Mr. Chairman, honourable members of the Standing Committee on Finance, my name is Brian Anthony. I'm the national executive director and chief executive officer of the Directors Guild of Canada.
I wish to thank you for this greatly appreciated opportunity to appear before you as your committee undertakes prebudget consultations. Since you undoubtedly had the chance to review the submission we sent in August, my opening remarks will be brief. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have at the end of my statement.
As you know from our brief, the DGC is a national labour organization that represents over 3,800 key creative and logistical personnel in 47 occupational categories in the film, television, and new media industry. Our sector is one that annually contributes some $5 billion of economic activity and generates over 131,000 jobs. We have come a long way as an industry in recent decades, and this growth and development is due in great measure to the leadership manifested by successive federal governments and their commitment to encouraging a vibrant film, television, and digital media industry in Canada. We have reached a plateau, however, and if the federal government is to continue to build on its investment, and if we are to overcome our current problems and move forward, a renewed commitment is required.
People can be forgiven for believing that ours is a glamorous, even frivolous, industry, for that is how it is often portrayed in the media. I would refer you to the media coverage of all the social activities surrounding the current Toronto International Film Festival. But the reality of life on the set or in the studio lies a very long way from red carpets and black ties and ballgowns. Our members work in real jobs in an industry that manufactures real products, products that have cultural value to be sure, but have material, tangible, economic value as well. Working in our industry is difficult at the best of times, and these are by no means the best of times. When there is work, the hours are long and the work hard. All too often, however, our members are not working. As one of my colleagues says when he lectures young students in film studies programs, “This will probably be the best part-time job you'll ever have.”
Nationally speaking, about half the production activity that takes place in Canada is domestic and half service productions, by far and away most of which are American. Here in Ontario, the split is roughly 60% Canadian and 40% foreign. In British Columbia, by contrast, over 80% of activity there is U.S.-based. Given this, when American activity drops, we are vulnerable.
Last year was a terrible year. A rising Canadian dollar scared away many service productions, and I noticed it was trading at the end of the day just below 94¢. A protracted writers' strike in the U.S. drove down production activity; state tax credits and other incentives kept many U.S. productions at home; and later in the year, the global economy fell off the cliff. This economic downturn had a significant impact on Canadian film and television production as well, so we were hit with a real double whammy.
A slight improvement has been noted for this year, at least in certain regions of the country, but it remains slight. The situation must improve considerably before our industry will be able to operate at full capacity and make a significant contribution to the economy, employment, and culture.
This is where you and your important pre-budget deliberations come in. Our industry is a key part of the creative economy, the economy of the future. If our industry is to thrive, to flourish, we need the stability and predictability that a renewed and enhanced commitment on the part of the federal government would provide us. We have, therefore, placed three recommendations before you in our written submission, and we hope you will be able to endorse them and recommend them to the Minister of Finance for inclusion in the 2010 federal budget.
These are the three recommendations: that the Government of Canada enhance all federal programs of direct support to the film, television, and new media industry; that it enhance its indirect support by expanding the federal tax credit program, as Quebec and Ontario have recently done; and, recognizing that there should be a greater public sector and private sector partnership, that a powerful tax incentive be created to encourage significant private investment in film, television, and new media production.
If implemented, these measures would allow our industry to grow and develop, to play an even greater role in providing meaningful employment, and to contribute to the economy and the fisc and serve Canadian audiences.
We understand the current economic and fiscal constraints at play, but bad times are the best times to plan for good times. Our industry is a vital part of the creative economy, the economy of the future, as I've said, and your support for our recommendations today will help us contribute to the good times of tomorrow.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I wish to thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today, and I hope that you will be in favour of our recommendations.