Canada Shows The Way

Today, our CEO Matthew Deaner, congratulated the Minister Joly and the Canadian Government on its Creative Canada report.

Yesterday, the Canadian Government released Creative Canada the outcome of its long-running review Canadian Content in a Digital World. The key pillars to the new Canadian policy framework include securing investment in Canadian content and promoting discoverability of Canadian Content. Approximately 30,000 Canadians were involved in the Canadian Content in a Digital World review which was launched in September 2016.

Creative Canada shows what can be done when a government is determined to consult candidly and deliver substantive policy outcomes. A year ago, Minister Joly committed to an ambitious and exhaustive cultural policy review and she has delivered a new policy framework that will foster the growth of the Canadian film and television industry and Canadian cultural exports. Mr Deaner said.

Relevantly, the Canadian Government will:

increase its investment in the Canada Media Fund

ensure its tax offsets are available platform-agnostically

enter into a deal with Netflix to invest $500 million in Canadian content over five years

introduce measures to foster innovation in the production sector

review broadcasting and copyright legislation, and

implement a creative export strategy.

Canada and Australia share a similar framework for government support for film and television and we look on enviously at the work the Canadian Government has done for producers with Creative Canada. Screen Producers Australia has even recommended to the Australian Government several of the policies announced in Canada yesterday, including modernisation of our tax offsets and an export strategy for our industry together with more and better co-production treaties.

This week Screen Producers Australia provided its submission to the Australian and Children's Screen Content Review. This review was announced in May and is expected to make recommendations to Government in the context of the process for preparing the next federal budget, which begins in November. The Parliamentary Inquiry into the growth and sustainability of the industry is also expected to report in November.

Creative Canada is a timely intervention in Australia's domestic review processes. It was reported this week that Netflix opposed Australian content obligations, arguing it would distort our market. The reported deal between the Canadian Government and Netflix shows another way, but with increased competition in the streaming market, one-off deals will not give the market the ongoing certainty that an evolved regulatory environment offers. SPA will continue to advocate for local content obligations to be evolved to include new market entrants.

I also congratulate our colleagues at the Canadian Media Producers Association who have worked hard to develop creative solutions to the challenges facing Canada's production sector.

Download the release.

Media Enquiries:

James Cheatley

james.cheatley@screenproducers.org.au

0419 482 680

LINK:	https://screenproducers.org.au/news/canada-shows-the-way-2/...
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