OTTAWA, July 14, 2020 – The Canadian Media Producers Association today issued the following statement in response to the Quebec government’s announcement of a $51 million fund to reopen Quebec’s film and television production sector:

“The Canadian Media Producers Association commends the Government of Quebec for taking action to address some of the major hurdles that continue to prevent film and TV projects from resuming in Quebec as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. We also thank SODEC and the AQPM for their efforts in helping to get the Quebec production industry back on its feet through their collaboration with the Legault government on the measures announced yesterday.

That said, federal leadership is still needed to provide a comprehensive, cross-country, short-term solution to the lack of COVID-19 insurance coverage for our industry and to address additional health and safety costs. We are hopeful the federal government will act quickly to address these issues, particularly the lack of COVID-19 insurance. The CMPA, in partnership with the AQPM, is continuing a constructive dialogue with the Trudeau government regarding a federal indemnification fund that would enable Canadian productions to resume shooting this summer. We stand ready to work with the government to put this national program in place, and reopen productions from coast to coast to coast as soon as possible.”