Can vs. Con

Earlier this week, Antonia Zerbisias noted that Shaw Cable seems to consider itself above the rules requiring Canadian broadcasters to contribute to the Canadian Television Fund. And it appears that Videotron plans to follow suit. But today, the NDP made clear that neither the broadcasters nor Bev Oda will be allowed to neglect the Television Fund without public justification:

NDP Heritage Critic Charlie Angus says he is not going to sit back while thousands of television production jobs are put on the line following the decision by Shaw Cable Systems and Videotron Ltd. to walk away on their obligations to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). Cable and satellite companies are required by the CRTC to contribute 5% of their annual revenue to the fund. Angus says the cable giants are blackmailing the CTF and are getting away with it because Heritage Minister Bev Oda simply refuses to do her job.

“I’m sick and tired of how companies like Videotron and Shaw are pushing their weight around because Bev Oda is either unwilling or unable to put in a day’s work. These companies are pampered and protected from competition by the rules of the CRTC. They need to be held accountable for their side of the bargain.”

Angus points out that there was complete silence from Oda following the unilateral decision by Jim Shaw to walk away from the CTF. Its not surprising that Videotron has picked up on the silence from the Minister and pulled their funds as well...

Angus has already gone after Oda for her failure to renew the government portion of the CTF. He is challenging her to issue an immediate statement to explain what steps she will take to enforce the obligations of the cable giants to pay into the CTF.

It's worth noting a few points from Zerbisias' article which bring a bit more context to the issue:

(T)he CTF has its roots in a complex Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications (CRTC) decision of 1993, one that arose out of a lengthy structural hearing.

At the time, cable companies were spreading panic over the so-called "deathstars" – satellite TV to you and me – that would supposedly wipe them and Canadian TV off the map.

The CRTC, in its infinite wisdom, gave them a gift. In order for them to have the money they needed to upgrade their systems, basic cable fees were deregulated. The deal was that the cablecos had to plunge some of those increased revenues – 5 per cent – back into the production industry.

And so a precursor of the fund was born. In 1996, it was merged with the broadcast side of Telefilm as well as other federal monies in a public-private partnership known as the CTF...

Which means that, whether it's public or private, it's still coming out of your pocket if you're a taxpayer and you subscribe to any TV service.

Don't bet that, if the CTF collapses, you'll get a tax rebate or a cable rate decrease. This would be a bonus for Shaw shareholders.

But it gets worse, as the very question of whether the Television Fund will be continued this spring is in the hands of the same Heritage Minister who appears unwilling to enforce Shaw's obligations:

Shaw's timing is exquisitely awful. That's because the CTF is up for renewal this spring. The Harper government can continue it – or not.

The CRTC, which established the fund, is in no position to squawk. It is without a chairperson and has a number of commission positions up for grabs.

CBC, which schedules many of the documentaries that the CTF subsidizes, is also without a chairperson and has a lame duck president in Robert Rabinovitch.

Even Telefilm lacks a chairperson and is short of board members. The National Film Board has no commissioner.

All of these are federal appointments. But Heritage Minister Bev Oda is silent.

No wonder some feel that Shaw's bravado stems from the fact that he is an Albertan, and that he can sniff the scent of deregulation in the air ... waves.

In sum, the Television Fund itself exists as the broadcast industry's tradeoff for deregulation which they demanded not that long ago. Now, broadcasters are looking to get out of paying the relatively small amount which they seemed to have no problem with before (while of course continuing to reap the benefits of the other side of the deal). And in addition to refusing to enforce the rules as they exist now, Oda seems to be following the Cons' pattern of leaving one side of the issue without a voice in which should be a major public debate as to the role of the Television Fund going forward.

If anything, the only problem with Angus' stand today is that it's too narrow in light of the spring deadline. What's at stake is the very existence of the Television Fund, not only the enforcement of Shaw's and Videotron's current obligations - and indeed it would be a completely empty victory to get Shaw and Videotron to do what they're required to now while allowing the Televion Fund to be disbanded within months.

That said, the public and parliamentary debate called for by Angus is probably the best way to ensure that issue gets brought to the forefront as well. And hopefully the other opposition parties will heed Angus' call to ensure that Canada's television production industry isn't levelled by the Cons' disinterest.