CanCon rules do not need vast overhaul, IIC Canada hears

OTTAWA–Delegates to the International Institute of Communications Canadian chapter’s annual conference were told Monday that current Canadian content rules are working, with only one dissenting panelist. The day got underway with a session called New Definition of Canadian Program. The panel began with Doug Barrett of York University’s Schulich School of Business describing the current regime. There are two funding frameworks, the Canadian Audio Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) and the CRTC regulations. CAVCO’s conditions break down into four components, Barrett explained. There must be Canadian producer control; there is a point system under which producers must hit at least six of 10 criteria; a certain amount of money must be spent in Canada; and producers must own their intellectual property (IP) rights. The CRTC framework, which has been in place since 1984, covers the first three of the CAVCO requirements but is silent on IP ownership. Production firms wanting the tax credit for investing in Canadian filmmaking must therefore get certification under the CAVCO rules. Barrett disputed that cultural ministries should be the ones to change the regulations. “Nothing will happen until CAVCO modifies its rules and changes, amends the income tax act,” he said. “I don't think it can be done without an actual amendment to the act.” He pointed out that 90 per cent of current productions hit eight to 10 of the CAVCO points, with 70 per cent attaining all 10. When asked about current CanCon regulations, Barrett was in favour of the current system. He compared hard rules versus requirements imposed by other agencies such as provinces or funding groups like the Canada Media Fund. He termed the latter fuzzy regulation. “Fuzzy regulation has the bigger impact on the system than the formal regulation,” he stated. Tandy Yuill, vice president at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, came out on the side of the status quo. “It’s not broken and I'm not convinced we need to fix anything,” she exclaimed. “It’s an objective framework, it’s efficient, it’s simple. The fuzzy regulation works to ensure that we have a rich and vibrant production sector in this country.” The executive director of the Black Screen Office wants the current rules tweaked rather than overhauled completely. “I think it’s worked as you see from the amount of production that’s come out, Canadian production as well as foreign service production,” Joan Jenkinson opined. “That’s not to say that it shouldn't change. There are some elements that could change in the point system.” The only naysayer was Wendy Noss of the Motion Picture Association–Canada (MPA-Canada). She said the current regime is anachronistic. “It’s really a policy tool that was developed more than 30 years ago to deal with an entirely different set of players, a different market,” the MPA-Canada president said. “Canadians broadcasters that operated in a closed market, that had access to public resources, a whole swath of legislative and regulatory benefits, protection from competition. It was a policy tool that was made for its time and the market it was in.” It was noted that IP ownership is vital for Canadian producers. Yuill illustrated the point by showing a poster for an updated Anne of Green Gables production broadcast on the CBC and on Netflix. The American poster showed a stylish Anne Shirley with perfect teeth and bluer eyes; the Canadian one more closely reflected the imperfections in the girl from the original novel. Barrett’s fuzzy regulation notion was praised by his colleagues as a way to ensure diversity in the broadcasting sector. Jenkinson said it was a question of investment policy versus cultural policy. Without a greater push for diverse voices, the stories of blacks in Nova Scotia, Haitians in Quebec and blacks in Alberta will not be told, she added. Barrett himself noted the Bell Fund recently released guidelines for putting underrepresented communities into the system. He does not believe that formal regulations are necessary. “A new production model would undo a lot of progress,’ he said. Noss agreed that fuzzy regulation was the way to go, arguing that more progress can be made if the system is less rigid. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

CanCon rules do not need vast overhaul, IIC Canada hears

Broadcast | May 15, 2023

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CanCon rules do not need vast overhaul, IIC Canada hears

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