Mr. Chairman, members of the House of Commons, Mr. Vincent Leduc, Chairman of the board of directors of the APFTQ and myself, Claire Samson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the APFTQ, thank you for inviting us this morning to present our perspective on the current crisis surrounding the Canadian Television Fund.
The APFTQ represents the vast majority of independent television and film production houses in Quebec, that is more than 130 businesses.
As we expressed in the press conference held Tuesday in Montreal with five associations of the Quebec industry, the APFTQ considers that the decision by cable operators Shaw and Vidéotron to cut off their mandatory contributions to the Canadian Television Fund is unacceptable and holds the entire Canadian broadcasting system hostage.
By mid-February, the Canadian Television Fund must determine the amounts of the envelopes to be allocated to each broadcaster's programs. If the Canadian government and the CRTC fail to take rapid and appropriate action to force these two companies to respect the law, they will be sending a message to all companies, distributors and programmers alike, that they too are free to ignore any regulated obligation that does not suit them. Ultimately, this could lead to the collapse of the entire Canadian broadcasting regulatory framework, which would have disastrous consequences and be totally unacceptable.
As things stand, the CTF can no longer rely on private distributor contributions and could lose 60% of its funding—$150 million in fiscal year 2007-08. For the public, that will mean 60% less Canadian drama, documentaries, youth and variety programing. It will mean 60% fewer jobs for Canadian television writers, directors, performers, technicians, and composers, and undoubtedly many independent production companies will have to close down.
How can Canadian broadcasters be expected to plan their upcoming fall and winter schedules with this sword of Damocles hanging over their heads? How can they present their future programs to potential sponsors in May? Without sponsorship most channels will be unable to survive and fulfill their own conditions of licensing.
Vincent.