For immediate release

(Toronto, Ontario) - Concerned with declining government funding for the province's public educational  broadcasters and the recent loss of made-in-Ontario programs on TVO, a coalition of families, educators, artists, and employees are coming together to seek a greater voice in shaping the future of TVO and TFO. The Our TVO / Notre TFO campaign will be engaging Ontarians and their government over the next year in an effort to demonstrate that TVO and TFO still matter and that there are positive opportunities for renewal - including more local and on-air programming. The campaign will also highlight the work of the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), which has been responsible for issuing over 10,000 educational certificates and diplomas to students across Ontario.

The Our TVO/ Notre TFO campaign is also welcoming former TVO star Joseph Motiki as its spokesperson. Motiki has participated in a half-dozen different productions at TVO over the last eighteen years; he was co-host of TVOKids Crawlspace, and host of Reach for the Top and the Gemini-nominated What. 

"My time at TVO allowed me the opportunity to experience the positive effects of educational broadcasting, as well as the budget restraints TVO faces," said Motiki. "As we did then, TVO and TFO are doing more with less funding in real dollars than ever before. Yet now, we are losing important television shows. This doesn't sit right with me. TVO and TFO belong to all of us, and this campaign is intended to help people raise their voices."

The campaign was sparked by recent developments and potential implications. In the last Ontario Budget, the provincial government warned that TVO must "reduce its reliance on government funding."  On November 13, TVO announced the cancellation of three signature shows: Big Ideas, Allan Gregg in Conversation, and Saturday Night at the Movies.

The campaign has already attracted the support of a number of prominent organizations, including Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

"Public educational broadcasting is essential to ensuring access to quality television programming that tells stories by and for Ontarians and Canadians," said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "TVO and TFO fulfill that role in Ontario but they can and should be doing more, and the provincial government needs to support them in that effort."

Specifically, the campaign is calling on the Government of Ontario, TVO, and TFO to work together to achieve the following goals:

• Stable government funding
• An enhanced commitment to made-in-Ontario programming
• A greater voice for TVO/TFO stakeholders in determining the direction of the organization

"I know the challenges we all face in Ontario: a struggling economy, rapidly changing technology, and general uncertainty," said Motiki. "At times like this, we seek trustworthy agencies that can unite us, and serve as a resource for information and discovery. I know first-hand that TVO, TFO, and ILC have been such institutions - and they still matter."

About Our TVO / Notre TFO campaign

The Our TVO / Notre TFO campaign is a coalition of families, educators, artists, and employees of the province's public educational broadcasters who are coming together to seek a greater voice in shaping the future of TVO and TFO. More information is available at www.ourtvo.ca and www.notretfo.ca.  

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For further information please contact:

Christopher Holcroft
Empower Consulting / Public Response
416-996-0767
Christopherholcroft@hotmail.ca