Following last month’s restoration of the Canadian Television Fund, TV stakeholders will convene on April 15 in Ottawa – at the behest of the minister of Canadian heritage – for the next step, changing how the public-private pot ‘o gold operates.

‘We would simply like to clarify the function of the fund,’ says Rene Bouchard, director general of broadcasting policy at the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, speaking on behalf of Minister Helene Chalifour Scherrer. ‘Changes have made it more efficient, but the governance is still complex. We’re putting a lot of money into the fund. We owe it to the sector to look for a simple solution.’

In its March 23 budget, after a year of extensive lobbying, the federal government returned its annual funding to the CTF to $100 million, by adding $37.5 million to its 2004/05 contribution and promising to maintain that level through next year. In that time, the fund is meant to address governance issues.

Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage Judith LaRocque – who hosted a similar meeting in October – will chair the April roundtable.

Bouchard says Heritage will consider a ‘one organization, one board’ scenario, throwing into question the long-term roles of Telefilm Canada and CTF, which currently co-manage the fund. He would not speculate which organization would take precedence should a choice be required.

‘The Lincoln Report was in favor of a one board and one administration solution and we agree with that,’ says Telefilm executive director Richard Stursberg, referring to the 2003 study of the broadcasting system by MP Clifford Lincoln. Stursberg did not elaborate on the solution’s long-term implications.

At press time, Telefilm’s press secretary Jeanine Basile said the agency was not ready to discuss the issue of governance in depth.

Also, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters had not yet met to discuss its preferred option for the CTF’s governance, says Pierre Pontbriand, VP communications at CAB.

‘The CAB will be discussing with its members the various options expected to be forwarded to participants by… Canadian Heritage’ before April 15, he says. ‘Our goal is to ensure that the tremendously successful public-private partnership continues to support the production of quality Canadian programs that will attract viewers.’

Since it was founded in 1996, the CTF has comprised two organizations: the Equity Investment Program-giving Telefilm and the Licence Fee Program-giving CTF fund. Until this year, the EIP and LFP required separate applications. This year, successful applicants will get funding from both EIP and LFP with a single application – a move applauded for reducing administrative costs.

The challenge of Telefilm answering to two boards – its own and the CTF’s – continues, however. And the new broadcaster envelopes system has resulted in a complex doling out of money to each broadcaster based on channels, genre and language – resulting in almost 70 English-language envelopes alone.

French broadcasters get a drama envelope along with documentary, children’s programming and performing arts. English broadcasters get envelopes for documentary, children’s programming and performing arts, but will have their drama allotment meted out by the CTF in a bit of a lottery system similar to years past.

For broadcasters, the governance changes and restored funding have a direct impact on programming.

CHUM, for instance, is making a concerted shift to primetime Canadian drama – after a long history of supporting feature films – with the Vancouver-shot series The Collector and the proposed Godiva’s.

‘The major complication this year is that some envelopes are too small to be effective,’ says Paul Gratton, VP of Bravo!, Space and Drive-In Classics at CHUM. ‘The [federal budget] top-ups are a source of happiness.’

However, according to Gratton, the jury is still out about how the new system of broadcaster envelopes will fare. ‘It’s too early in the process to make a judgment. It’s a miracle of goodwill that the CTF has worked as well as it has.’

The CTF is expected to be valued at more than $264 million in 2004/05, up almost 3% from the 2003/04 fiscal year.

On the English side, drama will have $84.9 million, children’s/youth programming $30.7 million, documentaries $27.7 million and variety $3 million, for a total of $146.3 million. On the French side, drama gets $39.4 million, kids $10.6 million, documentaries $15.9 million and variety $5.1 million, for a total kitty of $71 million.

-www.canadiantelevisionfund.ca