...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

Artists victorious: Stephen Harper has decided that it’s in his interest to subsidize crappy, unwatchable Canadian soft-porn after all. From the Ceeb:

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's promise to reverse plans to scrap tax credits for productions deemed offensive to Canadian viewers came as a pleasant surprise Tuesday to those in the film and television business and a major blow to the religious right.

"The arts community, I think, can almost relax and unpack their bags," actor Gordon Pinsent said in a telephone interview with the Canadian Press.

Pinsent said he never would have expected such a change of heart from the Conservatives, and he wondered whether it means Harper may be open to other new ideas.

"This flexibility shows he can be flexible again."

Harper revealed the change of heart as part of his party's much-anticipated election platform.

While Pinsent suspects the decision, which came just a week before the election and with the Conservatives flagging in the polls, was largely political, he said he'll take what he can get.

Harper may be hoping the reversal will help his party at the ballot box on Oct. 14, particularly in Quebec, where opposition to Tory cuts to cultural programs has been the fiercest in Canada.

The controversial changes to film and television tax credit eligibility were folded into a massive, 569-page, highly technical tax reform bill that passed in the Commons earlier this year despite widespread protest.

Plan would've killed growing industry: producer

The government argued the provision was needed to keep tax dollars from funding objectionable productions, and Heritage Minister Josee Verner was to spend the next year consulting with industry to find a formula for assessing taxpayer-subsidized productions.

A film about the sex lives of young singles entitled Young People F---ing — which coincidentally comes out on DVD the day of the election — became a lightning rod in the debate over the bill.

Producer Steve Hoban called Tuesday's decision "good news all around" and a sound economic move, given the worldwide market meltdown.

He said the plan would have ultimately killed the domestic film industry at a time when it's growing and generating billions in economic spinoffs.

"It would have been a really dumb move to do that to an industry that's actually contributing to our economy," he said.

"What this would have meant is that banks would not have known for certain whether productions would get that tax credit or not and if a production was not certain to get it, the bank couldn't guarantee it.

"If a bank couldn't guarantee it, it meant we wouldn't have that chunk of financing to make the films with in the first place.

"There would be 140,000 people thrown out of work immediately, and there would be billions of dollars of economic benefit to Canada disappear overnight."…

I say put them to work in the most “creative,” well-funded and fastest-growing sector in the country—the “human rights” industry.

Posted by: scaramouche at 10:04 | link | comments (3)

Comments:

#1  08 October 2008 - 11:25

 

"The arts community, I think, can almost relax and unpack their bags and go back to an unaccountable life producing viewerless dreck on the taxpayers' nickel," actor Gordon Pinsent...

/there, fixed that

Anonymous

#2  08 October 2008 - 11:54

 

MUCH better.

Anyone think Harper's about face is going to halt his slide? (Did it halt John Tory's slide in Ontario when, well into his campaign, he responded to the public's outcry and said he wouldn't, as originally promised, fund religious schools?) It's not like the "Arts Community" is going to vote for Harper (since it will consider him "ee-vil" no matter what he does.)

scaramouche

#3  09 October 2008 - 10:18

 

Frankly, I am disappointed in Harper over this, and I WORK in the "cultural industries".

Fact is, we all know that there are "artistic parasites" looking to gain access to the public teat. Now we've learned that this parasitic class has a big mouth and can successfully bamboozle genuine artists and cultural producers who get back on their talent without government subsidies.

"Cultural arts funding" usually ends up in the pockets of "arts administrators". It's a rip-off of the first order.

Anonymous

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