Source : Directors Guild of Canada

Toronto, February 4, 2008 - The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) appeared before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today to advocate for continued support of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). In its presentation, the DGC strongly urged the Commission not to adopt the potentially disastrous recommendations from the CTF Task Force Report released June 29, 2007.
 
"The CTF is the single most important fund for the creation of original Canadian programming," said Brian Anthony, DGC National Executive Director and CEO. "Contrary to the recommendations of the CTF Task Force Report, we feel it's vital that the CTF continue to fund 10-point Canadian production. Modifying this key CTF requirement would severely damage the Canadian independent production sector and, by extension, the richness and diversity of the Canadian broadcasting system," he added.
 
The DGC contended that no evidence was submitted to the Commission to support the notion that 8-point productions would be more successful than 10-point productions in attracting Canadian viewers. CTF funded productions of the past few years such as Degrassi: The Next Generation, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Shake Hands with the Devil: the Journey of Roméo Dallaire, Intelligence and The Border, have been successful with audiences and received acclaim in Canada and abroad.
 
The DGC also advocated maintaining one central fund. Broadcast distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions should not be taken out of the CTF and directed to a separate commercial fund. Because BDU payments to the CTF are a regulatory obligation under the Broadcasting Act, those monies are inherently imbued with a public trust. "The CRTC must ensure that BDU contributions go toward satisfying public policy objectives," said Monique Lafontaine, DGC General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs.  "The best way to achieve this is to ensure the existence of a single fund that supports ten out of ten, high quality, Canadian programming," added Lafontaine.
 
The DGC countered the Task Force's recommendation that $25 million of CTF money be invested in new media. "We have no objection to the creation of a new media fund but do object to plundering the CTF to do it," said DGC president, Alan Goluboff. "The CRTC should explicitly articulate how these redirected monies are to be used before siphoning 10% of the already oversubscribed CTF budget to the initiative."
 
The CTF is the lifeblood of domestic television production in Canada. The Fund has invested $2.5 billion in Canadian TV production since its inception. CTF investment acts as a trigger to other financing, so it has helped create more than $8.25 billion in total production, bringing more than 25,000 hours of new, high-quality Canadian programs to our television screens.
 
About the Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a national labour organization that represents over 3,800 key creative and logistical personnel in the film and television industry covering all areas of direction, design, production and editing. The DGC negotiates and administers collective agreements and advocates extensively on issues of concern for members including Canadian content conditions, CRTC regulations and ensuring that funding is maintained for Canadian film and television programming.

© Directors Guild of Canada