Kill Bill (C-10) campaign gathers steam; Right-wing Christians mobilizing support for government censorship

The image is by Eric Drooker.

What are the "arts" people so afraid of? They might lose their free ride on the taxpayers back.

If you produce a product good enought to sell - you would not need tax credits and grants.

The one billion dollars of tax money is not a good investment - some films are complete failures and make no money at all.

So live of the avails of taxpayers - sounds like a profession does't it ?

Brian, I sound like I'm repeating myself here, but if you want to be consistent with your position then you should advocate the end of public funding to all Canadian industries.

There are many companies and entire industries who are rolling in the dough but still receive government handouts. Why is corporate welfare legitimate, but arts funding sacrilege?

A case in point: recently researchers in Quebec found that Alcan, the largest aluminum producer in Canada (until recently bought by Rio Tinto) avoided paying taxes in Canada and Quebec between 2001 and 2005, all the while receiving over 100 million in subsidies from the federal and provincial government and taking in over 4 billion in profit. Read about it at: http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080304/LAINFORMER/80304120/-1/LAINFORMER01

Maybe once we take care of that little problem we could look at tax credits for artists...

This bill sounds like the repressive government of Singapore and is reminiscent of a certain German government in the late 30s.

Also: Our whole notions of "failure" and "success" in the culture industries are based on (neoliberal) market logic. A colossal piece of crap like the Rambo film makes millions and millions and its a "success" - only if we look at the box office reciepts.

Another way to measure "success" is by virtue of media's impact within society, whether it connects with audiences, whether it builds greater understanding, whether it induces pleasure in those who take it in, whether it has received accolades from the international community of culture-critics, etc, etc.

The only way for Canadian film and television to compete - until we come up with some other system - in the current mediascape is with a little helping hand here and there. American producers are given tax INCENTIVES and many free rides to come North to shoot their productions that usually siphon out all Canadian-ness from their works (ie, American money, changed names of locations, etc). These same productions have MILLIONS to spend on marketing, thanks to a decades-old system that has benefited from free trade agreements with this country.

Giving our producers a little help in such an imbalanced climate has nothing to do with "good" or "bad" products, but everything to do with having a fighting chance at success.

Canadians won't "choose" to see films like UP THE YANGTZE or AWAY FROM HER in movie theatres if they're not made and marketed in the first place.

We don't make the menu, but we sure as hell can affect the choices of what's on that menu.

All industries in Canada get some kind of tax Incentives. What is detrimental in C-10 is that because of the way the "incentive" is structured they can be withdrawn after the production has been finished. Quite often the original investor funding was made with the understanding that there would be the tax incentive. C-10 leaves the film & television financing in limbo. Financiers, like to have some certainly in their investments. This uncertainty will kill what small gains Canada has made in the highly competitive industry. This censorship bill will kill the industry with its ambiguity and reliance to some political or bureaucratic flunky to pass judgement on what the Canadian standards are. We have the evidence of how the bureaucrats in canada customs censor and ignore Canada's Supreme court when they still harass the Little Sisters Book Store here in Vancouver.

Although great fields of argument, incentives and mediascapes are the least of concerns we should have. How about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and our freedom of expression? Although C-10 doesn't completely abolish this freedom, it is still moving in this direction. Furthermore, we're facing the possibility of a nation-wide change by request of a minority group, simply because some politicians have cuddled up with them?

Furthermore, was there ever a seperation between church and state, or have we all just dreamed that up?

This bill is ridiculous.

Canadian pop entertainers and musicians have achieved stardom without grovelling for handouts from taxpayers, so what's the big deal? Film-makers can write off the usual expenses, as well as receive taxpayer funding for making radical leftist promotional films, and they seem to consist of a small elitist clique of people who are already very rich. They need to accept being weaned from the public teat and stop being crybabies. I admit that the idea of targeting only certain dirty films is more contentious than just making equal cuts right across the board. The only thing that should be funded are traditional cultural things like symphony orchestras, ballet, opera houses, art galleries and museums. Show business provides entertainment as a commodity, and if it's amateurish or politically pushy then let it die.

I am totally against bill C-10 and I believe that all movies and TV shows should receive tax credits no matter what their content. I have already started a petition in my neighborhood against bill C-10 and I think that the government's censoring hands are scary and remind me of China's censoring of certain web pages... Why is this bill even being considered? Bill C-10 is ugly and should be burned at the stake... GO CANADIAN FILMS AND KILL BILL C-10!!

P.S. Those in favor of killing Bill C-10 should maybe consider starting a petition of some sort or signing one if already started like I did. BILL C-10 WILL DIE IF WE TAKE ACTION!!!