Dear Members of the Legislative Assembly:
Last month has been difficult for everyone involved in the discussions about Nova Scotia’s Screen Industry. As the vote on the 2015 Financial Measures Act draws near, Screen Nova Scotia would like to review with you the ‘state of play’, so that your vote can be as informed as possible. As you contemplate the upcoming vote, we respectfully ask you to consider:
The changes in the incentives offered to the screen sector came out of the blue. There are no economic studies illustrating the need for them. Neither the Broten tax review nor the Ivany report advocated the radical change introduced in the April 9 budget.
The changes outlined in the FMA have a deadline of July 1 for implementation. This date is unreasonable, unrealistic, and is causing havoc in the industry. Projects have been put on hold. Some have been cancelled. No one can restructure an entire industry on such short notice. It’s not that it’s difficult. It’s impossible.
The government’s own bureaucracy is unable to accommodate the changes in such a short time frame. Nova Scotia Business Inc – the agency that has inherited new responsibilities for the screen industries – was given no notice for the provisions announced in the budget. As we speak, under enormous deadline pressure, NSBI is attempting to write the guidelines for the new Film Production Incentive Fund.
There is a serious shortage of meaningful data regarding the “cost” of the film industry incentives versus the “economic return” to Nova Scotians. The Department of Finance has been cavalier on this important question. An economic study conducted for the government in 2008 painted an extremely positive picture of the industry’s cost/benefit to Nova Scotians. Somehow, this report remained hidden until the week before last. We have no idea why. Please be aware that a comprehensive study has been commissioned. It will be conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and will be a thorough look at the Nova Scotia cost/benefit
We want to share with you our sense of alarm and dismay at how, in our view, Department of Finance (DOF) officials have mishandled this entire file. From the ill-advised and inflammatory comments delivered by Minister Whalen on March 25, to the erroneous data sheet distributed by DOF during the pre-Budget briefing, to the unworkable proposals included in the actual budget (which were subsequently dropped), through to last week’s bungling of the announcement of the animation incentive – there has been a unprecedented display of ineptitude from DOF. We suggest there should be accountability for this. MLAs, cabinet members, and all Nova Scotians have a right to expect better from their civil servants.
Sadly, there are significant questions regarding the film and television sectors that are still unresolved, with no resolution in sight. One of them involves the Equity Fund. This is a fund – previously administered by Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia – that was used to help complete the modest financing of locally made film and television projects. The TV series Land and Sea is an example. As are most of the documentaries done in recent years by Nova Scotian filmmakers, many of which have played on screens around the world. And most of the locally made feature films that showcase our province; films such as Blackbird and Heartbeat. This equity fund has simply disappeared, along with FCINS. The sudden removal of this 30-year-old program has literally kneecapped the development of the next generation of Nova Scotian filmmakers.
We could go on. But we think you get the picture.
We will closely watch the impending vote for the Financial Measures Act. We intend to follow up with each of you, to listen to your suggestions as to how members of the House of Assembly might take tangible steps in the weeks ahead to remedy what has become a seriously unstable situation. These decisions will surely affect Nova Scotia’s reputation as a reliable place to do business, something that affects all of us.
Respectfully,
Screen Nova Scotia
