Change has come to CTF, but some remain skeptical

The 2006 Banff World Television Festival held special significance – and likely a modicum of sorrow – for the board members of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). It was here, almost a year ago to the day, that Liza Frulla, then minister of Canadian Heritage, announced her department’s recommendation that the fund surrender its administration to partner Telefilm Canada (CCR, June 24/05). With a more pointed report from auditor general Sheila Fraser later that year (CCR, Nov. 22/05), Canadian Heritage and the CTF had no choice but to change the way the fund was run. A year later, some of the CTF’s board members say many of the problems pointed out by both Frulla and Fraser have been remedied. "I don’t want to give us a perfect report card, but I think we’re nearing the end of a process that has been tremendously successful," said CTF chair Doug Barrett in delivering the fund’s 2005-2006 annual report. Fund president Valerie Creighton – who was named to the role the day the auditor general’s report was released – noted that the interchange of functions between the two agencies has caused something of an identity crisis, at least in the short term. "Telefilm Canada has had to relinquish its role in television production as the transition occurred, and the CTF has had to get used to its new role as a reviewer rather than a doer," she said. Consequently, the fund has cut back operations in areas it no longer plays a part in: its Montreal office will close on June 30, and several staff have also been laid off at its Toronto location. While some money will be saved as a result of the changes, there is actually a $4.9 million restructuring cost associated with the process that will be spread out through to 2007. Despite those one-time costs for the administrative realignment, more money should be available in 2006-2007 than in the previous 12-month period. "The amount for production funding, we project, will increase by 1.7%," said Judy Watt, VP corporate administration. However, said Barrett, most of the upheaval caused by the changes is now in the rear-view mirror. "We have seen an incredible amount of change, and it’s time we returned to a solid strategic plan," Barrett said. The first order of business for 2006-07, he continued, is to get a sense of "where Canadian television is going and what our role in that should be." Over the summer, the CTF will develop a strategic plan for the next two years, then travel across the country for a series of consultative meetings with stakeholders in every region. Second on the list is an analysis of the work done so far and the processes in place, "to see if we’ve achieved an appropriate balance of effectiveness and efficiency," particularly around the transfer of administration to Telefilm Canada and how well the fund has fulfilled its client services role. Other key initiatives included further developing a nascent regional initiative set up in partnership with the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), consider submissions for changes to policy and program guidelines, and a follow-up review of the fund’s governance model. As soon as the floor was opened up for questions, S&S Productions Inc. VP David Smith stood up and said that while he lauded the six-point plan to position the fund strategically and run it more efficiently, he urged the board not to lose sight of its raison d’être. "As a producer I think the job of the CTF is to dispense funds, and I don’t think the CTF should lose sight of that," Smith said, eliciting murmurs of approval from the room. Representatives from the Union des Artistes (UDA), which represents nearly 7,000 active performers in the province of Quebec, also pressed the board on the question of producer involvement in the fund. President Pierre Curzi asked Barrett whether there was a move to more closely involve creators with the running of the fund – currently, only three board members can be said to be producers. Barrett replied by noting that the Heritage minister can appoint candidates to as many as five of the board’s seats, but that more board members may not be desirable. "The number on the board currently is 20 – the consensus is that 20 is a big number," he said. "The trend is not to add more stakeholder voices, the trend is to add more independent voices." UDA director of public affairs Anne-Marie Des Roches followed up by asking the board what they were doing to ensure creators’ voices were heard when formulating policy. "We don’t move without staff involvement," Barrett answered. "We’ve slipped once in a while, but don’t generally move without our policy staff." Another Atlantic Canadian producer expressed concern over changes to staffing levels in the eastern third of the country. In an interview after the meeting, Smith elaborated on his concerns over the gradual broadening of the CTF’s mission. "They’re now adding things like strategic planning – what’s strategic giving out the money?" he asks. However, he says he’s a big supporter of the Broadcaster Performance Envelope (BPE), which was created in 2003 to give broadcasters an option in deciding how to spend CTF funds. "It’s not CTF’s responsibility to decide what kinds of programs should be on television," he says. On the other hand, documentary filmmaker Erez Yanuv Barzilay pans the BPE and the fund, saying that he and his colleagues at the Documentary Organization of Canada have never been asked to address the fund’s board regarding policy for documentary films. "Three years ago…they gave the keys to the CTF fund to the broadcasters," he says, referring to the Broadcaster Performance Envelope. Barzilay has made two films on the Rwandan genocide and the crisis in Sudan that he feels are important socially and politically, but cannot find a broadcast partner to take a risk on such programming. "Having a broadcast licence brings with it responsibility," he says. "I don’t say don’t do…programming attracts an audience and advertising, but is the good educational material? Highlights of the CTF’s projected budget for 2006-07 CTF RevenueTelefilm RevenueTotal CTFREVENUE (in $ millions)BDUs$145.0n/a$145.0Dept. of Canadian Heritage$120.0n/a$120.0Parliamentary Appropriation – Programn/an/an/aTelefilm Recoupmentn/an/an/aParliamentary Appropriation – Adminn/an/an/aInterest$3.4n/a$3.4TOTAL REVENUE$268.4n/a$268.4EXPENSES (in $ millions)Broadcaster Performance Envelope$241.4n/a$241.4Special Initiatives$22.7n/a$22.7CTF Administration$5.2n/a$5.2Telefilm Service Fee$8.6n/a$8.6TOTAL EXPENSES$277.9n/a$277.9

Change has come to CTF, but some remain skeptical

News | 06/20/2006 4:00 am EDT

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