The Charles McVety interview on Wednesday's edition of The Hour has created a maelstrom of talk regarding Bill C-10 and the effect it will have on the Canadian Film and Television industry. In Facebook groups like: "Keep your censoring hands off of Canadian film and TV! No to Bill C-10!", or "Support Bill C-10" or even "What's So Bad About Bill C-10?" you can find a lot of good information about what's going on all sides with this bill. I mention only three groups here, but there are many more groups out there.
There's a lot going on with this issue, so here's a few places to check out if you want to learn more about what the amendment to the Income Tax Act means and the players involved.
To read the actual verbiage of the tax bill, check out the the Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (aka Bill C-10).
Charles McVety is the president of the Canada Family Action Coalition. There's talk that he's the one that convinced the government to put this amendment through. If you're not really sure who they are or what they stand for? Quoting directly from their "about us" section, CFAC's primary principles are:
The policies, statements, views, and strategies of Canada Family Action
Coalition are founded upon the Bible.
The following principles guide the
issues we may address on a provincial or national level:
• We believe the Judeo-Christian moral tradition is foundational to Canadian society
• We believe that all Canadians have the right to express and practice publicly their
religious beliefs, and that Government has a duty to respect and safeguard those
rights.
• We believe that the family, based on the marriage of a husband
and wife of the opposite sex, is central to the fabric of society. We believe in
policies which protect the inherent right and responsibility of parents in the
raising and education of their children.
• We believe in the inherent dignity of human life, from conception to natural death.
• We believe in the mutual responsibility of all citizens to be active in community life and participate in the democratic political process.
They have an active campaign and petition going supporting this amendment. Their take on why having this amendment pass is a good thing is an interesting read. You can check it out here.ACTRA, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, are against the implementation of Bill C-10. The National ACTRA website has a good rundown about why Bill C-10 is a bad idea. They are also encouraging a letter writing campaign to the government.The Director's Guild of Canada issued a "strongly worded letter" to the government at the end of February. You can read the press release about it here. The CFTPA, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, also released a statement on March 2, regarding this bill.Other recent interviews on The Hour with players in the Canadian Film and Television industry have discussed Bill C-10 and it's ramifications include:Paul Gross (orginally aired March 20, 2008)Nicholas Campbell (originally aired March 6, 2008)Mary Walsh (originally aired March 26, 2008)I also searched each Party's website for their stance on Bill C-10:Conservative Party of Canada: I haven't found any official statement from the party itself regarding the bill. Liberal Party of Canada: A press release was issued March 5th.The New Democratic Party of Canada: I could not find any statement on their website. The Bloc Quebecois: There is a video clip of party leader Gilles Duceppe making a statement regarding Bill C-10. (It's in French.)The Green Party of Canada: I could not find a statement on their website.Whether you're for or against this amendment, let the government know what you think...Contact your Senator and let them know what you want them to do with this bill. Since it has now passed the House of Commons, it's up to the Senate to quash it unless the government withdraws the amendment. Not sure who represents you in the senate? You can find out who represents you in the senate here.Contact your Member of Parliament. As George said on the show Wednesday, the bill passed through the House of Commons with support from all parties... yet no debate was brought up about this amendment. So either they agree with the amendment or they didn't read it. Find out what your Member of Parliament thinks of the bill. Not sure who your Member of Parliament is? You can find out here. If this amendment goes through, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, the Honorable Josée Verner, will be the one (along with a committee apparently) who will make the decision about which projects gets tax credits and who doesn't. Let Prime Minister Stephen Harper know what you think about Bill C-10 and the impact it will have on the Canadian Film and Television industry. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months with this bill. If you've found an interesting source of information about either side of the issue, leave us a comment and let us know.
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