Vancouver: British Columbia’s new Liberal government was sworn in June 5 and began the biggest ministerial overhaul in provincial history.
Including Premier Gordon Campbell, there are 28 new cabinet ministers. Campbell was elected May 16 with 77 of 79 seats
While the ministerial changes affect the regulation of industries across the board, the film industry in particular has been shuffled.
The British Columbia Film Commission, funding agency British Columbia Film and, through the BC Pavilion Corporation, the government-run Bridge Studios, now fall under the new Ministry of Competition, Science and Enterprise, one of the portfolios designed to fuel economic growth.

Vancouver: There was no distributor to shield the freshman filmmakers behind child welfare feature Protection as they ventured into Vancouver and Toronto theatres June 8. …

VANCOUVER: B.C. voters booted out the most film-friendly government in provincial history May 16, but the new Liberal government is expected to build on that success….

Vancouver: Rogers Media and CanWest Global are among the six organizations expecting to file full proposals by June 29 to start an over-the-air multilingual station for the Vancouver market….

Victoria, BC: Moe Sihota, one of the most controversial and media literate politicians in the recently defeated NDP government, has signed on as co-host of the 6 p.m. news at The New VI, CHUM’s Victoria station going live this September….

Vancouver: Two years after its original application to the CRTC, Vancouver-based TalentVision won approval May 18 to expand from a regional B.C. signal to a national signal….

VANCOUVER: The West Coast film community dusted off its tuxes and glittery gowns for the May 11-12 Leo Awards, the one event each year that brings the local production community together in celebration. About 500 people attended the first night, while…

VANCOUVER: As the U.S. networks rolled out their fall schedules earlier this month, B.C. collected a handful of new television series….

Vancouver: When Sports Page, ‘the fastest 10 minutes in sports,’ sprints from CKVU-TV in Vancouver to CHEK-TV to Victoria Sept. 2, there are bound to be a few armchair quarterbacks fumbling their remotes.
The long-running weekday sports news show, a mainstay of CKVU’s local programming, is just one of many changes to the Vancouver viewing schedule that will lead to viewer confusion. And it’s one of the many programming reasons local broadcasters are banding together to launch an August PR campaign to help viewers sort it all out.
They all agree it’s going to be a mess.

Vancouver: Service production crew members who anticipate forced holidays by U.S. writers and actors strikes may want to reconsider their vacation plans this summer.
Fears about summer work stoppages and even slowdowns have nearly evaporated now that the Writers Guild of America has recommended its 11,000 members ratify a new collective agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and major U.S. networks. Most expect the Screen Actors Guild to follow suit.
‘We can’t jump the gun on [a deal for] SAG, but there is a wave of optimism sweeping the industry,’ says Pete Mitchell, GM at Vancouver Film Studios, where production deals for summer shoots have been firming up since the WGA deal was announced May 4.

Vancouver: Up to a half-dozen more local feature filmmakers will get British Columbia Film funding assistance in the next 12 months now that the board of directors has decided how to dole out new money given by the province in March. The NDP government, prior to the election call this month, gave B.C. Film $5 million to support more production over the next three years.
In fiscal 2001/02, which began April 1, B.C. Film will use $2 million to bolster its equity-financing envelope by $1.75 million and its development/marketing/skills development programs by $250,000.

Vancouver: CHUM Ltd. is hoping the CRTC overlooks its own policies yet again when it comes to the broadcaster’s $125-million purchase of Vancouver station CKVU announced this month.
Technically, the regulator still doesn’t allow broadcasters to own two stations in a single market such as Vancouver/Victoria. But historically, the now-defunct WIC Western International Communications operated BCTV in Vancouver and CHEK-TV in Victoria for years, disregarding demands from the commission to offload one. The thorny issue arose again when the CRTC allowed CanWest Global Communications, the former owner of CKVU, to keep both BCTV and CHEK in its acquisition of WIC’s television assets last year.
It seems the precedent is set for CHUM to add CKVU to its roster of stations including CIVI, its new station in Victoria that goes live in mid-September.