INDIE PRODUCERS,
MAKE YOUR
VOICES HEARD
The CMPA has been working hard to advocate on behalf of our industry with candidates, and senior political staff associated with the election. Now, we need help from you – our most valued advocacy ambassadors – to speak on behalf of the independent production sector.
Your voices matter. Take action.
Take Action
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MEET WITH YOUR CANDIDATES
Follow up with candidates by requesting a meeting with them.
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SPREAD THE WORD
Make your voice heard on social media.
MEET WITH YOUR CANDIDATES
Follow up with candidates by requesting a meeting with them.
Another way you can advance our message is to meet with your local candidates. With COVID protocols in place, a sit-down meeting may not be possible, but we encourage you to attend local election events and introduce yourself, your company, and our industry.
Introduce yourself and share the size and scope of your production company. Say where you are located, how many people you employ, the type of content you produce and where your content travels domestically and abroad.
You can refer to the CMPA’s Talking Points, which were designed to equip you with key messages related to our requests of government.
With the introduction and subsequent controversy of Bill C-10, An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, we have also addressed some of the questions you may receive and our position on the modernization of the Broadcasting Act and our industry’s position.
We invite you to also connect with CMPA’s Government Relations consultant, Alison Matthews, who can assist you with preparing for your meeting and answering any questions you may have.
Download the CMPA Talking PointsSPREAD THE WORD
Make your voice heard on social media.
Canada’s film and television industry has been all over the media over the last year and a half, and it is up to all of us to spread the word about who independent producers are, what we do, and how we impact Canadians.
We will be updating this section with graphics and wording you can use on your social media platforms. We are proud of our industry and there is no better time to show it.
View social media postsWhat's Happening
The election is underway, and party leaders are crisscrossing the country making announcements related to their platforms and promises. This section of the site is reserved for announcements, articles, and commentary related to our industry.
CBC News | How the party platforms compare on future of CBC, media supports
September 18—The media, including broadcasting and streaming, were the topic of much debate in the months leading into the election.
Playback | Is there room for screen industry optimism in the federal election?
September 17—Canada’s screen sector is at a critical juncture ahead of Monday’s federal election as the nation determines which political party will lead the long-awaited modernization of the Broadcasting Act.
Playback | Federal candidates address screen sector concerns in virtual town hall
September 8—With a snap federal election looming on Sept. 20, Canada’s major political parties went to the screen sector directly to address their concerns, emphasizing the need to amend the Broadcasting Act.
CMPA statement on Liberal platform
“We are pleased to see that the Liberal election platform prioritizes the modernization of the Broadcasting Act to bring foreign players into Canada’s broadcasting system, along with a commitment to support Canadian ownership of intellectual property. Our capacity to build on the success of our domestic film and TV production sector rests on the ability for Canadian companies – rather than multinational web giants – to own and meaningfully benefit from the homegrown stories we bring to the screen.”
Liberal Party releases its election campaign platform
September 1—Today, the Liberal Party released its full election platform, which includes commitments to reintroduce legislation to reform the Broadcasting Act to ensure foreign web giants contribute to the creation of Canadian content and to ensure that Canadians are better equipped to own and benefit from the content that they produce.
Playback | NDP vows to modernize Broadcasting Act in 2021 election platform
August 23—A modernized Broadcasting Act and additional funding for Telefilm, the Canada Media Fund and CBC/Radio-Canada are part of the New Democratic Party (NDP) platform ahead of the Sept. 20 federal election.
Playback | What does the Conservative platform say about the screen-based industries?
August 17—The party’s platform, released yesterday, outlines plans to make streamers invest in Cancon production, relieve regulatory obligations for Canadian broadcasters and to review CBC’s English-language TV mandate.
The Canadian Press | O'Toole carries virtual campaign into election, backs away from promise to defund CBC
August 17—When Erin O’Toole packed his bags for the federal campaign the Conservative leader borrowed some things from his leadership run, while leaving others behind.
The Lawyer's Daily | Liberals pledge more cash for pandemic-hit workers and businesses
August 16—The governing federal Liberals are pledging to extend their “Recovery Hiring Program” a further four months to March 31, 2022, if they are re-elected to form government on Sept. 20, 2021.
CMPA statement on Conservative platform
“We welcome the Conservative Party of Canada’s platform commitments to modernize the Broadcasting Act by requiring that foreign streaming services invest in Canadian content and having independent producers be part of these new requirements. By keeping independent production at the heart of Canada’s broadcasting sector, our industry can build on its success and export more Canadian film and TV to the world.”
Conservative Party of Canada releases its election campaign platform
August 16—The day after the election was called, the Conservative party released their election platform, which committed to modernizing the Broadcasting Act and having independent producers be a part of new content requirements on foreign streaming services.
Playback | Snap federal election cuts Bill C-10 short
August 16—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a snap federal election for September, marking the end of the road for Bill C-10.
CMPA statement on NDP platform
“The CMPA applauds the NDP for its commitment to prioritize the modernization of Canada’s Broadcasting Act and for highlighting the importance of independent production. The NDP election platform also recognizes the need to balance the negotiating power between broadcasters and independent producers. This is an essential step to ensure the long-term success of our domestic film and TV production sector, creating jobs, providing a training ground for new talent, ensuring diversity of voices and strengthening our ability to bring Canadian stories to audiences at home and around the world.”
NDP releases its election campaign platform
August 12—Shortly after reports that the election would be officially on August 15, the NDP released their election campaign platform, which included a direct mention of independent producers, the importance of a modern Broadcasting Act, and even balancing negotiating power between broadcasters and independent producers.
Party Commitments
Before the election, the CMPA formally submitted recommendations to each of the major party platform committees. We have also submitted questions to each major political party to receive clarity about their positions on issues that affect our industry.
Party platforms are released at different times over the campaign and in varying levels of detail. As the platform commitments become available and answers are submitted, the results related to our sector will be posted below.
[excerpted from Conservative platform, emphasis added]
Replace Bill C-10 with legislation that updates the Broadcasting Act to deal with the realities of an increasingly online market and the need to provide businesses with certainty and consumers with choice. The alternative approach will require large digital streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video to reinvest a significant portion of their Canadian gross revenue into producing original Canadian programming, of which a mandated proportion must be French language programming. If they fail to do so on their own in a given year, they will be required to pay the difference into the Canadian Media Fund. The proportion chosen will vary based on the nature of the streaming service and would be determined based on the best practices of other jurisdictions, such as those in Europe and Australia, as well as the nature of the Canadian market. Content reinvestment requirements will also recognize and incentivize partnerships with Canadian independent media producers. Exempt the content Canadians upload onto social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Tik Tok from regulation in order to protect free speech.
Streamline and reduce the regulatory burden placed on conventional Canadian broadcasters and cable companies, including CRTC license fees and Canadian Media Fund contribution requirements, with the loss in revenue to be compensated by a portion of the revenue from the new digital services tax. This will include abolishing CRTC Part II license fees.
Conduct a full review of the mandate of the CRTC to ensure that it better reflects the needs of Canadians and doesn’t prevent Canadian broadcasters from innovating and adapting to changes in the market.
Review the mandate of CBC English Television, CBC News Network and CBC English online news to assess the viability of refocusing the service on a public interest model like that of PBS in the United States, ensuring that it no longer competes with private Canadian broadcasters and digital providers.
Give Radio-Canada a separate and distinct legal and administrative structure to reflect its distinct mandate of promoting francophone language and culture while maintaining its funding and providing for continued sharing of resources and facilities where applicable. The Board of Directors of the reformed Radio-Canada would include representatives appointed by the Government of Québec and representation of francophone minority communities outside Québec. Radio-Canada will no longer charge user fees for its online streaming services or operate branding services like Tandem in competition with private francophone media and provide increased content representative of francophone communities outside Québec.
Full Platform
Helping Artists and Cultural Industries Recover
Extend COVID-related insurance coverage for media production stoppages to support 150,000 Canadian jobs.
Hold a summit, within the first 100 days, on plans to restart the industry.
Supporting Canadian Music, Film and Television
Within the first 100 days, reintroduce legislation to reform the Broadcasting Act to ensure foreign web giants contribute to the creation and promotion of Canadian stories and music.
Modernize the institutions (Telefilm, National Film Board, Canada Media Fund) and funding tools that support Canada’s audio-visual sector (definitely room for single agency in this language), including video games, in order to make funding platform- agnostic and open to more traditionally underrepresented storytellers, while favouring Canadian productions over foreign ones and ensuring that Canadians are better equipped to own and benefit from the content that they produce.
Support Canadian feature films by permanently increasing funding to Telefilm Canada by $50 million.
Support Canadian television productions by doubling the government contribution, over three years, to the Canada Media Fund.
Increase the proportion of funding for French audiovisual content at Telefilm and the Canada Media Fund from 33% to 40% to support a better presence of French-language productions.
Provide the Indigenous Screen Office with $13 million per year, permanently, so more Indigenous stories can be told and seen.
Bringing Canadian Culture to the World
Launch a new cultural diplomacy strategy with an annual budget of $20 million per year to leverage the work done by our artists and cultural industries to support Canada’s diplomatic goals.
Forge an international coalition to work on a new UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Content Online.
CBC
Update CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to ensure that it is meeting the needs and expectation of today’s Canadian audiences, with a unique programming that distinguishes it from private broadcasters.
Ensure that Indigenous voices and cultures are present on our screens and radios.
Bring Canada’s TV and film productions to the world stage.
[excerpted from NDP platform, emphasis added]
Make sure that Netflix, Facebook, Google and other digital media companies play by the same rules as Canadian broadcasters. It means that these companies need to pay corporate taxes now, support Canadian content in both official languages, and take responsibility for what appears on their platforms, just like other media outlets.
Modernize the Broadcasting Act fairly in order to create a level playing field between Canadian broadcasters and foreign streaming services, to rebalance negotiating power for Canadian independent producers and the Canadian cultural sector, and to ensure Canadian programming is owned by Canadians and to prioritize partnerships with Canadian independent producers.
Increase funding for Telefilm and enhance financial support for the Canada Media Fund.
Increase funding for CBC and Radio-Canada. Public broadcasting has a remarkable legacy of connecting all points of our country – and it needs to have an even stronger future now more than ever to help make sure that Canadians have access to accurate, relevant information no matter where they live.
Full Platform