The former chairman of the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities says President Obama should add a secretary of culture position to his cabinet.
Ethics experts say the appointment of broadcaster Mike Duffy to the Senate raises questions about his professional neutrality as a journalist.
Columnist says that whether real or imaginary, journalist appointments by government are viewed as the reward for obedient conduct
Sheridan Scott, the head of the Competition Bureau who ran into trouble with the Conservative government this year, is leaving her post.
Heritage Minister James Moore denies Conservative plans to cut $200 million from the CBC's parliamentary grant and says funding for arts and culture will be part of an economic stimulus package.
The U.S. is about to move to digital TV broadcasts, paving the way for a similar move in Canada.
Analyst says that with the Obama administration set to "reshape" the U.S. economy "to compete in the digital age," now is the time for Canada to do the same.
FRIENDS says a confidential source had alerted the organization of Conservative plans to slash $200 million from the CBC's parliamentary grant.
Columnist says that after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, high-level media executives met with White House officials to discuss ways that the entertainment industry could play a part in improving the image of the United States overseas.
Senior Conservative says Stephen Harper has shot himself in the foot for ideological reasons — much as he did when he announced $45 million in arts funding cuts last summer.
Heritage Minister asks CBC managers to reduce their expenses.
The former chief of staff to Prime Minister Harper says a five-per-cent cut to the CBC budget might be called for.
Culture exchange during the November 20th House of Commons Question Period.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest has promised to abolish the provincial sales tax of 7.5 per cent on culture-related products.
Finance minister Jim Flaherty says the CBC is not on a list of Crown assets that could be sold as a way of balancing the government's budget.
FRIENDS ad campaign delivers message to Conservative Party convention delegates that strengthening Canada's cultural sovereignty, as previous Conservative governments have done, could boost Stephen Harper's political fortunes.
Canada's new Heritage Minister defends cutting arts programs and says he wants to move beyond recent conflicts with the cultural community.
Heritage Minister James Moore says he has no plans to cancel the $45 million in cutbacks announced before the start of the federal election campaign.
Heritage Minister James Moore cites economic instability and unsuitable bids as reasons to abandon plans for the Portrait Gallery of Canada.
A decision in Fox v. FCC could sharply cut back - maybe even eliminate - the U.S. broadcast regulator's authority to police the airwaves for indecent content, experts say.
Columnist says that James Moore, the new Minister of Canadian Heritage, doesn't carry the chip on his shoulder about artists that he asserts that some Conservatives do.
Vancouver MP James Moore is expected to become the Minister of Heritage in Stephen Harper's new cabinet.
Industry observers say the appointment of media savvy and bilingual James Moore as the minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages may signal the Conservatives are ready to take culture seriously.
The Copyright Board of Canada has issued a decision that addressed the prospect of establishing a royalty on hundreds of thousands of websites.
Digital media producers are bracing for the potential elimination of Telefilm Canada's Canada New Media Fund.
Columnist says Stephen Harper should stick to governing the country and leave bureaucrats to "sweat the small stuff" - like culture cuts.
After seeing arts funding jostle for the spotlight during the election campaign, the arts community says it will continue to monitor cultural decisions from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's strengthened minority government.
Columnist says artist protests over $45 million in arts funding cuts during the national election campaign helped deny Stephen Harper a majority government.
Columnist says that Stephen Harper lost his chance at a majority government on Aug. 8 2008, when it was first reported the Conservatives were about to cut funding to arts and culture.
Columnist says Stephen Harper was wrong to suggest that artistic creations and working life are two divergent realms.
An Australian public interest advocate has requested NDP Leader Jack Layton address allegations of illegal activities involving the Canada's federal broadcast regulator and media companies.
Columnist says that Conservative arts policies aren't financial, they're ideological.
The Conservative Party did not reply to questions about key policy issues related to media and communications in this election campaign.
A private member's motion calling on Ontario to ask Ottawa to force TV companies to carry provincial and territorial legislative proceedings has received unanimous support from Ontario's legislature.
FRIENDS campaign mentioned in article about how social movements have impacted the federal election.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's promise to reverse plans to scrap tax credits for productions deemed offensive to Canadian viewers came as a pleasant surprise to those in the film and television business and a major blow to the religious right.
Article analyzes the arts and culture platforms of the NDP, Liberal Party, Conservatives, Green Party and Bloc Québécois.
Media union tells arts supporters "If we lose control of our media, we lose control of the messaging of our national identity and democratic debate."
Canadian actors, writers and other artists rallied in Toronto to send the message voters should consider culture when they go to the polls.
Although the three main opposition parties say they would renew the Canadian Television Fund, the Conservative Party has remained mute on the issue, contributing to worries about the future of Canadian TV.
The Conservatives are promising to reintroduce controversial copyright-reform legislation if they are re-elected.
Editorial questions the figures used to describe the "economic footprint" of the Canadian arts and culture sector.
Author says artists with real talent will find their own audiences and don't need government assistance.
Columnist says the Tories kept a low profile at the National Arts Centre's annual fundraising gala that was politicized this year by the prime minister's recent criticisms of the arts community.
Author Margaret Atwood says she would - if she lived in Quebec - vote for the separatist Bloc Québécois to stop Stephen Harper from forming a government.
Filmmaker who's work sheds a positive light on Canada's military mission in Afghanistan says he is being censored by the arts community.
According to figures released by CTV, the English-language election debate grabbed nearly three million viewers.
Author and filmmaker says ordinary working people should be outraged by how little the Canadian government supports arts and culture.
Senior Conservative official says selling off the CBC "would ensure that a future Conservative government majority would be a one-term majority and that's not what [Mr. Harper's] about".
Columnist wonders if recent decisions by CBC management are a result of the public broadcaster trying to make itself more palatable to a possible majority Conservative government.
Columnist says Stephen Harper's Conservatives have used arts and culture to drive a wedge between "classes" of Canadians.
According to a Nanos survey, nearly two-thirds of Canadian voters (63%) think the government's investment in CBC is a good use of taxpayers dollars.
According to a Nanos survey, nearly two-thirds of Canadian voters (63%) think the government's investment in CBC is a good use of taxpayers dollars.
The U.S. Congress is close to passing legislation that would buy extra time to finalize an agreement intended to save the emerging Internet radio market from a hike in copyright royalty rates.
Stephen Harper has pledged a re-elected Conservative government would create a tax credit for children's artistic activities.
Columnist says Stephen Harper could be the first politician to show contempt for culture during a campaign, then reverse himself in office by showering money on the arts.
Columnist says Stephen Harper's comments about culture being a "niche concern" shows the narrowness of the Conservative vision for Canada.
Editorial says it is time to reevaluate how arts grants and subsidies are apportioned.
Provincial and territorial culture ministers slam the Conservative government's $45-million cutbacks to arts programs and call for a special meeting with the federal government after the election.
Columnist says Stephen Harper's comments on the arts show he is out of touch with what Canadians want from their country.
Outraged film and television actors defended their industry while taking shots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper for suggesting that ordinary Canucks don't care about arts funding.
Canadian actors and artists say the arts is a resource that comes from the minds of Canadians and delivers fantastic returns in the form of quality of life, education and national identity.
Political analysts says the arts may play a role in this election because it is throwing the Conservative's Quebec strategy off target.
World renowned author says Stephen Harper has demonstrated that he has no knowledge of, or respect for, the capacities and interests of "ordinary people."
The head of Quebec's largest actors' union has made a rare appeal — he's calling for the need to protect pan-Canadian culture.
Stephen Harper takes a swipe at members of the arts community in Quebec who have opposed his party's funding cuts.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion attacks Conservative leader Stephen Harper for censoring Canada's artists and underfunding cultural industries.
Letter from a FRIENDS supporter on the value of the CBC and Canadian culture in light of Conservative government cuts to arts funding.
Blog post contains the text of Stephen Harper's controversial comments on arts funding during a campaign stop in Saskatoon, SK.
NDP Leader Jack Layton warns that a Conservative majority government would slash or privatize the CBC.
Video of Prime Minister Harper at a press conference in Saskatoon, SK responding to criticism of cuts to arts and culture funding.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has dismissed mounting criticism of arts cuts by calling culture a "niche" issue that doesn't resonate with "ordinary" Canadians.
Columnist says that in Quebec, the Conservatives' recent $45-million cuts to the arts have morphed into an issue of cultural survival.
The host of Q on CBC Radio One says we should stop pretending that culture is outside of the interests of Canadians.
The federal Liberals have pledged to reverse millions in Tory cuts and also boost arts and culture spending by $530 million over the next four years.
The executive director of the Canadian Screen Training Centre says the school may have to close if Conservative cuts to arts spending are implemented.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has lashed out at criticism of federal cuts to arts programs and lectured the Quebec government to get its priorities straight.
Stephen Harper's Conservatives have promised $25 million for French-language television programming if re-elected.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest is convinced the federal government will give in and restore $45 million in grants for artists and cultural enterprises.
Editorial says that if Stephen Harper believes he can bring greater efficiency to federal funding of the arts, he should do so openly – not by stealth cuts or smear campaigns.
Blog post says a Conservative Party fundraising letter gives an "unappetizing" hint of what could be in store for the CBC if Stephen Harper and his Tories win a majority in the upcoming election.
A Canadian Human Rights Commission ruling states that a website operator can be charged under federal human rights law if visitors to their site post hateful comments.
In light of controversial comments and a provocative fundraising letter from his party, FRIENDS says Prime Minister Harper should tell Canadians where he stands on the CBC.
Columnist says Quebec's artists are in a full-blown rage over what they perceive as the Tory government's contempt for the artistic community in this country.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest calls on the Harper government to roll back cuts of about $45 million in funding for Quebec artists.
Canadian unions and guilds criticize Prime Minister Harper for saying public subsidies should not go to cultural products that fail to connect with audiences.
The Minister of National Defence says the Conservative Government has increased funding for the arts since coming to office by almost eight per cent.
CBC says it will not take a TV signal directly from a new Conservative party broadcast studio.
The industry minister says the Conservatives are considering removing foreign ownership restrictions in the telecommunications industry.
Columnist says that digital issues that resonate with younger Canadians could help swing the balance of power in many ridings in the upcoming election.
Columnist speculates Prime Minister Harper is calling an election now because of the controversy caused by arts funding cuts and charges about film censorship.
Columnist is skeptical Canadian culture will be an issue in the presumed fall federal election.
Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald slammed the federal government for planned funding cuts totalling $45 million that he says will damage the province's cultural industry.
The Conservative government is axing a $14.5 million program — administered by Telefilm — which fosters the creation of internet content and its distribution.
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion says his party's election platform will champion arts and culture funding.
Artists, singers, actors, writers and politicians speak out at a Montreal rally against $48.5 million in funding cuts announced by the Conservative government.
Karen Kain, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a plea not to stop showcasing Canadian artists abroad.
A Conservative talking-points memo states one arts program was axed because its grant recipients included "a general radical," "a left-wing and anti-globalization think-tank" and a rock band that uses an expletive as part of its name.
The executive director of the Quebec Drama Federation says the majority of groups affected by funding cuts to culture are in Quebec.
Prime Minister Harper says federal investment in culture for the 2007-08 fiscal year was $3.4-billion, up from $3.2-billion in 2006-07.
The list provided by Canadian Heritage does not include a separate Foreign Affairs program to assist the travels of artists abroad.
Columnist says arts program cuts will leave Canadians without online access to their cultural and historical heritage and will do little to promote Canadian content to the rest of the world.
Columnist says the Conservative government cuts to culture stems from media coverage of Bill C-10, which sought to deny funding to TV productions and movies it considered distasteful or offensive.
Canada's Minister of Finance says the government cancelled arts programs that had either reached their objectives, had high administration costs, had poor performance, or did not give satisfactory results.
The voice of Canadian library users and professionals has issued a Grassroots Advocacy Kit to mobilize supporters on concerns about proposed copyright legislation.
Columnist says Conservative government cuts to culture could be a tactic to shore up their right-wing base going into a fall election.
An encounter with Laureen Harper gave a small Newfoundland & Labrador based theatre company the chance to lobby against Ottawa's recent cuts to arts funding.
Editorial says adequate government financial support for both the arts and sports should be non-negotiable, and setting up a false choice between the two makes little sense.
Columnist says that $40-million in cuts to cultural programs will be redirected to athletics and a bilingualism plan.
A faith-based conservative family group wants the Harper government to intervene to block a broadcasting licence issued to a new Canadian porn channel.
The Conservatives say they are committed to cutting $44.8-million in spending on arts and culture by April of 2010; call the PromArt program "a boondoggle."
Columnist says that proposed copyright legislation would forbid Canadians from recording television programs for archival purposes.
According to the U.S. government, nearly 6.4 million "over-the-air" TV households in that country have requested about 12 million coupons from the TV converter box coupon program.
Editorial says Canada's filmmakers, musicians, writers and visual artists have ample reason to be worried about their future.
The Conservatives say spending on cultural programs - including the CBC - is up 19.7 per cent from when the Liberals were in power.
Cultural organizations say funding cancellations will have 'devastating effect' on Canadian musicians, composers, artists and filmmakers.
Columnist says the "pettiness" of the Conservative government in cutting off money for artists is shameful.
The Department of Heritage is expecting to spend $324,000 for the Canadian delegation attending the Beijing Olympics.
Conservatives stay silent as details about large cuts to cultural funding emerge.
Eschewing formal announcements, the Conservative government have posted funding cancellation notices on the web pages of cultural programs.
Action alert asking Canada's writers to contact their MP and express concern with the government's cancellation of the Prom-Art program.
Editorial says that by cutting off funding to artists and cultural institutions, the Conservatives are only showcasing their own philistinism.
The federal government has not yet indicated whether it will continue to contribute to the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund which technically wind-down at the end of March 2009.
Bell is promoting a new product for archiving recorded television shows that will become illegal if the government's proposed copyright legislation becomes law.
Canadian Heritage Minister Josée Verner was among several Conservative party officials that refused to appear before the House of Commons ethics committee.
Author and journalist Gwynne Dyer, who became an example of wasteful federal spending when the Tories axed a program to send arts and culture abroad, says he traveled at the government's request and never applied for the grant he got.
Opposition Heritage Critic says the Conservative government's cuts to cultural programs hurts both the arts community and Canada's identity overseas.
Georgian government officials say the broadcast of all Russian TV channels in its territory was stopped as a response to an "information war" waged against their country.
The President and CEO of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association says the cuts to two programs that support cultural exports could not come at a worse time.
Columnist says that if Canada want's to have influence in the rest of the world, sending artists and writers abroad is an integral and cost-effective part of marketing 'Brand Canada'.
Columnist says artists such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cirque Eloize and authors David Adams Richards and Susan Swan have been "injured and insulted" by the federal government's decision to cancel a grant program.
The Department of Canadian Heritage has announced it will no longer provide financing to Trade Routes — a program that helps organizations in the arts and cultural sector prepare to export and sell their goods and services in international markets.
The federal government is set to cancel a program that sent artists abroad to promote Canadian culture because money "went to groups that would raise the eyebrows of any typical Canadian".
The Minister of Canadian Heritage has appointed communications professional Marlie Oden as a member of the board of Telefilm Canada.
Columnist says U.S. television networks are challenging a 1969 court decision that strikes the correct balance of rights between broadcasters and citizens.
Columbia Law School professor says the information age is fueled by bandwidth and governments must be careful not to repeat the history of the oil industry by creating a 'bandwidth cartel'.
EU approves French government plan to invest E150 million in France Télévisions during transition to advertising-free model.
Viacom has backed off its demands to gain access to the viewing habits and personal data of YouTube users.
Audio recording of Xavier Merlin from the French Department of enterprise and industry speaking about the incoming French Presidency of the EU and their prospective plans and priorities regarding the communications sector in Europe.
The government has responded to the Heritage Committee's study of CBC's mandate, rejecting the recommendation for a multi-year contract with Canadians.
Russia's new culture minister says the country's TV channels "are not in line with the state's cultural policy" and that "television is littered with material of poor quality and morals, which only does harm and no good."
Romania's Senate has ordered TV and radio stations to air more "happy" news, arguing that too much gloom is making people ill.
Columnist is critical of recent House of Commons hearings on proposed changes to CBC Radio Two.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled that radio hosts elected to political office can use the airwaves to promote their own political agendas.
The head of Canada's Competition Bureau says that as converging communications change consumer expectations and behaviour, policy makers will need to address the question of regulating the Internet.
Excerpts from House of Commons transcripts on Arts and Culture and the CBC Radio Orchestra.
Liberal senators have unveiled amendments to the controversial tax bill that could allow Bill C-10 to be sent back to the House of Commons for reconsideration.
Liberal senators say they will amend the controversial film-financing sections of the government's omnibus tax bill, despite the fact that the House of Commons passed the legislation as a confidence measure.
Columnist says the government has cast aside the concerns of business, education, and consumer groups by introducing a copyright bill that seeks to dramatically tilt Canadian law toward greater enforcement and restrictions on the use of digital content.
Minister of Canadian Heritage defends controversial tax bill.
New bill said to include contentious provisions including making it illegal to copy music from protected CDs to iPods.
The mayors of the biggest cities in Canada tell a Senate committee that removing the certainty of tax credits for the film and television industry would devastate a vital part of their economies.
A coalition of consumer groups has waded into the copyright reform debate, calling on the federal government to avoid introducing legislation that will limit consumer rights.
University of Ottawa internet law professor says the government has been editing Minister of Industry Jim Prentice's Wikipedia entry, removing mentions of the recent copyright-reform controversy.
Event organizers say no Conservative MPs attended the screening of a controversial Canadian film.
Actor Paul Gross tells the Senate banking committee that Bill C-10, which proposes to deny tax credits to productions deemed "contrary to public policy," could spell the end of his industry.
The NDP has introduced legislation to the House of Commons that seeks to keep the internet democratic, open and free from control by service providers.
A coalition of consumer organizations is urging all four federal political parties in Canada's parliament to take a position in favour of net neutrality.
Heritage Minister Josée Verner is invoking an 18th-century British parliamentary privilege in a bid to avoid testifying in a lawsuit involving her husband.
Editorial says the U.S. Congress should pass so-called "net neutrality" legislation.
Senator Barack Obama is urging the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution invalidating a decision to allow TV stations, radio stations and newspapers to be co-owned in the top 20 markets.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage has appointed G. Grant Machum, a Halifax lawyer, to the Board of Telefilm Canada.
Alberta Senator says amendments in Bill C-10 that allow the Heritage Minister to deny TV and film tax credits will harm Canada's cultural industries.
The House of Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage will be holding hearings on proposed changes to CBC Radio 2.
The Department of Canadian Heritage says it will pay for Bell ExpressVu service for residents of as many as 92 native communities so they can receive the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
Canadian broadcasters say licence fees of more than $100-million a year "are over and above payments made to the CRTC to defray the cost of the regulation and supervision of the industry".
A federal court has ruled that Ottawa has the right to charge television and radio broadcasters, along with cable and satellite distributors, fees for their licences that exceed the basic cost of regulating the industry.
Canadian Filmmaker warns of a possible funding crisis for domestic film production if controversial tax-credit legislation passes.
Article says Conservatives used a litany of excuses not to attend the Governor-General's Performing Arts Awards Gala.
A Conservative party official says a fundraising campaign in which the CBC was criticized drove a significant number of donations into party coffers.
A Bloc private member's bill says foreign television stations should be permitted on Quebec airwaves to the extent they don't jeopardize the predominance of Quebec culture and the French language.
Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada says the government should implement the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage's report on the future of the public broadcaster.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has declared film tax-credit legislation a matter of confidence in the Conservative government.
Ted Rogers says there is a "better way" to get relaxed rules for cable companies than cable baron Jim Shaw's approach of writing a letter to the Prime Minister denouncing the CRTC.
The text of a letter sent to Shaw Communications in response to an earlier Jim Shaw letter concerning the CRTC broadcast distribution hearings and the Canadian Television Fund.
The National Union of Public and General Employees is urging the Liberals to support its call for laws that will keep the internet free from interference by service providers.
Editorial says Quebec politicians should not peruse proposals to gain more control or a veto over telecommunications policy decisions.
FRIENDS says plans to shut down TQS news outlets across Quebec likely won't happen because it goes against CRTC rules and could hamper Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chances of winning seats in Quebec.
A U.S. Senate committee has voted to nullify recently approved legislation that allows media companies to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market.
Columnist says a fight between Canada's cable industry and two national television networks is now being waged in the Prime Minister's office.
Josée Verner, federal Minister of Canadian Heritage, calls comments made by Brokeback Mountain director "completely erroneous".
Editorial says it's not censorship when a politician looks at what somebody is doing on a government grant and asks, "Why is the taxpayer paying for this dreck?"
Bloc proposal for Quebec-specific communications regulator that would sidestep CRTC said to develop out of 2006 Conservative government motion to recognize the Québécois as a nation.
Editorial says Bill C-10 at odds with principle of arts being at arm's length from political interests.
Author describes Sarah Polley as "lefty activist", argues Bill C-10 will not result in censorship of film and television production.
Bloc Quebecois readies legislative proposals to set up Quebec provincial communications regulator, opt out of national regulation by the CRTC.
Canadian actor argues proposed tax credit bill will place chill on creative community.
Chair of Senate committee studying controversial amendment to tax credit rules for film and television productions reveals Heritage Minister does not support the legislation.
Editorial says no government can be trusted with administering a proposed "contrary to public policy" test for film and television production tax credit eligibility.
Columnist attributes end of hit Canadian production Corner Gas partly to threat of censorship implied by Bill C-10.
Columnist says Conservative government's plan to restrict tax-credit funding for "unacceptable" film and television content far more troubling than reduction in classical music on CBC Radio 2.
FRIENDS says government report shows tax credits are essential to Canadian production, calls public investment in the arts one of the cheapest and best investments Canada can make.
ACTRA responds to Conservative MP's negative characterization of actor/filmmaker Sarah Polley following her presentation before Senate Banking Committee concerning Bill C-10.
Creative community calls for restrictive definition of proposed "contrary to public policy" criterion that would be used to determine eligibility for film and television production tax credits.
Poll co-sponsored by FRIENDS finds two-thirds of Canadians trust the CRTC and expect the federal government to preserve Canadian identity and culture on television.
The Canadian Heritage Minister says she would allow members of the entertainment industry to draft guidelines to establish what would not qualify for film and television tax credits.
Outspoken Montreal MP Denis Coderre has been shifted to the role of Liberal Party critic for Canadian Heritage.
The national chair of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says a Bloc Québécois private member's bill is "dangerous on a censorship basis".
The Chinese broadcast regulator says it will shut down or punish dozens of video-sharing Web sites for carrying content deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security.
The Heritage Minister announces $539,471 to establish and manage community radio stations.
Columnist says that The Tories would rather that homegrown films no longer challenged, transgressed or helped define Canadian society, but were instead popular and pointless.
Columnist says that a perceived hidden agenda against culture could hurt the Conservative party in the next federal election.
Columnist says the government has every right to decide how public money is spent on film and TV.
Columnist says controversial Bill C-10 contains elements that film and TV executives have urged Ottawa to enact such as greater transparency and first-time assistance for script development.
Columnist says Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner hasn't sufficiently explained why the federal government needs to be involved in approving films for funding.
Minister for Canadian Heritage takes exception to an article that implies a lack of engagement with the arts.
CEO and executive producer of Gala-film says Bill C-10 puts at risk a $5-billion-a-year cultural industry that employs 127,000 Canadians.
She snubbed the Genies, her party stands accused of promoting censorship, but Josée Verner insists she is a friend of the arts.
Columnist says throughout history, governments, especially those of a totalitarian mindset, have shut down art they didn't like.
Columnist notes that the Liberals moved to strip tax credits from film and video productions deemed "contrary to public policy" in 2003 with little fanfare.
Toronto city council has joined the Toronto Film Board to oppose the federal government bill that could deny tax credits to TV and movie productions deemed to have "offensive content."
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says a bill that would require the CRTC to craft and enforce rules on television violence is unnecessary because private broadcasters are already tackling the issue through self-regulation.
An expert on law and the internet discusses issues such as copyright, net neutrality, cultural funding, and the definition of a journalist.
Columnist says the Conservatives, who were on the brink of introducing new copyright legislation in December, now might not do so in their minority government.
B.C.'s TV and movie makers say a proposed tax law allowing Ottawa to claw back tax credits from offensive productions could have a devastating impact on the province's $1.2-billion industry.
Columnist sees parallels between Jim Shaw's attack on the CTV and the Conservative bit to rescinded tax credits for TV and film productions deemed "offensive."
Under the proposed changes to federal tax legislation, Canadian films that receive public funding may be scrutinized by the government for their moral suitability, yet Hollywood films shot in Canada that have applied for tax credits will get a free pass.
Jim Abbott, parliamentary secretary to Heritage Minister Josee Verner, told Heritage Committee members guidelines for awarding tax credits for film and TV shows judged contrary to public policy don't exist yet, claiming they won't be drawn up until the legislation is passed.
Senate Liberals are vowing to ensure that a controversial Conservative government bill doesn't wind up becoming a tool to censor Canadian films and television programs.
Filmmaker David Cronenberg says tax credit changes "is akin to a Communist Chinese panel of unknown people, who, behind closed doors, will make a second ruling after bodies like Telefilm Canada have already invested."
Columnist says Canada's commercial TV networks spent $107-million more on foreign programming than on Canadian programming last year, the widest gap between Hollywood productions and locally made content the industry has ever seen.
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association says an amendment to a federal tax credit program may devastate Canadian film and television production.
Richard Stursberg, CBC executive vice-president of English services, pokes fun at a government proposal to deny tax credits to productions containing offensive content.
Columnist suggests that a Conservative bid to amend tax legislation for Canadian TV and movies demonstrates a lack of tolerance.
Humorist defends a proposed tax credit change for Canadian movies as Prime Minister Harper.
A Canadian cinema professor says Telefilm Canada already makes assessments about what to support with tax-dollar grants, so a Conservative government proposal would add another bureaucratic layer of censorship.
Editorial calls the broadening of the Conservative government's power to deny tax credits to films and TV shows it deems offensive "troubling".
Groups representing Canada's film and television producers say the government needs to explain the motivation behind a plan to deny tax credits to productions deemed to have offensive content.
Editorial says a new film tax-credit law may appeal to core Conservative voters, but it will alienate potential voters who don't want the country led by "social dinosaurs".
The president of the Canada Family Action Coalition is claiming credit for the federal government's move to deny tax credits to TV and film productions that contain "offensive" content.
FRIENDS says Conservative party recommendations would be extremely damaging to the CBC, especially its English television network.
FRIENDS says Conservative members of the House of Commons heritage committee were probably ordered by the PMO to toe the party line of no new funds for the CBC.
FRIENDS says a Conservative report calls for the CBC to do more but denies the public broadcaster the required resources.
Critics say new rules that would allow the Conservative government to pull financial aid for any film or TV show that it deems offensive could potentially violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Canadian Media Guild urges the government to move quickly to implement the heritage committee's recommendations, particularly those that call for enhanced funding.
Conservatives reject a Heritage Committee proposal that CBC should broadcast only Canadian TV programming in primetime during the week.
The federal Heritage Committee is recommending that the CBC's funding be increased from $33 per person each year to $40 and that CBC-TV be less dependent on advertising revenues.
FRIENDS says that the Conservatives' refusal to support funding for heritage committee recommendations is setting the CBC up to fail.
The Opposition Critic for Canadian Heritage calls the lack attention to culture in the federal budget "a joke".
ACTRA says the federal budget was a missed opportunity to increase funding to the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm.
Columnist says that the 2008-2009 federal budget will be a disappointment to Canada's artists, cultural organizations and art lovers.
FRIENDS says the appointment of a former Conservative candidate as a CRTC commissioner "doesn't pass the smell test".
FRIENDS says that it is unlikely the Conservative government would cut off the CBC in any decisions made regarding the Canadian Television Fund.
Canadians living near the border who get their television signals over the air from nearby American stations will lose service when the U.S. moves to digital transmission.
Columnist says a who's who of the telecom, Internet, retail, and broadcast communities have come together to call for fair and balanced copyright reform.
FRIENDS says a Conservative minority report on the Heritage committee review of the CBC would substantiate concerns that the government has a hidden agenda for public broadcasting.
One year from today, over-the-air analogue broadcasts will cease to be in the United States as the nation switches to digital.
A group that includes Google, Yahoo, Rogers, Telus, the Canadian Alliance of Broadcasters and the Retail Council of Canada have banded together to push for less restrictive copyright reform.
A congressman says the FCC should proceed with caution when considering to approved wireless electronic devices that may disrupt new digital TV signals.
CRTC hearings on the Canadian Television Fund hear that Canadian consumers may be owed more than 1.2 billion dollars.
One of the architects of the federal Broadcasting Act says the legislation has been a success except for one glaring failure: the English-language television side of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Former leader of the Reform Party says a clarification of the rules governing relations between federal politicians and quasi-judicial regulators - like the CRTC - is needed.
The department of Canadian Heritage has announced it plans to "redesign" the Publications Assistance Program and the Canada Magazine Fund that currently provide more than $76-million annually to an estimated 1,200 newspapers and magazines.
In a public letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart cautions against using forthcoming copyright legislation reforms to undermine privacy.
The president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors says he is stepping down and starting a consultancy to manage government relations for Hollywood studios in Canada.
Columnist looks at the constantly evolving relationship between Canada's broadcast media and the federal government.
The former director of the National Gallery of Canada says the private sector is no place for a 'public cultural asset' like the Portrait Gallery.
Columnist says forthcoming government decisions on copyright reform and the regulation of online content may redefine Canadian identity.
In the U.S. each household can apply for up to two coupons worth $40 each to help defray the cost of switching from analog to digital television broadcasting.
An Open Letter from Hon. Mauril Bélanger, Official Opposition Critic for Canadian Heritage, Francophonie and Official Languages, to the Competition Policy Review Panel.
Owners of small U.S. television stations that reach rural populations or specialize in community affairs and minority programming worry the digital transition is going to leave their audiences watching a blank screen.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is proposing to ban advertising on public television, and tax private TV operators and Internet access to finance ad-free state television.
A blog about news and politics posts correspondence between Doug Finley, the National Campaign Director for the Conservative Party of Canada, and CBC's Ombudsman.
Columnist cites CRTC intervention into new media and copyright reform as technology law issues to watch in 2008.
An executive with Best Buy Canada says that if the government makes the wrong choices in copyright law reforms the result will be higher prices, more litigation and less useful content and technology.
Writer says the Canadian Copyright Board is wrong in approving a new "levy" on the sale of iPods and other digital music players because they can be used to copy movies and music.
Columnist says that arts and culture may be election issues when Albertans go to the polls later this year.
