* CTV has upped Jon Arklay to VP of creative services and brand for CTV, putting him in charge of all branding for its stations, specialty channels and Olympic coverage for 2010 and 2012.

* APTN has named Peter Strutt as director of programming and Sky Bridges as its new director of marketing.

* Gail Thomson, formerly of the Toronto 2015 World Expo Corporation, is the new director of audience, brand and marketing at S-VOX.

* Corus Entertainment has hired Erica Benson as director of programming for its pay-TV services, Movie Central and Encore. She was previously director of indie Canadian production at The Movie Network.

* David Heath has been promoted to VP of program sales in Canada at the joint TV distributor Twentieth Century Fox/Incendo Television Distribution.

* David Way is the new VP of production and development at Anaid Productions, coming over from a programming post at Outdoor Life Network.

* Christal Films has brought in Joanne Senécal as VP of distribution, hiring her away from TVA Films.

* Domenic Vivolo, SVP of marketing and sales at Astral Television Networks, has been elected president of the board at the Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketing of Canada.

* Jean Lapierre is leaving the federal Liberal caucus and returning to broadcasting. The former MP will return to the TVA network in Montreal to cohost a weekly show on politics. It is expected to debut in February.

* Christine Amendola is now director of communications and business development at Women in Film and Television – Toronto, while Heather Kanabe is the new programming manager.

* CBC programming chief Kirstine Layfield has joined the board of directors at the National Screen Institute – Canada, along with Raja Khanna of QuickPlay Media and S-VOX president Bill Roberts.

* Brian Simpson is now CEO of Keyframe Digital Productions.