth.’

Lantos says the emerging convergence market presents a possible resolution. With its unparalleled export success, he recommends the u.s. open up its mainstream market to more foreign product, with the prize at the bottom of the crackerjack box being the much-sought-after end to quotas. ‘When international programming achieves a 30% or 40% share in the u.s. instead of the current 2%, the raison d’etre for quotas (in other countries) will cease to exist’

In its drive for globalization, the u.s. industry might consider that by taking convincing steps to turn its monopolized export route into what vaguely resembles a real two-way highway they would meet with fewer roadblocks.

Rather than holding our breath, other solutions to our sorry domestic market status should be placed on the table. A limited box office tax used to finance new national production, as in brave France, is one that’s on the wish list.

Once more, plus ca change, plus c’est le meme chose.