Halifax: This year marks the 15th anniversary of Halifax-based prodco Creative Atlantic Communications, and, although the company shifted its focus from corporate and commercial to television production only five years ago, it has already produced an impressive slate of original programming, including the satirical comedy series Liocracy, starring Leslie Nielsen, and the upcoming dramatic comedy series Robson Arms, coproduced with Vancouver-based Omni Film Productions.

Two weeks before Prime Minister Paul Martin’s July 20 unveiling of his new cabinet, Liza Frulla wasn’t even sure she would win her seat because of a close race with Thierry St-Cyr of the Bloc Quebecois. However, a July 6 recount in her Montreal riding of Jeanne-Le Ber proclaimed her the winner by 72 votes.

Despite being among nine new non-Canadian satellite services approved by the CTRC on July 15, it looks like the Arabic-language news service Al-Jazeera, out of Qatar, will not be hitting Canadian airwaves anytime soon.

More than half of the 22 new shows that will debut on Corus Entertainment’s children’s television stations in the fall are homegrown productions.

In 2003, the Canadian media and entertainment industry grew at a faster rate than in any other global region included in the fifth edition of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Entertainment and Media Outlook 2004-2008. The global study measures 14 major industry segments across five regions: the U.S., EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Canada.

Regina: Minds Eye Entertainment is gearing up for production on The Tommy Douglas Story, a two-part miniseries for CBC about the life of the Saskatchewan political icon. The role was supposed to be played by Douglas’ real-life grandson, Kiefer Sutherland, but the 24 star passed. Casting will continue through early August.

Toronto shops Urban Audio and Critical Post are merging to create a single post-production entity with some of the city’s top names in audio post. Critical Post principals John Smith, Tom Bjelic and Allan Fung, who won an Emmy last year for the miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil, are joining Urban Audio principals John Laing and Mark Gingras to form Urban Postproduction.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Montreal’s Audio Postproduction SPR, and, according to president Normand Rodrigue, staying on the edge of changing technology, while maintaining a stable staff, has allowed the company to expand. Starting as a two-person operation working on audio for corporate slide shows, SPR is now a one-stop film and television audio shop with a staff of 28, offering everything from sound design to dubbing.

Gala Presentations at the 29th Toronto International Film Festival, running Sept. 9-18, will include the world premiere of director/producer Taylor Hackford’s Ray, starring Jamie Foxx. The dramatic feature is a biopic of the late musician Ray Charles. Tom Hooper’s Red Dust, starring Hilary Swank, also makes its world premiere, and Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers will make its North American premiere.

It looks like the battle between Canada’s competing ratings sources is coming to an end.