Turns out Techvibes was on to something BIG one week ago when we asked What's happening at Telefilm? According to the Globe and Mail, the Conservative government axed the $14.5 Million a year Canada New Media Fund (CNMF) on Friday before the long weekend (very sneaky). The CNMF was designed to create and distribute Canadian interactive new media both domestically and internationally.
Not a big surprise considering the digging around I did last week. My Telefilm contact wasn't willing to answer any of my questions and said I would have to wait until an official news release from the Department of Canadian Heritage. I guess this makes it official.
The CNMF, a decade-old grant and advance program administered by Telefilm but funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, has historically lacked stability, operating under one- and two-year sunset clauses. Back in June 2007, the Government of Canada had announced a $29-million renewal of the CNMF until the end of fiscal year 2008-09.
Hopefully, Telefilm takes this opportunity to update its programs to keep pace with emerging technologies. If would be a shame to see Canadian content take a significant hit online.
Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Parliament through the Department of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montréal, Telefilm... [more]
As you may know, there is wide speculation that the federal government may not renew the $14.5 million Canada New Media Fund (CNMF) when it's current contract expires on March 31, 2009. You may have read about this issue on the front page of Saturday's Globe and Mail.
The annual $14 million CNMF, administered by Telefilm, supports new media and Internet-based content creation and marketing activities. The loss of this fund has far-reaching implications for New Media BC's membership and the BC Digital Media industry as a whole.
The government has already announced the following program cuts, some of which will have a detrimental impact on our industry:
- Trade Routes, $9 millio
- The A-V Preservation Trust, $300,000
- The Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, $1.5 millio
- The National Training Schools Program, $2.5 millio
- PromArt, $4.7 millio
New Media BC and the Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC), are committed to remain at the forefront of this issue. For the past two years we have been calling for an increase to this fund, which has been very effective in supporting emerging companies and higher risk projects. Many critical and market successes - in BC and around the world - would not have been possible without the support of the CNMF.
We have already engaged key policy makers at the provincial and federal levels, in an effort to gather more information regarding the potential cuts, and also to gain information regarding program and funding that could ultimately replace the CNMF.
It is of the utmost importance that the Canadian government supports domestic creators of Digital Media content so that our exciting industry may continue to flourish in a province rich with innovation, new ideas, and intellectual property. New Media BC and the CIAIC will continue work on your behalf to ensure our collective concerns are heard.
It seems certain that there will be a federal election this fall. To this end we are planning a number of activities and a call to action to ensure that together we make the strongest possible case to become an important part of the economic and cultural agendas for all Canadian political parties.
Please stay tuned for further details.
Yours truly,
Kenton Low
President, New Media BC
