Source : The Calgary Herald

Having recently turned 18, Miriam McDonald will finally get to vote on Jan. 23.

McDonald, who plays Emma on Degrassi: The Next Generation, says she'll be looking to see which politicians are willing to increase support for the arts when it comes time to mark her X.

"That show is a perfect case in point of what all Canadian television has the capacity to do," she said.

"I just think we need more opportunities to create Canadian television to tell Canadian stories, and to develop a sense of pride in the Canadian public of Canadian performers."

McDonald was one of more than a dozen Canadian actors who banded together Wednesday in an effort to make culture an election issue.

Representing 21,000 professional performers, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists has been lobbying to ensure Canadian culture remains on the political agenda.

ACTRA wants Ottawa to force the CRTC to impose stronger content and spending requirements on private broadcasters. The group is also seeking increased, multi-year funding for the CBC, Telefilm and the Canadian Television Fund. Its final demand is that elected officials maintain the current limit of foreign ownership of private broadcasters to 47 per cent.

The group wants each federal party to divulge its arts funding intentions prior to election day. To date, the NDP and the Bloc have sent written responses to the group's questions.

The NDP said it would ask the CRTC to review its current prime-time content requirements.

The Bloc said it believed in tighter restrictions on foreign ownership to prevent "the sale of our culture" and more stable funding for Telefilm and Radio-Canada, as well as increased spending on feature-length films.

In its platform, the Liberal Party has promised to "strongly support Canada's culture through a range of programs and policies" including doubling funding for the Canada Council for the Arts to $300 million by 2008.

The Conservatives said the party would be releasing its policies in the next few days.

Without proper funding and strong regulations, Canadians will continue to be swallowed up by the U.S, said Wendy Crewson, who was joined at the news conference by homegrown stars including Sonja Smits and Colin Mochrie.

"Our politicians aren't doing anything about it," said the actor whose credits include The Sue Rodriguez Story and The Man Who Lost Himself.

"We are facing cultural integration with the U.S. and our next government needs to take immediate action. Our own broadcasters are more interested in simulcasting U.S. programming than they are showing Canadian programs."

In 1999 there were 12 Canadian TV dramas on the air, compared to just three in 2005, said actress Fiona Reid of King of Kensington fame and more recently My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

"We have to get the teeth back . . . We must not apologize for asking government to support our culture," she said. Added Karl Pruner, who acted in the CBC's Trudeau II series: "The (job) opportunities are drying up. I spend my career talkin' like this, and standing behind big American stars and learning accents from somebody's else's country," he said in a southern drawl.

© The Calgary Herald