"I wouldn't have a career if it wasn't for public money," said Ms. Polley, who was nominated for two Academy Awards this year for her directorial film debut Away From Her. Ms. Polley told reporters at a news conference on Parliament Hill Thursday that Canadian writers, actors and film and television directors will be forced to leave the country if the Conservative government pushes Bill C-10 through.
The bill would allow the government to refuse tax credits to films and television shows considered offensive. "Any whiff of censorship is chilling for us," said Ms. Polley. "The bill attacks the very heart of Canadian programming. It is against freedom of speech and everything we stand for," she said. "Canadians won't be able to see the Canadian programmes they love"... or her photocopied flop-a-tee-flops for that matter.
The Dawn of the Dead star was joined by actress Wendy Crewson (Air Force One, 24) and president of the Writers Guild of Canada Rebecca Schechter. "What these guidelines will do is force writers to self-censor - to guess and second guess before you even start writing how much violence might be considered excessive or gratuitous or how much sexuality in your stories is educational enough to pass," Schechter said. For example, there might be too much violence to write a script about Alberta's Mayerthorpe tragedy, when four Mounties were murdered by James Roszko in March 2005, said Ms. Schechter.Shows like Little Mosque on the Prairie and Trailer Park Boys are most at risk if the federal government follows through on Bill C-10, said a member of the delegation protesting the bill at a Senate committee. "It's a homogenization of the nature of productions; you will see more productions about kittens, puppies, bunnies and cute little kids," says Brian Anthony, CEO of the Directors Guild of Canada. Anthony added the move will damage an already ailing industry. The soaring loonie has kept many American productions down south, and the recent writers' strike had a profound effect in B.C., where many U.S. programmes are filmed.
Ms. Schechter is concerned the bill will give the government sweeping powers to decide what content is deemed unacceptable for Canadians. Polley echoed Schechter, worried that the bill would kill typically edgy Canadian films. A further blow, reiterated Ms. Polley, is that this "morality hammer" only applies to Canadian film and television programmes, while Hollywood can still apply for tax credits.
At present, artists apply for a bank loan for their production and only get a government credit when the finished product meets Canadian content rules. Heritage Minister Josee Verner disagrees that the proposed change to a federal tax credit system jeopardizes the creative freedom of Canadian film and television production. She has said that the bill is far from censorship, arguing that the bill aims to make sure Canadian taxpayers' money won't fund extreme violence, child pornography or other such things.
Meanwhile, one of the very productions Bill C-10 seems designed to curb will probably get a private viewing by members of the Senate. Some senators have been in touch with the producers of the Canadian relationship comedy Young People Fucking, arriving in theatres in mid-June, and have asked to see the film as they consider Bill C-10.
"They're all trying to educate themselves and they have asked to see the movie. We are talking about setting up a screening for them," said Steve Hobas, whose Toronto-based Copper Heart Entertainment made Young People Fucking.
The film has been a lightning rod in the C-10 debate, with right-wing organizations like the Canada Family Action Coalition arguing it should never have received a dime of government money. The tax credits granted to the film amounted to about 5 per cent of its overall budget, Hobas said.
Further reading: Misinformed meets misguided
