Majority treaty co-production and Canadian production generate more than double the number of Canadian jobs as minority co-production. This from a Nordicity report released today by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of Canada.
ACTRA and WGC commissioned the Nordicity study because, despite the Canadian co-production policy's call for balance between minority and majority productions, the Canadian market has been swamped by minority co-productions. In the last two years, minority co-production like The Tudors and Camelot accounted for 75% of treaty TV-drama co-production activity. The Nordicity report establishes that such productions employ far fewer Canadians, and that the true drivers of employment are majority co-production and non-treaty Canadian production.
"Co-pros clearly bring a lot of tangible financial benefits to our industry, but the problem is that we're seeing too many deals being done where Canadians are taking a back seat," said Stephen Waddell, National Executive Director, ACTRA National. "The goal here needs to be employing Canadians, not simply using the co-production treaties as a source of financing for foreign investors who only pay lip service to using Canadian talent."
Maureen Parker, WGC Executive Director, says "the system is out of whack and it's costing Canadian jobs. Minority co-productions like The Borgias employ mostly non-Canadians, and they take up very limited space Canadian broadcasters allot for Canadian shows in schedules already dominated by U.S. programs in simulcast. That may mean the next Rookie Blue or Combat Hospital - immensely popular shows employing more than double the number of talented Canadians - may not get made."
Canadian TV production volume in 2009/2010 was worth just under $2 Billion to the Canadian economy. The sector generated 47,300 Full-Time-Equivalent jobs, including 18,600 FTE's directly in the production of Canadian TV shows. The Nordicity report makes it clear our industry can contribute even more. By actively enforcing balance in treaty co-production between minority and majority productions, and by encouraging more homegrown production, the government can help the Canadian TV industry realize its true potential as an economic and employment powerhouse.
Last week, Rookie Blue, Combat Hospital and Flashpoint each attracted more than 1.4 million viewers in Canada. Canadian - and international - audiences clearly like Canadian shows. The Nordicity report tells us we can give the audience more of what they want, and boost the Canadian economy at the same time.