First, they were ludicrously blamed for 70% of world piracy, it now seems that certain elements of Hollywood are trying to dump all their other ridiculous movie related issues on Canada's doorstep.
The Film and Television Action Committee (FTAC), a group lobbying to keep film-making jobs in the US, has started a bitter row by accusing Canada of stealing American jobs. The FTAC has filed a 301 petition with US Trade Representatives claiming that Canada's film subsidies violate trade agreements and constitute "unfair trade practices".
The Canadian group, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), has hit back at the FTAC claims, rubbishing it's "facts" and pointing out that the group has no support from the Directors Guild of America, the American Federation of Radio Television Artists or the infamous and all-seeing MPAA who we already know have no love for their northern cousins. Or math.
FTAC is claiming the U.S. lost 47,000 jobs every year and and around $23 billion in economic benefits due to film-making defecting to Canada. They cite data from the Center for Entertainment Industry Data. However, ACTRA disputes this, pointing to their own figures which say overall employment in the US film industry has risen since 2000 and a study by Film Ontario in 2004 which estimated economic losses to Canada in 1998 to be more in the region of a significantly smaller $1.69 billion.
Stephen Waddell, national executive director for ACTRA, also wryly points out a possibly unforseen downside to the FTAC's arguement; "One of the ironies is that if it was found that Canadian subsidies did violate NAFTA, then that would make [films] into goods and services. Then we could take action against the U.S. networks for dumping their products into the Canadian television market."
ACTRA's national president Richard Hardacre also took a swipe at the move; "The bitter irony in this dispute is that we are drowning in U.S. product on TV and in the movie theatres. It's difficult to find a Canadian film in a Canadian theatre with all the U.S. blockbusters dominating our screens. Yet this upstart organization has the nerve to insist we stop filming in Canada."
Quite what the FTAC are up to is anyone's guess. It's pretty clear they have no case to fight and are possibly just another minority lobby group trying to justify their existence and getting a bit of press by picking a fight with the big boys. The FTAC arrogantly asserts that by giving US citizens the jobs Canadians are doing, the end result will be a better product as only the best work in Hollywood. Well sorry that's bullshit. Just because your the biggest doesn't mean your the best. Just look at the box office winners this year for prime examples of that. Life isn't fair and maybe if the FTAC want to increase the number of jobs in the US they should be lobbying the government for better incentives at home instead of attacking other nations for having the audacity to be actively encouraging their own industry.
I don't get to go up and punch the guy living off a trust fund with the fancy car and the hot girl and take his spoils for myself. I have to put the work in to get it myself. And if I find myself at a disadvantage because I'm on minimum wage or look like Clint Howard, then yes it's going to be harder for me to get the fancy car and the hot girl, but that doesn't mean the other guy deserves to get penalised for my disadvantages.
