Bill C-10
As many of you may know, the Cons in Ottawa are trying to push through their very first (though certainly not the last) censorship bill. For a little commentary on how the religious right has influenced the drafting of this Bill, see a posting I wrote a little while back called The jig is up for the Conservatives!
For those on Facebook, here is the link to a group that has been organized to mobilize opposition to the development of Stevie’s own little Ministry of Truth:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9036150977
This is important, folks. If this passes as-is, then Big Brother – through withholding of tax credits – have the ability to dictate the content of any Canadian film endeavor. There are some who argue that no one in the industry should receive credits and that the value of the film should be determined by the marketplace. And maybe this argument has some merit.
But whether one disagrees with the public funding of the arts or not, I think we can all agree that Big Brother should not have the right to grant or withhold said funding based on whether or not the work aligns with the government’s priorities!
Ottawa, Ontario
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And they inherited a $15 BILLION surplus!
I agree with you. This bill was brought forth solely for the purposes of censorship, but it illustrates a general problem with government paying what amounts to corporate welfare to support this sort of thing.
The linked debate is whether the solution is to just not fund this stuff at all.
Oh, and welcome back to blogging!
Like I said, that’s a different but linked debate – and I tend to agree with you in most cases. Though I can see some validity in an argument that supports public-funding for projects that are strictly for educational purposes (I for one would love to see a remake of one of those NFB films I saw as a kid that showed us how to hide under our desks in case of a nuclear attack!)
But I’m against the Bill more because the government – through an appointed board of review – cherry-pick which projects qualify for the tax credit and which do not. In this way they are not a censor per se but the end result is the same.
Personally, I don’t think the government should be funding this stuff AT ALL. The size of the country probably necessitates a government funded news network to keep everyone informed: The CBC. Anything beyond that should be the responsibility of private interests and should not be funded out of tax dollars.
Consequently, I’m against C-10 because, it doesn’t go far enough in denying film-industry welfar, and it is being brought forth for all the wrong reasons.