MONTREAL — Quebec’s largest actors union says the Liberal government’s new plan to promote the province’s multimillion-dollar homegrown dubbing industry south of the border doesn’t go far enough.

Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre late last month asked the Quebec Film and Television Council to begin a marketing campaign to convince Hollywood to turn to la belle province instead of France for the French translations of American blockbusters.

According to a soon-to-be released study by law firm Heenan Blaikie, Quebec dubbing houses pulled in more than $20 million last year.

Although the Quebec government considered forcing American distributors releasing their films here to dub in Quebec French, St-Pierre has opted for a softer approach, says Montreal film commissioner Hans Fraikin. ‘I don’t think the Americans would have appreciated being forced to do something,’ he notes.

But Raymond Legault, president of the Union des artistes, says St-Pierre has let the industry down, noting that the actors union has been trying to lure the Americans for 10 years. ‘We find this initiative a bit thin. It’s nothing more than what we have already been doing,’ Legault tells Playback Daily. UDA wants the government to establish a formal memorandum of understanding with American majors to dub in Quebec French when they release their films here.

Last July, the Action Démocratique du Québec party called for a law forcing movie studios to dub the French version of their films in Quebec. ADQ leader Mario Dumont said he concluded that a dubbing law was needed after taking his own kids to see Shrek the Third. The DreamWorks SKG film was dubbed in France and into a Parisian dialect incomprehensible to most Quebecers. The Liberal government has been studying the issue and will soon release a report.

The local dubbing industry appears to be thriving: the percentage of American films destined for the Canadian market that have been dubbed in Quebec French increased from 30% in 1990 to 78% last year, according to UDA. But Legault says those numbers are deceiving. ‘These figures fluctuate from year to year. In 2006, the number of American films dubbed in Quebec fell to 72%.’

Ultimately the UDA wants a law requiring that there is a French version — dubbed or subtitled — of all foreign-language films released in Quebec, and that flicks with a wide release, such as Shrek the Third, are dubbed into Quebec French, says Legault.

Many Hollywood studios, particularly the majors, are still unaware of the incentives established by the Quebec government, including a 30% tax credit, Fraikin tells Playback Daily. ‘We will be meeting with the majors to promote the economic advantages of dubbing here,’ he says. Fraikin also believes that American producers will see the advantages of dubbing in Quebec French at the box office. ‘Quebecers prefer to see American films in their own language,’ he adds.