When Elizabeth McDonald stepped into her new job as president of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association Aug. 16, a fire of baptism awaited her. She walked into an organization in the thick of government lobby efforts to stave off further cuts to the industry, reportedly the toughest labor negotiations the cftpa has ever gone through with actra’s Performers Guild, and fundamental copyright concerns relating to the onslaught of new delivery systems.

Before McDonald moved over to this new position, she was vp of programming services at the Canadian Cable Television Association, where she was involved with the cftpa in the development of the Cable Production Fund. She has also held the post of senior vp of television at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

Presently, McDonald is traveling back and forth from cftpa headquarters in Toronto and her home in Ottawa, but plans are in the works to establish a part-time office in Ottawa later this year.

Playback spoke with McDonald two weeks into her new role to find out how she plans to steer the cftpa through this period of immense change.

Playback: Following the cftpa’s mid-November march on Parliament Hill last year to lobby against cuts to the industry, the cftpa has another blitz in the Capital planned for November. Are there any other plans to lobby the federal government?

McDonald: We have a policy conference at the same time as the blitz and I think we are going to have some very important messages to put forward.

To date, most of what we hear about the information highway is what the carriers want out of it, and I think the content message has to be reconsidered beyond just the nice words about Canadian content. If you look at the entertainment industry in the u.s., there is a lot of activity in the content area, so clearly we are on to a new dawn of even greater opportunities for content creators.

The policy conference will also be an opportunity to hear from other sectors.

Playback: Why the blitz on Parliament Hill again? Did the last one have any effect?

McDonald: It’s an opportunity for mps to learn about an important sector. Whether you do it formally or you do it informally it’s just one way of doing it.

Playback: Because of your background at the ccta do you see an opportunity for you to improve relations between producers and cablers?

McDonald: I think the relationship between the producers and the cable companies is excellent, actually. The cftpa and the ccta consulted extensively at the time of the structural hearing, and the cftpa was aware the cable industry was going to make a proposal for a fund. It was a cable initiative.

Now we are sitting down and looking at the fund and realizing it’s time to talk about the benefits, about the programming, about the Due Souths and the other shows that have received money from the fund.

(I will also) be talking to other distribution undertakings or potential distribution undertakings because my job, wherever I came from, is to do the best I can for the independent production sector.

Playback: How is the cftpa planning on dealing with the Ontario Film Development Corporation, Telefilm Canada and other government cuts in the immediate future?

McDonald: Well, we are having ongoing talks with the Department of Heritage. We are a little disappointed with the way the mandate review process has gone because the consultations have not been formal. They have not talked to the cftpa as an organization, they have talked to producers at dinners across the country.

However, we are willing to work with the Departments of Heritage and Industry and any of the other central organizations involved in any of the reductions to make sure (cuts) are not done in any way to harm the industry.

Playback: And with the ofdc?

McDonald: We are talking to people within the Ontario government and we are trying to understand their agenda because they’ve come in with a very strong mandate from the people of Ontario to reduce taxes. I think you are starting to hear some changes from the government; they don’t want to cause a recession in Ontario in an effort to cut taxes.

Playback: There are a lot of nervous producers out there right now with the government cuts, the pending actra strike and the ofdc freeze. What are you hearing from your membership?

McDonald: I think people are nervous, there’s a lot going on. I am trying to work with the (membership) to manage these issues and manage them successfully. I think it’s fairly clear there are a lot of things on the agenda and this (job) has somewhat redefined the meaning of hitting the deck running.

Playback: What would you say is at the top of the agenda?

McDonald: Dealing with the federal government on the federal tax credit to ensure that it benefits the independent production sector. And the ofdc/ofip issues, the mandate review, the cable access hearing, the dth hearing.

Playback: How about the actra strike?

McDonald: It’s not appropriate to comment at this point.

Playback: Changes and problems in the industry have caused some tension recently

McDonald: Let’s not call them problems, let’s call them challenges.

I think what I want to do is to get people to look at the strengths, because this industry has a lot of strengths. It’s a good news story for Ontario and for Canada and I don’t want that forgotten.

Playback: My understanding is that all these ‘challenges’ are having an adverse effect on the stable reputation we have here. Is there anything to be done about that?

McDonald: I think it depends on what the Canadian media says and reports on. I think it’s important to take this opportunity to look at this industry and what it does for Canada and what it is capable of doing, not only for Canada but for individual Canadians.

Playback: Nonetheless, this stable reputation is being affected.

McDonald: I’m not sure. The fact that we may be facing some labor issues now doesn’t mean there aren’t labor issues in the States.I think it depends on the message we put out there. And I think our people have a good story to tell, and we are going to make every effort to make sure the good story is there.

Playback: What is your best strategy?

McDonald: Tell the story. Make sure we reach out, consult, inform. Make sure we build alliances with groups within Canada who have a common interest with us.

Playback: What is the cftpa doing with regard to content issues?

McDonald: Certainly with applications for dth and pay-per-view there are copyright issues. We do not want to see a North American market created that would detract from the value of Canadian rights. There are two departments involved with regards to copyright – Industry and Heritage – and we will deal with both as is appropriate.

Playback: There is some suggestion that, for new delivery systems, Canadian content has already missed the boat.

McDonald: I don’t believe that. We have always found a Canadian way to do things that serves our industry and our audiences, and I believe we can do it again.