Source : Globe & Mail

Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Bev Oda said Friday that the federal government will contribute $200-million over two years to the Canadian Television Fund, now rocked by a crisis of industry support that could stanch its cash flow.

Her announcement comes on the heels of the announcement by two of Canada's largest cable companies that they will withhold their payments to the fund to protest against the way it operates.

Ms. Oda said she wants to sit down next week with the major players in the fund to discuss their concerns.

She said the boycott by Shaw Communications and Vidéotron, which is controlled by Quebecor Inc., is a serious matter that will now speed up a planned review of the fund.

"By withholding their mandatory payments, it will create a challenge for the television fund to meet its cash flow requirements.

"It is by regulation of the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) that they're asked to make a contribution to the production industry," Ms. Oda told a news conference Friday on Parliament Hill.

Still, she said: "I'm confident that we can find resolution."

The minister says she wants to hear any complaints, particularly about how the fund is governed. She noted that the $250-million Television Fund, set up by the Liberals in 1996, was reviewed in 2001. A new governance structure was subsequently announced in 2005.

"Obviously there's still some concerns and discomfort with the structure that was set up. I would like to hear what those discomforts are."

Shaw and Vidéotron are pushing for more control over how $150-million a year in industry contributions is spent, including the one-third share that goes to independent companies producing programs for the publicly funded CBC.

Douglas Barrett, chairman of the fund, says the TV production industry faced an impending $63-million budget shortfall after the Shaw and Vidéotron announcement.

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