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................................................................. ACTRA
APPLAUDS CRTC REVIEW OF CANADIAN DRAMA Toronto
– ACTRA welcomes the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission’s (CRTC) public call for comments on how it could
better support the production and broadcast of high-quality, original
English-language Canadian TV drama but feels the Commission could
have acted sooner and gone further. “We are relieved that the CRTC has responded to the crisis - that Canadian drama is on the verge of extinction,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s National Executive Director. “In recent months we’ve been swamped with reports documenting what we’ve been saying for years. The evidence is in. Now it’s time for the CRTC to take action and fix its policies before drama disappears for good.” CRTC rule changes in 1999 removed spending requirements for Canadian broadcasters and permitted them to satisfy Canadian content obligations without producing drama. Last spring, ACTRA and other members of the Canadian Coalition of Audio-visual Unions (CCAU) released a report that showed that only four Canadian-produced dramas aired on the major networks last season compared with 12 in 1999-2000, the year the CRTC changed its program regulations. While domestic drama dominates TV screens in the U.K., Germany, France, the U.S. and French Canada, in English Canada none of the top-10 series watched by Canadians is Canadian. “Broadcasters aren’t supporting the production of enough Canadian drama. Clearly, the CRTC must introduce a new mix of meaningful requirements and performance incentives before Canadian programs fade to black,” said Waddell. ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is a national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 21,000 members across Canada – the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community. This year, ACTRA celebrates its 60th Anniversary. -30- For
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