The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

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Ralph Holt has been named as the national head of Telefilm Canada’s English Feature Film program. He has been with Telefilm Canada for 17 years. Until recently, Holt held the joint positions of regional director for the Atlantic region and national sector head for English feature film. An internal reorientation of roles within English-language operations in November 2004 resulted in the positions of section heads (for feature film, new media and television) and regional directors being separated and redefined.

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Telefilm replies to Reeves
Telfilm Canada writes: "Telefilm Canada was surprised to read in Canada NEW Media’s year-end issue that Reeves Interactive had not received financial support from Telefilm for their sequel of www.grandeourse.tv. We would like to address this by pointing out that Reeves Interactive had never submitted an Expression of interest letter or an application for financing through the Canada New Media Fund for year two of the project.

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Many in the Canadian new media industry are excited by the volley of new product announcements made earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas. While a new generation of convergent devices – most of them taking advantage of fast-plummeting processor prices, dirt cheap Chinese manufacturing and increasingly easy-to-use wireless networking – present an opportunity for new media content and applications developers to sell their wares and products, not everyone is convinced that the market will materialize in Canada as it is shaping up in the United States. Lagging government regulatory models that restrict content distribution over telecommunications and broadcasting pipes are being seen as an increasing threat to Canadian communications companies, and some are now calling on Ottawa to take a more holistic view of policy-making as technology revolutionizes existing models.

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Telefilm Canada officials say that they will rectify the problem of different evaluation criteria being communicated during the last Canada New Media Fund round. They say that internal measures will be taken to ensure that consistent comments about criteria are used across the country. Sources tell Canadian NEW MEDIA that they were upset that producers in some regions were given different explanations of what was expected to win funding given an intense level of competition for dollars.

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The Canadian Society of Copyright Consumers (CSCC) is closing its doors after nearly 80 years in operation. The organization filed to surrender its charter with Industry Canada late last year. The organization, says executive VP and the group’s sustaining organizer Lyman Potts, has found its role increasingly co-opted by in-house counsel in ongoing copyright debates, and it has become increasingly difficult to fund.

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Early reaction is positive to a bombshell report recommending that a new agency be created to oversee funding to the new media community, and that the federal government’s Culture.ca portal be operated by an arms-length body. A report by the advisory board to the Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP), A Charter for the Cultural Citizen Online released just before Christmas, also calls for a "charter" that defines the industry in language that stresses interactivity and the role all Canadians play in shaping online content.

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