ACTRA Maritimes Blog

Background on Bill C-10: Why You Should be Concerned!

What is Bill C-10?

Bill C-10 is an omnibus bill to amend the Income Tax Act in a number of areas, including for example, implementation of the Atlantic Accord. Section (12) of Bill C-10 makes an amendment to Section 125.4 of the Income Tax Act giving the Minister of Canadian Heritage power to issue guidelines detailing the circumstances under which tax credit eligibility for Canadian film or television productions could be denied.

ACTRA and others in the film and television industry are extremely concerned that these new powers mean the Conservative government plans to act as the country’s morality police by denying financial aid for any film or television show it believes is not in the public’s interest.

ACTRA’s news release of Feb. 29, 2008, states, “The government is overstepping its bounds and interfering in an arms-length process. Withholding public funding for film and television productions it deems offensive is a dangerous direction for this government and it smacks of censorship,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA National Executive Director. More »

Tories plan to withhold funding for ‘offensive’ productions

GAYLE MACDONALD
From Thursday’s Globe and Mail
February 28, 2008 at 2:07 AM EST
The Conservative government has drafted guidelines that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show that it deems offensive or not in the public’s best interest – even if government agencies have invested in them.

The proposed changes to the Income Tax Act would allow the Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to projects deemed offensive, effectively killing the productions. Representatives from Heritage and the Department of Justice will determine which shows or films pass the test.

Game and talk shows, news, sports, reality television and pornography are already excluded from access to the tax credits. The proposed prohibition would cover a sweeping range of material, such as anything of an explicit sexual nature, that denigrates a group or is excessively violent without an educational value. More »