Taking action on C-10

The following letter was sent by one of our readers to members of the Canadian Senate and select members of parliament regarding the film censorship provisions in Bill C-10, amending the Income Tax Act. Good read; good job.

March 2, 2008


Senator Sharon Carstairs, Senator Maria Chaput, Senator Janis Johnson, Senator Mira Spivak, Senator Terry Stratton, Senator Rod Zimmer and Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette

The Senate of Canada

Parliament Buildings

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6


Dear Senators Carstairs, Chaput, Johnson, Spivak, Stratton, Zimmer and Hervieux-Payette,

I was shocked to discover the Conservative Government's plan to bring powers of censorship into the Canadian Tax Act through Bill C-10. The proposed amendment is an attack on freedom of speech in Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees it, something that was an unthinkable action throughout my tenure with the Department of Canadian Heritage. My first position with the Department was with CAVCO when it was undergoing the transition from a Capital Cost Allowance to a Refundable Tax Credit as an industry-based mechanism for supporting the development of a strong domestic film and television industry in Canada. I was privy to the stakeholder consultations that led to the drafting and passing of the legislation and guidelines for the program. Never once was content merit a factor in what is an economic stimulus. It is a market driven program that financially assists producers who are employing Canadian talent and skilled labour.

Not only is it shocking to hear that the proposed change was even a tenable consideration, but it is appalling that most of the film and television industry first heard of this late this week when Bill C-10 was before the Senate (having passed second reading). NDP Heritage Critic Bill Siksay was the only MP to admit that he hadn’t read the 600 page omnibus Bill to amend the Income Tax Act and that this clause was completely missed by the House of Commons. To bury this critical change in a house keeping bill lacks transparency and makes a sham of our Parliamentary system. I also noted that not a single public notice was posted by CAVCO nor were stakeholder consultations undertaken respecting this proposed change to the guidelines.

From Gayle MacDonald’s Globe and Mail article, Tories plan to withhold funding for 'offensive' productions, (Thursday, February 28, 2008):

Mark Musselman, vice-president of business affairs at Toronto's Serendipity Point Films and Maximum Film Distribution, said Wednesday that the implications are huge, “both from the perspective of freedom of speech and for the Pandora's box of uncertainty this will open up from a business perspective.”

If certification is denied, the producer would be on the hook to repay organizations such as Telefilm, which invests only in Canadian-certified productions, Mr. Musselman added. “This review panel totally fetters the discretion of Telefilm. What will it do, send the panel scripts it is worried might be too racy or offensive?”

He called a review procedure that determines eligibility for Canadian content certification after the completion of a film or TV show production “unworkable in terms of the cold, hard reality of financing these types of things,” adding that “it's entirely possible the whole financing structure could crumble.”

I had the opportunity to consult with Mr. Musselman when I worked at CAVCO and he is absolutely right in his assessment of the implications of such a change to the tax credit guidelines. The industry is now built on using the tax credit as a trigger to secure production financing from other sources.

The proposed change portends a very serious crisis for the business of producing film and television in Canada. It will make all other support instruments, including provincial tax credits, impotent in the face of this arbitrary content review for what is essentially a critical production financing instrument. Since its introduction in December 1995, the tax credit has been successful in stimulating a billion dollar film and television production industry. To hamper its administration and effectiveness by introducing a qualitative panel review makes little business sense. It puts ideology before fiscal stewardship.

Finally, I concur with the following statement by executive producer Karen Lee Hall ((Heroic Film Company) from her letter posted on the Facebook group, Keep your censoring hands off of Canadian film and TV! No to Bill C-10!:

Invoking murky, vague, undefined, subjective, moral judgment, a.k.a censorship, as the deciding factor for tax credit accreditation is very, very very bad for business. The Harper government needs to create any profoundly impacting legislation in consultation with the film, television and new media industries it's threatening to decimate.

I would underscore that the intent of this proposed amendment, with its provision to examine artistic content to ensure that it is not “contrary to public policy”, is censorship. Why else would representatives of the Department of Justice be tasked to participate in the review process?

These days it seems like the Senate is now the House of first sober look at these US-style omnibus pieces of legislation. I hope you can take this opportunity to rectify the negligence of the House of Commons and the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Best regards,

[real name deleted]


cc: Pat Martin, MP Winnipeg Centre

Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice

Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance

Mauril Bélanger, LPC Heritage Critic

Dominic LeBlanc, LPC Justice Critic

John McCallum, LPC Finance Critic

Bill Siksay, NDP Heritage Critic

Joe Comartin, NDP Justice Critic

Thomas Mulcair, NDP Finance Critic

Maka Kotto, BQ Heritage Critic

Carole Freeman, BQ Justice Critic

Réal Ménard, BQ Justice Critic

Paul Crête, BQ Finance Critic