May 20, 2022

Winnipeg
3° C, Overcast

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The Star
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press

ABOVE THE FOLD

Subscribe
Articles Read Your Balance +tax

Support of film tax credit garners positive reviews

By: Editorial | Posted: 7:00 PM CST Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019

Scroll
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

Editorial

There were a few quietly voiced concerns last spring that the spending restraint in the provincial government’s 2018 budget might include a cut to Manitoba’s long-entrenched Film and Video Production Tax Credit.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/1/2019 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were a few quietly voiced concerns last spring that the spending restraint in the provincial government’s 2018 budget might include a cut to Manitoba’s long-entrenched Film and Video Production Tax Credit.

Such a move would not have been out of line with the provincial government’s ongoing effort to rein in spending and reduce the province’s accumulated deficit and associated debt-servicing charges.

But with hundreds of millions of dollars of film- and TV-related economic activity dependent on the tax-credit program, members of Manitoba’s production community hoped the ruling Progressive Conservatives would not make a penny-wise decision with profound pound-foolish implications.

There was relief — albeit of the temporary variety — when then-finance minister Cameron Friesen announced the $18-million tax-credit program was being renewed through the end of 2019. There was also trepidation at the accompanying announcement that a "working group" was being established to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make recommendations regarding possible improvements.

Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox has recognized the importance of film and TV production to Manitoba’s economy in supporting the province's film tax credit. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox has recognized the importance of film and TV production to Manitoba’s economy in supporting the province's film tax credit. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Could the consultation process, some wondered, be an exercise in political theatrics designed to justify axing the tax credit?

Those fears were laid to rest on Tuesday, and then some, when the province not only reaffirmed its support for the film and video tax credit but also removed the "sunset clause" that delineates the program’s expiry date.

The Free Press | Newsletter

Winnipeg Gardener

What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.

Sign up for Winnipeg Gardener
Sign Up

In making the province’s announcement, Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox recognized the importance of film and TV production to Manitoba’s economy — in the 2017-18 fiscal year, a record $173 million in production activity took place in the province, and 2018-19 appears headed toward dizzying $250-million heights — and noted that making the tax-credit program permanent will ensure "stability and predictability for Manitoba’s media production industry."

In a way, it’s fitting that the current PC government would proclaim its commitment to the film and TV sector; the industry’s value to the province’s economy was first formally recognized by the Filmon Tories in 1997 when it established the tax-credit program in an effort to attract production and work toward cementing Manitoba’s reputation as a desirable location for film and TV projects.

To call the enterprise a success would be an understatement of epic proportions. In slightly more than two decades, thanks to careful curation and aggressive promotion by industry stakeholders and continuing government support of the tax-credit scheme, what was essentially still a fledgling industry in 1997 has matured into a robust and forward-moving economic engine that attracts "from away" production companies and creative people to Manitoba in consistently increasing numbers.

As a result, local talent is developed and employed, and with each passing production cycle, the synergies created on the strength of the tax-credit program compound the financial and human-resources benefits to the province.

It is expected film and television productions will add $250 million to Manitoba's economy in the 2018-19 fiscal year. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files)

It is expected film and television productions will add $250 million to Manitoba's economy in the 2018-19 fiscal year. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files)

It seems like a political no-brainer. But there have been other jurisdictions — most notably next-door Saskatchewan, in 2012 — in which austerity-minded governments have decided to curtail tax-credit contributions to film and TV production, with predictably calamitous results. Manitoba has, to its (pun fully intended) credit, stayed the course on supporting cultural industries in creative and fiscally rewarding ways.

The Pallister government has received more than its share of negative reviews, particularly for its imposition of cost-cutting measures onto an already difficult health-care restructuring, and its overall approach to labour relations. But for its decision to guarantee ongoing, stable support for Manitoba’s robust and revenue-generating film and TV production sector, it earns a well-deserved two thumbs up.

Editorials are the consensus view of the Winnipeg Free Press’ editorial board.

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later
  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Top