And now, for $200 million, which of the following describes the 2001 Canadian Television Fund: a) a public-private money mix, half doled out by a public agency, half by mainly private interests; b) a private-public money mix, run by a largely ‘private’ entity; or c) a pot of public and private cash, run by government?

Regis Philbin will have to wait for a final answer. While the federal government reviews two recent reports on the ctf and calls for opinions from major film and tv advocacy groups, the debate picks up speed at the Banff Television Festival and then heads full bore into the renew-the-fund lobbying season.

The fund, with the Equity Investment Program this year administered by Telefilm Canada and the top-up Licence Fee Program by the ctf, is set to expire next March 31. By then, a new federal budget should be in place and all sides hope it provides for renewal of the ctf, about 75% of which comes from the public purse.

Industry commentators agree the fund is working much better this year with more eip-lfp ‘harmonization.’ But for 2001/02, certain parties are arguing for total ctf control of the fund and others want continued Telefilm involvement. Both reports on the ctf recommend Telefilm cede control of equity investment to the ctf.

The Heritage Ministry commissioned one of those reports – from kpmg – as part of a routine review of government funding. A senior government official says, ‘The future of the fund is under discussion in all of its aspects….[W]e have to go to the full cabinet and get a decision on whether the federal contribution will continue and at what level. That decision point…forces you to ask, ‘Is the fund meeting its public policy purposes, is it as effective as it could be, can it be fine-tuned, is it still serving a need that it was serving four years ago [when it was set up] and is the governance effective?’

‘All of that has to come together in one set of recommendations to cabinet that our minister would sign off on and take to her colleagues….The role of public institutions, the mandate of Crown corporations and departments is essentially the prime minister’s prerogative and he’d have a say as well in any dramatic changes to the role of Telefilm.’

The official notes that Telefilm was created to develop a cinema industry, and only began developing a tv industry in the ’80s. Eventually there was a ‘shotgun marriage’ between Telefilm’s Broadcast Fund and the cablers’ licence fee top-up program. Now, he says, ‘you can basically go along, continue with that [Telefilm/ctf] arrangement, it’s certainly an option, or…you can move activity away from the Telefilm equity program towards a pure licence fee top-up program. Or you could do the reverse and move more of it [activity] into a program run by Telefilm.’

Telefilm executive director Francois Macerola says Telefilm is ‘redefining our role in television,’ adding his board will submit recommendations of its own to Heritage. As for kpmg’s conclusion that Telefilm should no longer control the eip, Macerola says Telefilm ‘should keep an investment capacity in television.’ He says he doesn’t know whether Telefilm will continue to administer the eip. ‘To me it is irrelevant’ since the bigger question is how the eip and lfp can best complement each other. ‘Some people say if the lfp takes over the eip…that would [create] eventually another Telefilm.’

Overall, Macerola says, the federal government must do whatever is best to encourage the production of quality Canadian television, feature films, multimedia and other cultural products.

Further, he says, as ‘old’ media converge with new media, Telefilm will best be able to contribute to that convergence if it continues to have a role in the development of both.

French producers association (apftq) head Claire Samson wants Telefilm to continue to run the eip. ‘We’re not sure it’s good to have Telefilm Canada relegated to feature films. Telefilm Canada has a long history in analyzing projects and making sure that quality and innovative projects are realized. We value that a lot and we’re thinking that could be lost.’

Samson adds: ‘From a cultural point of view – cultural policy and public money should be in the hands of public organizations.’

She says the apftq hopes to have its position paper ready for Heritage by the end of June.

Canadian Association of Broadcasters president Michael McCabe says the cab has already told Ottawa its views on the kpmg report, but may put them on paper. ‘We buy the kpmg report….A single governance structure is what is required. Generally speaking, Telefilm should not be the key player. It should be a support structure,’ he says.

But, McCabe stresses, ‘Decisions about both English and French markets must be made by people who understand both…the fund will have to have some presence in Montreal.’

McCabe says the fund may need fine-tuning, but says it works better than Telefilm because the fund recognizes that broadcasters know best what will ‘work on air and work for their schedules.’