Although the three main opposition parties say they would renew the Canadian Television Fund, the party that will likely form the next government is mute on the issue, contributing to worries about the future of Canadian TV.

Both the Quebec and English-language producers associations asked the parties to clarify their position on the CTF, explains Guy Mayson, president and CEO of the CFTPA.

The Liberals, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party have pledged to provide sustained funding for the CTF, which comes up for renewal in March.

Calls about CTF’s future to both Canadian Heritage and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s campaign headquarters were not returned by press time. Harper on Tuesday unveiled his party’s re-election platform, which, in an apparent nod to the election’s recent focus on cultural issues, pledged to abandon the tax-credit censorship effort put forth earlier this year in the much-maligned Bill C-10. The Tory platform does not, however, mention CTF.

A Green Party spokesperson was not available for comment.

Mayson says the CFTPA has been in intense discussions with Canadian Heritage bureaucrats about the CTF since the CRTC released its report on the fund in June. ‘Our understanding was that recommendations would be taken to cabinet this fall. But the election campaign has thrown uncertainty into the process,’ he says.

The CRTC’s report called for the fund to be split into one ratings-driven stream and another for public broadcasting. The report also supports the establishment of a funding stream for new media that would come entirely from new sources, such as benefits packages, equity investments or use of the flexible part of broadcaster envelopes.

‘It’s anybody’s guess what will happen,’ CTF president Valerie Creighton tells Playback Daily, noting that the fund has taken the CRTC’s recommendations and done detailed modeling to try to figure out what the implications will be if its structure changes. ‘We have advised the department as to our views,’ says Creighton.

While the CTF president wasn’t specific about which direction the fund should take, the Writers Guild of Canada is opposed to splitting the fund in two. ‘In our view there was no good reason given for dividing the fund. There is no statistical analysis and no good evidence. I understand they want to compromise, but I believe it’s unnecessary,’ WGC executive director Maureen Parker tells Playback Daily.

Mayson believes that whichever party is elected, CTF lobbying efforts must focus on the economic benefits of Canada’s TV industry. ‘Producers are business people. We need to talk economics,’ he says.