Political
Bill seeks to defund offensive productions
By Editor and Staff

Hardcopy Issue Date: June 2008
Online Publication Date: May 7, 2008, 12:36

Ottawa—The Canadian entertainment industry is aghast over Bill C-10, which changes the Income Tax Act to allow the government to better target tax incentives for Canadian films. It claims the bill is an attack on free expression. But others are applauding it, saying the bill has nothing to do with censorship, but rather, using taxpayers’ money responsibly.

Under the bill, the Heritage Ministry could withhold federal tax credits to Canadian film and television projects it deems offensive. C-10 has been passed by the House of Commons and has moved to the Senate. Last year, Telefilm Canada handed out $158 million to fund pornographic productions such as Sperm and The Masturbators. On television, “titillating late-night fare” such as Webdreams, Kink and G-Spot have received substantial public funding over the years. Canadians Concerned about Violence says the film American Psycho, used as a “how-to manual” by Canadian convicted serial killer Paul Bernardo, received $120,000 in tax credits (Epoch Times, April 17, 2008).

Commentators Andrew Coyne and Mark Steyn point out that denying someone public funding is not the same thing as censorship. “Free money is not the same as free speech,” says Steyn. “Nobody is stopping any of these filmmakers from making their films – they’re simply stopping the cheque” (Maclean’s, March 12, 2008).

A brief submitted by REAL Women of Canada organization notes that appropriations of public funds for “cultural purposes” have been increased to $5 billion annually. However, rarely do these funds achieve the stated purpose of developing Canadians’ sense of belonging and building this country’s national identity. Instead, they more often alienate and offend Canadians. “Why should ‘artists’ claim to have the right to operate freely by way of taxpayer funding, yet not be held responsible for their work?” asks REAL Women. “If their works are detrimental to society, and/or do not appeal to the public because of their subject matter or content, why should the taxpayers support them - especially since such works only alienate or offend them, which defeats the major objective of the program?” (LifeSiteNews, April 14, 2008).

Supporters of Bill C-10 are encouraging Canadians to lobby the members of the Senate’s banking, trade and commerce committee to hasten its passage. They include: W. David Angus, Yoine Goldstein, Michel Biron, Marc Harb, Mobina Jaffer, Paul Massicotte, Michael Meighen, Wilfred Moore, Pierrette Ringuette and David Tkachuk.

Comment

Catholic Insight believes that The National Film Board’s productions for regular films should be discontinued. While it may have been a good idea fifty years ago to stimulate Canada’s fledgling film industry, there is no need for it now. Moreover, the government should extract itself from using taxpayers’ money for pornography.


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