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Why is our government so dumb?
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Right now any Canadian Film production or Television production can apply for tax breaks from the Canadian government (so can foreign productions who will be filming in Canada) and this helps to fund most Canadian productions.Which is good.

But the Harper government represented by Heritage Minister Josée Verner is proposing an amendment to the Income Tax Act that would allow the government to deny tax breaks to any Canadian production that contains sex, violence, or "other content" the government deems inappropriate or excessive. (this will NOT apply to foreign productions filming in Canada). This is bad.

This is a bad idea because: 1. It discriminates against Canadian artists (rules don't apply to foreign productions) 2. It will allow the government of Canada direct influence over the content of Canadian film and television productions (which it has never had before) 3. The government will decide what is inappropriate, and excessive 4. This will encourage Canadian artists to go work in other countries where they will not be censored or discriminated against


Why does the Canadian government hate Canadian TV and Film so much?

The idea behind the amendment would be to discourage excessively violent or pornographic productions receiving public funding - I don't know, were we having a lot of problems with violence and porn? Was that a big concern? I sort of thought protecting Canadian cultural sovereignty and encouraging Canadian artists to stay in Canada was important?


Funnily enough the Harper government, in this case represented by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, just rejected an American firm's takeover of MDA Corp. (Canada's space company - makes satellites and the Canadarm!) The potential takeover apparently raised a lot of "national sentiment" and could mean losing data from satellites that would be crucial to defending Canada's arctic sovereignty in a future dispute. Arctic sovereignty is very important - but not Canadian culture I guess.

Way to go Stephen Harper. You're doing a good job.

April 10, 2008 | 1:20 PM Comments  4 comments

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DeepEndZen Nick Yeo
April 10, 2008 | 2:24 PM
I actually think this is a partially good idea...
as it should encourage more private investment in filmmaking/TV production in Canada - if someone with the money wants to produce something that has excessive violence or overt sexuality, let them!

I think the problem boils down to the attitude that Canadian artists have of constantly going to the government for handouts. A lot of my filmmaking friends have told me that these tax breaks are vital for their production, but I think that's just a cop-out/a lame excuse... if your idea/story/script is compelling, you should be able to make a case that people will watch it, that it will be of value to the investor.

At the end of the day though, the bigger question here is how the government should be cultivating canadian culture, and I don't believe that tax breaks are the right way...
laurakenyon LauraK
April 10, 2008 | 2:33 PM

The problem is that there ISN'T much private investment in Canadian Film. We live next door to America - the competition is huge, and without the Canadian government funding we'd end up with little to no film industry at all (we already barely have a TV industry that makes original series). Even France has to heavily subsidize it's film industry in order to compete with America - despite the language barrier!

Besides - the amendment has absolutely nothing to do with encouraging private investment. If the Canadian government wants to do that it needs to do it seperately, in legislation that doesn't tack on any ability to first of all: a) decide what is not allowed and b) denies tax breaks to Canadians but not to Americans.


Actually now that I think about it - this amendment would probably discourage private investment in Canadian films - why would you fund a movie that will get no tax breaks? When you can fund some shite American slasher/boobs flick that will - and probably has a lot more money behind it to begin with? Tax breaks encouraging investment. Isn't that the Harper governments big philosophy anyways?
DeepEndZen Nick Yeo
April 10, 2008 | 3:51 PM

oh, I know that living next to the US puts Canada at a huge cultural disadvantage... I don't think that there is any other country in the world that has such a cultural imbalance when it comes to production and consumption.

And I agree that the government shouldn't be determining what is allowed/not allowed (ie. censorship) - especially when its tied to programs that are supposed to encourage the creation of art...

I'm honestly just tired of hearing that "no one out there will fund my project" tripe...I would love to see a commission system, like the ones that were in place for classical music. Composers were commissioned to write pieces because some rich count wanted one. I have no doubt that there are folks with money that simply want to have a film made, and would be willing to put up the money for it, for the sake of having the film made.

Of course, this won't fly if you're looking to make money out of film, and I think that's why I have different thoughts on this matter. If you're in it to make art/cinema/music etc - it shouldn't matter where you get your money from, its about creating an experience or expressing yourself. But if you're in it for the money, then your options are limited.
laurakenyon LauraK
April 10, 2008 | 4:37 PM

I don't agree with your idea that films could be commissioned the same way classical music or fine art was/is ... Films are much more complicated and way more costly. And they play a completely different role in culture - a rich person commissioning a piece of music to be played at their funeral is just .... a completely different scenario. It is rare for an individual to put up money for a film the way someone might commission a painting.

Anyways - your general point seems to be that filmmakers should be happy to get their money from anywhere, as long as they get to make their movie. The reality is that where you get your money from has a huge effect on the kind of film you will be able to make. Also - when the Canadian government gives tax breaks to productions it is to keep those productions in Canada - therefore securing jobs for all the many people who work on film sets or in related industries.
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