The Canada Media Fund put forward this week by Ottawa could have bad implications for independent filmmakers, according to the Documentary Organization of Canada, warning that the new fund puts too much power in the hands of the cable companies.

The federal government said Monday it will combine the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund into the CMF in 2010 — creating a ratings-driven fund for all platforms. Since 1996, CTF has invested more than $2.7 billion in 27,000 hours of English-, French- and aboriginal-language shows. Documentaries received almost 20%, which comes to about 40% of all programming hours produced.

‘We’re glad to see that the government is going to continue to support the fund, which is an important thing,’ says DOC co-vice chair Betsy Carson. But the proposed governance of CMF ‘is very worrying to us.’

A controlling majority of the proposed CMF board will be nominated by the cable companies, which will lead to accountability and conflict-of-interest issues, says DOC.

‘There’s a potential for opening the door to regulating content to people who should not be regulating content,’ says Carson. ‘If there is no balance on the governance, then there will be no balance on the decision-making side as to the content. Effectively, it opens the doors to censorship.’

ACTRA national executive director Stephen Waddell has also been critical of the proposed board structure, saying it’s ‘like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.’

Independent production companies will have no representation on the board and instead will consult with broadcasters and creators. The playing field of the proposed CMF places broadcasters on the same level as independent producers, which DOC says is ‘anything but level,’ as indie producers must then compete with broadcasters for funding.

Asked how documentary funding would be affected by the new fund, the office of Heritage Minister James Moore said via e-mail, ‘We are not ‘moving away from’ documentaries with the Canada Media Fund… documentaries continue to be eligible.’ Moore plans to consult with the industry before the fund launches.