Here's a taste of Conservative Party shenanigans, the sort of thing that Prime Minister Stephen Harper likes to call 'Canada's New Government':
"Bill C-10, currently seeking Senate approval, contains an amendment that would allow bureaucrats to withdraw tax credits for Canadian films and TV shows deemed in violation of the Criminal Code. Yet 'Canadian Heritage has not received an application for a production containing criminal content,' said Andrew House, a spokesperson for Heritage Minister Josée Verner." - Peter Howell, movie critic for the Toronto Star (Mar. 10, 08)
"The scandal has tapped the deep vein of suspicion that Prime Minister Stephen Harper harbours a secret evangelical agenda to impose strict moral values on Canada's artistic establishment, and to deprive them of the money to realize their more racy visions. Bill C-10 has received so much attention largely because Charles McVety, the head of Canada Christian College, a man who would take credit for sunshine if he had prayed for it, took credit for hyping the bill.
Photo: Heritage Minister Josée Verner
'We're thankful that someone's finally listening,' he said of his lobbying, suggesting that guidelines should ban tax credits for films that promote homosexuality, extreme violence or graphic sex." - Joseph Brean, National Post(March 08,08)
"The controversial provision to amend the Income Tax Act has passed in the House of Commons and is now before the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade, and Commerce. It's said the provision was not caught earlier because it is buried in a large bill primarily intended to implement the taxation of non-resident trusts, foreign investment entities and implement amendments to the Income Tax Act.
Canadian Heritage officials recently met with film and television lobby groups to 'allay fears' surrounding the so-called 'censorship' provision in the Conservative government's bill. But the groups weren't so impressed with the meeting, says Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada, shown in photo at left.
'They were trying, I think, to calm us down and perhaps get us off the topic and out of the media, but of course we're not going to do that. This is very much a pressing concern. It is a censorship issue,' Ms. Parker said of the March 6 meeting, when she and representatives from ACTRA and the Directors Guild of Canada met senior Heritage officials. 'They weren't successful in what they were setting out to do because, as we all told them, ACTRA, DGC, and WGC, that they were missing the point. The point was that guidelines will not work,' she said.
Ms. Parker said she expects to appear before the Banking Committee with screenwriters. One of her central arguments will be that the guidelines will result in a kind of self-censorship for television and film writers who will write to ensure that they receive financing. Film and television productions have high costs, and no one will spend time developing a show or film that has the potential to come short on financing.
'I can tell you, my writers will write for guidelines. If you think you're not going to get a show financed, you'll completely change the type of program you deliver,' Ms. Parker said. The tax change, will also discourage banks from providing loans to risky productions because they may not be eligible for the tax credit. For instance, she said that a 13-part series would borrow about $1.7-million. 'If the bank thinks they may not get that money back after the fact because the tax credit is denied, after the production has been made, they're not going to invest. It's not like a $40,000 investment. It's $1.7-million,' Ms. Parker said." - Simon Doyle, The Hill Times (Mar. 31, 08)
This bill is a disturbing window into the psyche of a political party that Canadians have carefully contained as a minority government. Imagine the havoc they could create if unleashed as a majority.
