CCLA JOINS FIGHT AGAINST FILM TAX CREDIT BILL

CCLA added its voice to the fight against Bill C-10, an omnibus bill that would give the Minister of Heritage the power to deny tax credits to film and television productions that she believes contravene public policy.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, CCLA’s Freedom of Expression Project Director Noa Mendelsohn Aviv argued that the criteria for denying tax credits should be clear and specific, and should not limit basic freedoms any more than necessary. Moreover, such criteria should not be left to “ministerial whim”. Mendelsohn Aviv went on to emphasize that the Bill should state that in order to revoke an income tax credit because of a film’s content, the Minister should have to apply to court and prove – and a court would have to find – that, if prosecuted, the film would lead to a criminal conviction because of its content.