Canada’s unions and guilds expressed overall positive reaction to the CRTC group-based license renewals on Wednesday, but reserved judgement on the impact the policies may have on Canada’s television production industry.

“We’re going to have to see how it plays out in the marketplace,” Jay Thomson, VP of broadcasting policy and regulatory affairs, Canadian Media Production Association, tells Playback Daily. “The fact that we now have established expenditure obligations in conventional and pay is a step in the right direction.”

Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Shaw Media are now required to allocate 30% of gross annual revenue to Canadian programming production, 5% of which must be spent on programs of national interest (PNI). Corus’ PNI obligation is 9%.

Meanwhile, Rogers Media’s English-language services were treated separately, with its commitment to CPE at 23% of its gross national revenue for its conventional stations, 2.5% of which must be dedicated to PNI and another 2.5% to new local programming.

“We’re disappointed that the Commission decided that Rogers was going to be treated differently. But overall we’re hopeful that this decision will mean more Canadian programming in this system,” adds Thomson.

The Writers Guild of Canada is concerned that the 5% PNI could equal fewer dramas for Canadian audiences.

“It’s better to have this expenditure floor than no minimum at all,” said WGC executive director Maureen Parker in a statement. “The 30% CPE is at the level we requested. But the PNI is well below our recommendation. We won’t really know what this figure means until we see how broadcasters spend, but we’re concerned about the potential impact on production in Canada.”

Parker and the WGC also question the data that the CRTC used to make the 5% PNI decision for Bell and Shaw, which is based on historical spending on quality dramas, documentaries and awards shows over the last three years.

“Based on our analysis of the information we had access to prior to the public hearing, a 5% PNI was clearly not enough,” Parker said, arguing that there was no access to new data and that broadcasters reduced their historical PNI with last-minute data submissions and re-classifications of programming.

ACTRA too had wanted higher PNI percentage, but expressed hope about the policy’s impact.

“While we didn’t get everything we wanted today, at least now we have a structure to work with,” said Ferne Downey, ACTRA national president in a statement. “I hope that broadcasters see their funding requirements as a floor upon which to build new Canadian programming, and not a ceiling to bump up against.”

ACTRA was also denied its request for the requirement that conventional broadcasters air at least two hours of PNI in prime time each week. Downey also expressed concern about the CPE requirements, which can be spread across a broadcaster’s stable of conventional and specialty channels.

“You also have to put it where the most eyeballs are, and that’s on the conventional television networks,” she said. “We agree that broadcasters need flexibility, but ghettoizing Canadian drama on specialty stations would not be the answer.”