Bill C-10 and Canada’s film industry

By Susan Noakes, CBCNews.ca
April 10, 2008

A scene from the controversial upcoming film Young People F—ing. Productions like this one might be in jeopardy if the Canadian Senate passes the Conservative government’s Bill C-10. (Copperheart Entertainment)

What is Bill C-10?

Bill C-10 is an omnibus bill amending the Income Tax Act and contains a series of amendments affecting a variety of different industries, funds and individuals. It has been passed by the House of Commons and is now before the Senate.

The issue that concerns Canada’s film and television community is Section 120, which would allow the Heritage Minister (currently Josée Verner) to withdraw tax credits from productions determined to be “contrary to public policy.”

How would it work?

The minister would create a set of guidelines for film and television producers. The guidelines have not yet been established but would cover violence, hatred and sexual content in film and TV productions, or anything else the minister believes should not be financed by Canadian taxpayers. Committees within the heritage and justice departments would be charged with vetting productions and implementing the guidelines. Any film or television program found to have contravened the guidelines could have its tax credits withdrawn and might be asked to repay funding given through Telefilm, the federal film funding agency, or the Canadian Television Fund, the federal funding agency for TV.

“Bill C-10 has nothing to do with censorship and everything to do with the integrity of the tax system,” Heritage Minister Josee Verner has said. “The goal is to ensure public trust in how tax dollars are spent.”

Who is in favour of C-10?

The federal Conservative party; conservative religious leaders including Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition; lobby groups such as Canadians Concerned about Violence in Entertainment and Real Women of Canada.

Who opposes it?

Canada’s creative community, including the producers’ associations, the performers’ union ACTRA, the Writers Guild of Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, as well as all the opposition parties. Some members of the Senate are against it, including Wilfred Moore, who has asked, “Are we trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist?”.

What are their concerns?

The film and television industry is concerned Bill C-10 would restrict the kinds of movies and TV shows that can be made in this country. The Writers Guild of Canada says writers would be forced to self-censor and second-guess how a government committee might respond to any given production. There is also concern that the minister has the power to set a community standard for the whole country.

Screenwriter Rebecca Schechter, president of the Writers Guild of Canada, said the bill will “put a chill on the entire film industry.”

“What the guidelines will do is force writers to self-censor,” she told the Senate committee examining Bill C-10. “They will be trying to decide how much violence is appropriate and whether the sexuality shown will meet the criteria for educational purposes.”

The Canadian industry has given rise to controversial works such as The Boys of St. Vincent and The Valour and the Horror and violent yet critically acclaimed films such as David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises. Enforcing a steady diet of innocuous family-friendly productions would result in a less vibrant industry and force Canadian talent to go elsewhere, says actor and director Sarah Polley. Polley said her own film, Away from Her, could not have found funding under the proposed new rules.

“To say to us, ‘Well, you can replace the government tax credit with private money,’ has no basis in reality,” she told the Senate committee. “When you are telling us to make it with private money, you are telling us to leave the country if we want to making anything remotely controversial.”

What are the existing rules for publicly funded films?

Pornography is already excluded from receiving government financing and tax credits. Productions that are contrary to the Criminal Code, including child pornography and content that contravenes Canadian hate laws, also do not qualify.

There are already vetting mechanisms to weed out such films at Telefilm, at provincial funding agencies and through the broadcast system, in which broadcasters demand work for a specific audience or in a particular genre.

What are the possible effects on the film-financing system?

Canada’s independent film and television creators apply for tax credits to help support financing of a production before it is made. Banks lend money to producers based on both the expected return from the work and the expected tax credit due to the producer. Co-producers, including international investors, also consider such credits when providing financing. The tax credit usually doesn’t come until 18 months later.

Producers say uncertainty over whether the credits will be honoured could mean lenders would not be willing to back Canadian films and TV. Film- and television-makers say the system will collapse if the government can retroactively withdraw tax credits or force producers to repay grant money from organizations such as Telefilm or the Canadian Television Fund.

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association estimates film and TV production is worth $5 billion to the Canadian economy and employs 127,000 people.

What are the rules for foreign productions?

Foreign productions, including U.S. films and television made in Canada and employing Canadian crew, would not be covered by the provisions that withdraw tax credits. Canadian film- and television-makers say this is a double standard that places Canadian productions at a disadvantage.

The government says foreign productions should be exempt, because they do not get tax credits for Canadian content but have been a force for building the Canadian industry.