WTF!!!

Thousands still on unpaid leave as Liberals late updating federal public service vaccine mandate: unions

Anja Karadeglija - Tuesday

NATIONAL POST

© Provided by National PostAs of March 29, 1,828 federal government employees were on unpaid leave due to the COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to the Treasury Board.

The Liberal government is now a week late on updating its vaccine mandate policy for federal public servants, according to unions, leaving the 1,828 unvaccinated individuals on unpaid leave waiting to find out if they can go back to work.

“If you’re on administrative leave without pay right now, every day that goes by, you’re left wondering what’s going on here,” said Dany Richard, president of the Association of Canadian Financial Officers, which represents financial professionals working in the federal public service.

“We were told we’d have that decision by April 6.”

As of March 29, 1,828 employees were on unpaid leave due to the vaccination policy, the Treasury Board told unions last week. That number included employees who attested they were unvaccinated, who didn’t provide an attestation about their vaccine status, and employees who submitted an accommodation request that “was not applicable.”

That’s an increase from the 1,382 RCMP and public service employees that were on unpaid leave as of Feb. 1, a number the government outlined in an order paper document the same week.

During the last election campaign, the Liberals campaigned on mandatory vaccines for public servants. Currently, the federal government mandates vaccinations for all employees in the public service, including the RCMP. Those who don’t comply with the policy or aren’t granted an exemption are put on unpaid leave, even if they work from home.

That policy was up for its six-month review as of April 6. The president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada has also previously told media the government promised a “renewed policy” on April 6.

Government faces 90 individual labour grievances on mandatory vaccine policy

Unpaid leave begins for some federal employees not vaccinated for COVID-19

Once released, that updated policy could let the affected individuals go back to work — or it could increase the number on unpaid leave, if the government includes its definition of fully vaccinated as including a booster shot.

“This could go either way. That’s why we want to know, because there’s a major spectrum of how this policy could be reviewed,” Richards said.

Those employees could be out of work for another six months, have their employment terminated, or be allowed to go back to work next week, Richards outlined. “These employees have a right to know what’s happening with their livelihood,” he said.

Richards said the government has given no indication of when the updated policy will be released. “Not only have we not gotten an update on the policy, we don’t even know when the update will happen,” he said. “Is it two weeks, is it two months, is it two days? … I have no idea.”

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said in a statement it is reviewing the policy and that updates will come “in due course.”

“Any decision made will be based on science and the advice of public health officials,” the statement added. “The review is ongoing and there was never an update planned for April 6, 2022.”

The government owes it to employees to provide some guidance to employees, Richards said. “The fact that our members are kept in the dark is frustrating.”

Both ACFO and PSAC, maintain employees should be allowed to work from home. PSAC declined to comment on the government’s update to the vaccine policy but said in a statement that “continuing to put unvaccinated employees on leave without pay is a harsh and unnecessary measure” when workers have shown during the pandemic they can work from home.

Charest tackles cost of living by pitching Conservatives a child care plan

Catherine Cullen - Tuesday

CBC

Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest is tackling voters' cost-of-living anxieties by proposing new measures to help more families afford child care.

His plan would give money back to families not covered under the new federal deal to reduce the cost of child care. It also pledges more flexibility and tax breaks for families that receive parental leave benefits.

Beyond his pledge to pause the carbon tax, this is Charest's first major policy foray on affordability. His campaign says it's the first in a series of such announcements.

The rising cost of living is already a major campaign theme for one of Charest's main rivals, Pierre Poilievre. Recent polls suggest rising expenses are a major concern for a majority of Canadians.

Charest has applauded the recent child care deals between the federal government and provinces and territories and has said he is committed to keeping those deals in place.

The federal plan would see the average price of a licensed child care spot drop to $10 a day by 2025.

The federal government also hopes to create approximately 250,000 new child care spaces.

Support for the existing deals from a Conservative leadership candidate may not mean much, since a recent agreement between the NDP and the Liberals could keep the Trudeau government in power until 2025.

Charest's plan would address costs borne by families using daycares that are not subsidized, such as unlicensed home daycares.

'Choice' in child care

He's promising a Choice in Childcare Tax Credit, which would replace the existing Child Care Expense Deduction. According to his campaign, the new credit would rebate up to 75 per cent of child care expenses to lower-income families whose children do not use subsidized daycares.

Rebates would be payable monthly, rather than with each tax return.

Charest is also pledging to make the Canada Child Benefit available in the beginning of the second trimester of a pregnancy "to give families a financial cushion to prepare for their growing family," says the campaign's press release.

Charest's campaign says he also would extend the eligibility period for parental leave benefits to two years.

Charest's plan would also cut the federal tax on Employment Insurance benefits during parental leave and eliminate the EI clawback on the first $20,000 of income earned while on parental leave.

Charest's campaign estimates the plan would cost about $1 billion. The campaign also claims the plan would pay for itself through increased tax revenues as more families return to work.


© Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

Federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has not yet said whether a government led by him would retain the federal government's child care deals with provinces and territories.

A statement from Poilievre's campaign attacked Charest's approach but didn't didn't say what the Ottawa-area MP's own child care policy would look like.

Poilievre's campaign told CBC News that while he served as Quebec's premier, Charest did not support "choice in child care and discriminated against families that did not use state-based care."

Charest oversaw Quebec's system of not-for-profit, low-fee child care centres while he was premier from 2003 to 2012.

During that time, he raised the daily cost of not-for-profit care as he tried to control Quebec's spending. He also took measures to encourage the emergence of more privately run daycare spots.

Poilievre undecided on Liberals' child care deals

In its statement, Poilievre's campaign also targets the federal Liberals, saying their decades of pursuing affordable daycare have left parents with "less choice and higher prices."

"Mr. Poilievre will wait to see if the latest promises are any different before announcing his plans to reduce costs and expand choice for all parents," said the statement.

In an interview with Radio-Canada in March, Poilievre was asked if he'd undo the federal child care deal with the provinces and territories.

"We'll see how it works. We've seen no results," he said in French to host Patrice Roy.

Leadership candidate Patrick Brown responded to Charest's proposal by taking a swipe at Poilievre.

"Unlike Pierre Poilievre, I would honour agreements signed with the provinces on affordable daycare, and unlike Justin Trudeau, make sure those daycare spots are actually built out," says a statement from Brown's campaign.

Brown also pledged to "recognize that Canadians need choice" in raising their families.

In his campaign's statement, Brown talks about creating a system of "tax credits and direct contribution" that would value the labour of extended family members who help to raise children. He also promises to help parents working in the gig economy or running small businesses get equal access to parental benefits.

The statement offers no specifics about how he would achieve these goals.

Candidate Leslyn Lewis' campaign did not respond to a request for her policy proposals on child care.

Conservatives will choose their next leader on Sept. 10.

Review is a matter of making government 'smarter, not smaller,' Treasury Board president says

QUIT OURSOURCING IT  

BRING IT BACK INHOUSE 

Joanne Laucius - 

© Provided by Ottawa CitizenTreasury Board president Mona Fortier said Monday the government wants to make sure it is smart in investing and using taxpayer dollars.

A review of government policies and operations is aimed at making government smarter, not smaller, says Treasury Board president Mona Fortier.

The review, outlined in last Thursday’s federal budget, has concerned public service unions, who fear that it will lead to downsizing the federal workforce.

The “comprehensive strategic policy review” announced in the budget aims to save money by examining the effectiveness of government programs and operations. The government anticipates savings of $6 billion over five years and $3 billion annually by 2026-27, a figure that was a surprise to public service unions.

Fortier, who will head the review, said Monday the government wants to make sure it is smart in investing and using taxpayer dollars.

“We want to make sure that we focus on the delivery of services we have and programs for Canadians. We know that digitization is going to be very important in how we deliver those services,” said Fortier.

Travel expenses are another saving as workers become proficient in using videoconferencing platforms, she said.

The federal public service has grown from just over 257,000 in 2015 when Justin Trudeau’s Liberals took power to more than 319,000 last year.

For the public service unions, mention of a new review last week conjured memories of the Harper years, when across-the-board cuts affected public service morale, productivity and citizen satisfaction. Cuts at Veterans Affairs, including the disability awards branch, attracted attention, and an auditor general’s report was critical of the length of time it took to decide on the benefit claims of ex-soldiers.

“We’re not Harper,” Fortier said Monday. “We are not going to do what was done in the past.”

Sahir Khan, executive vice-president of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa, said a review is a good idea.

Reviews can be done on two ways — on a fiscal basis to cut costs or with the aim of improving quality. In this case, the government is not using this exercise as a way to get back to a balanced budget, said Khan.

“They’re using it to improve the quality of spending.”

There are three goals of a review. The first is to consider whether spending is aligned with the priorities of the government. In the past, programs have had conflicting goals — funding smoking cessation programs while subsidizing tobacco farmers at the same time, for example.

In the case of this review, the budget has stated that key priorities are strengthening economic growth, inclusiveness and fighting climate change.

The second goal is to review whether every program is working well, said Khan.

The third goal is consider whether a program is the most efficient way to achieve the desired effect. For example, if the aim is to increase youth involvement in sport, this can be achieved through creating a sports program or by allowing parents to submit the cost of their child’s existing sports program for a tax credit.

Khan cautioned that while technology solutions may seem a simple way to improve efficiency, the Phoenix payroll controversy was an illustration that this is not always the case.

Meanwhile, the government will need to have a human resources strategy in place before a real estate strategy to determine how many workers can work from a hybrid or permanent home office before embarking on a strategy to reduce office space, he said.

If programs are eliminated at the end of the day, there are ways to handle the reduction in the workforce, including attrition and being generous with buyouts.

“Unions shouldn’t be concerned. But they should be involved,” said Khan.

Jennifer Carr, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said what she had heard in recent days has been reassuring. But her members are still concerned about a lack of details — especially after the budget released target savings.

Those who work from home also want to be assured that they will get the necessary training and tools, she said.

“We know Canadians don’t want services cut.”

Fortier said she was looking forward to making sure that unions are part of the conversation.

The first update on the review is to be provided in the fall 2022 economic and fiscal update and another in the 2023 budget.

Federal housing budget a good start, more targeted support needed: Housing advocates


OTTAWA — Advocates say while the focus on housing affordability in the federal budget is promising, its measures could go further to help people in the most dire need.

Emilie Coyle, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, said the promise of money for housing is welcome but she wants to make sure it gets into the right hands.

"If you are going to really address housing as an issue, you have to start with the people for whom it is the most difficult to find housing," Coyle said.

Kaitlin Schwan, national director of the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network, said the budget measures don't reflect the gendered nature of the housing crisis, with low-income, women-led households facing the greatest need.

Data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows 26 per cent of single female-led households are in core housing need, compared to 16 per cent of single male-led households.

The numbers are also high for racialized people and people with disabilities, said Schwan.

The budget promised $1.5 billion in funding for the rapid housing initiative, which helps build homes quickly for vulnerable people. At least a quarter of that is set aside for women-focused projects.

This kind of targeting could be expanded to all of the housing programs, said Sahar Raza, project manager of National Right to Housing Network.

These programs also need to be easier and more flexible so that high-need groups can access them, Coyle said.

"Women and gender diverse people experience chronic homelessness in a way that doesn't meet the definition of chronic homelessness," she said, noting it can look like exchanging sexual favours for housing. The numbers also don't capture women who want to leave intimate partner violence but have nowhere to go.

The Liberal budget also announced more than $10 billion in funding to speed up home construction and repairs, along with measures to cool the market and help those trying to buy their first home.

"One of the biggest disappointments in the budget was the lack of urban Indigenous housing strategy," said Tim Richter, CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

Richter said this is one of the biggest gaps in the national housing strategy, since Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately affected by housing insecurity and homelessness.

About 5 per cent of Canada's population is Indigenous, but Indigenous people make up around 30 per cent of those who use homeless shelters according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press under Access-to-Information legislation.

"When we fail to invest in deep affordable housing, what we're doing is failing to invest equitably in Canada," Schwan of the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network said.

A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the budget includes $300 million in funding as a down payment to co-develop an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy.

Adrienne Vaupshas said the government is investing in rapid housing initiative and $4 billion over seven years for Indigenous housing to respond to calls for action from affordable housing and homelessness advocates.

She said the new funding announcements reflect the government's commitment to addressing the housing gaps since more work is needed to close them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

———

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press

BC

SITE C DAM treaty infringement claim put on hold pending negotiations

Tuesday


A billion-dollar treaty infringement claim over the Site C dam has gone from the courtroom to confidential discussions in an attempt to settle the outstanding litigation brought by the West Moberly First Nation.

Trial was scheduled to start in B.C. Supreme Court on March 14, but in its annual progress report to the BC Utilities Commission last month, BC Hydro said the trial had been adjourned on Jan. 21.

“The parties to the litigation are continuing confidential discussions to seek to settle this litigation,” reads the March 31 report, which also notes construction of the dam was more than 55% complete at the end of 2021.

Dave Conway, a community relations manager for BC Hydro, said the company will not be providing any further public comments about the discussions, but noted both parties agreed to adjourn the case — at least for now.

“BC Hydro remains committed to working with Indigenous communities to build relationships that respect their interests,” said Conway. “We have undertaken extensive and meaningful consultation and engagement with First Nations about Site C since 2007.”

West Moberly, along with Prophet River First Nation, filed the infringement claim in January 2018, and sought a court injunction to stop construction on the now $16-billion project until their case was heard. The two nations warned Premier John Horgan in 2017 that his approval to continue with construction would lead to a civil suit, and claimed any damages could be as high as $1 billion.

The Supreme Court ultimately refused an injunction, but ordered a trial on whether the project infringes aboriginal treaty rights be held by mid-2023 instead, before the dam's reservoir starts to be filled.

Prophet River has since settled their claim outside of court, announced in 2020. West Moberly had also previously entered discussions with BC Hydro in February 2019 to seek alternatives to litigation, before filing an amended claim to the court later that year.

West Moberly Chief Roland Willson has not returned calls for comment. Joshua Lam, a lawyer with Sage Legal, which is representing West Moberly in court, confirmed they have entered negotiations, but says the nation isn’t at liberty to comment further.

“I can confirm what BC Hydro’s stated in that document, but West Moberly isn’t able to comment any further about the status of the case or discussions,” Lam said.

The Supreme Court registry in Vancouver says the case is still technically open, as no party has filed to end it. No new court dates have been set in the matter.

“The court case is adjourned (paused) pending discussions, not over,” confirmed Lam.

The provincial ministry of energy also declined to comment.

“The parties have agreed to adjourn the trial. Out of respect for the ongoing discussions, the Ministry will not be providing any further comments at this time,” a ministry spokesperson said.

West Moberly saw some legal success last year, winning the right to see Site C financial and safety documents held in private by BC Hydro. A condition of releasing these documents was that West Moberly keep them confidential.

tsummer@ahnfsj.ca
Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative, Alaska Highway News

Legault's CAQ victorious in Quebec byelection as once-dominant parties fall


MONTREAL — Quebec Premier François Legault warned his troops to stay humble on Tuesday after his Coalition Avenir Québec won a Montreal-area byelection the day prior, and as the two once-dominant parties — the Liberals and Parti Québécois — suffered disappointing results.

Less than six months ahead of the general election, Legault told reporters he is taking nothing for granted, but he admitted his party's chances of winning in October are "looking good right now."

Shirley Dorismond, a nurse who works in addictions and mental health, took the Marie-Victorin riding for the governing party with about 35 per cent of the vote. The riding on Montreal's south shore had been dominated by the sovereigntist PQ since it was created in 1981.

"You have to remember that Marie-Victorin voted for the Parti Québécois for the last 40 years," Legault said in Quebec City. "It wasn't an easy win, so that's why I think it's a big win for us."

The CAQ has remained atop the polls since the 2018 election, when the party won a majority. With Monday's byelection win, Legault's party has 76 seats in the 125-seat legislature.

Meanwhile, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon tried to spin the results in his favour, telling reporters his party's second-place showing at 30 per cent — relatively stable compared with its results in the 2018 general election — indicates that only the PQ can challenge the CAQ.

"I can't throw a party this morning, but I can see that the result is objectively very good," St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters. "Six months ago, everyone agreed it would be an easy win for the CAQ."

Recent polls have placed the PQ in fifth place overall, with less than 10 per cent support across the province.

The official Opposition Liberal party came fifth on Monday — behind the Conservatives, who didn't run a candidate in the riding in 2018. Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade's party secured seven per cent, down more than half compared with 2018.

"There's no question that it was disappointing," she told reporters. "I think a lot of the Liberals stayed home."

The Coalition's victory came days after evidence released at a coroner's inquest indicated two of Legault's cabinet ministers knew about the tragic situation in the spring of 2020 at a Montreal-area long-term care home 10 days earlier than they had publicly claimed. The coroner is investigating the 47 deaths that occurred at the Herron long-term care home during the pandemic's first wave, along with deaths at other institutional settings in the province.

Legault said the results of the byelection show that Quebecers accept his version of events — that his government believed the regional health authority had taken charge of the Herron care home. Voters, he added, didn't respond to criticisms from the opposition, including from Anglade.

Québec solidaire came third with 14 per cent, a decline of more than seven percentage points from the left-wing party's 2018 results. Co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said low voter turnout, particularly among young people, and a lack of polling stations on college and university campuses hurt his party.

"We knew entering that race that it was a PQ stronghold; we knew it wasn't going to be easy and considering that, and considering the absence of voting on campuses, I think a solid third place is a result that is honourable for Québec solidaire," he told reporters in Quebec City.

The Quebec Conservative Party received about 10 per cent of the vote, a result party leader Eric Duhaime said shows his team "is the only opposition party to the CAQ that is growing." The Conservatives received 1.5 per cent of the vote provincewide in 2018.

"The battle of Marie-Victorin has just trained us to be much stronger ahead of the electoral war on Oct. 3," Duhaime tweeted Tuesday.

In response to the Conservatives' results, Legault said his party is focusing on "our priorities."

"So we will continue to be the party of the economy, to be a nationalist party, to be a party that is moderate."

And Legault had a message to his team: "It's important to remain humble; it's important, every day, to earn the trust of Quebecers … so no arrogance. We stay humble and we listen to Quebecers."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

CHER MONSIEUR; VA TE FAIRE FOUTRE

Quebec premier warns Ottawa against unilateral action to protect province's caribou

QUEBEC — Ottawa is threatening to act unilaterally to protect caribou in Quebec, a move that Premier François Legault said Tuesday would be interference in an area of provincial jurisdiction.

In an April 8 letter, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault gave the Quebec government until April 20 to provide him with information about its plan to protect the at-risk woodland caribou and the animals' habitat.

If the province doesn’t agree to rapidly impose measures to prevent the decline of the species, Guilbeault said he would recommend the federal government adopt an order-in-council that would unilaterally create protected habitat for the caribou in Quebec.

“Quebec still has the opportunity to act and to come to the table and negotiate in good faith, but that must be done quickly,” Guilbeault told a news conference Tuesday.

In response, Legault said Guilbeault's ultimatum is another example of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government meddling in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

“This is Quebec’s jurisdiction, so we have an independent commission that is looking into this," Legault told reporters in Quebec City. "We have to have a balance between saving the caribou but also protecting jobs that are important in certain regions of Quebec."

The former president of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Marco Festa Bianchet, said he’s pleased with the federal government’s ultimatum.

"This is really the first time that the federal government has invoked the safety nets of the Species at Risk Act,” said Festa Bianchet, a biology professor at Université de Sherbrooke. He said the threat is necessary because "the provincial government has chosen to let the forest industry destroy caribou habitat for many years."

The provincial government, Festa Bianchet said in an interview Tuesday, has chosen not to act in order to protect jobs in the forestry industry.

Caribou depend on thick, old-growth forests for protection from predators and to provide lichen for food, Festa Bianchet said. Over time, logging has removed much of the old-growth forest and replaced it with younger trees, depriving the caribou of their habitat and food. Logging roads also allow for the caribou's natural predators, such as bears and wolves, to hunt more easily, he added.

The woodland caribou is considered “vulnerable” by the Quebec government. According to provincial data, from 2005 to 2016, the estimated population of the woodland caribou in the province varied between 5,635 and 9,981 animals. The mountain caribou subspecies of the woodland caribou is considered "threatened" by Quebec. Its population is estimated at around 40.

The Quebec committee currently studying caribou protection has faced criticism from environmental groups because it doesn't include any caribou experts. It is headed by Nancy Gélinas, a Université Laval professor who studies forest economics.

The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador has said the committee is not taking the rights and interests of First Nations into account during consultations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Stéphane Blais, The Canadian Press

Almost 1,000 hectares of Toronto and Ajax land granted protected status

A total of 950 hectares of land in the City of Toronto and Town of Ajax are considered protected areas, it was announced Monday, as part of a push to conserve 25 per cent of Canada's land and water by 2025.


© THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

People are reflected in water crossing a footbridge in Cedarvale Ravine in Toronto during the May long weekend on Sunday, May 23, 2021.

Isaac Callan - Monday

In a press release, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) announced the lands would be added to the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database.

"While this is part of an international initiative, we are showing that efforts at the municipal level can make an important contribution to a larger natural system," Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a statement.

Read more:
City announces plans for park in downtown Toronto as part of new development

During the 2019 federal election campaign, the Liberal Party promised to protect a quarter of Canada's land and marine areas. The plan included a pledge to create 10 new national parks and 10 national marine conservation areas.

The Government of Canada's website says protected areas include national, provincial and territorial parks. National wildlife areas and migratory bird sanctuaries are also protected areas. They "safeguard biodiversity ... by reducing stresses from human activities," the website says.

The new protected lands in Ajax and Toronto will be managed by TRCA and the two municipalities.

Read more:
Liberals vow to protect 25% of Canada’s ocean waters and land by 2025

Ten city parks in Toronto totalling around 888 hectares are now designated as protected areas, while 62 hectares of Ajax's Carruthers Creek wetland are also protected.

"Carruthers Creek is a small and sensitive watershed that Ajax Council has been continuously advocating for the protection of for many years," Ajax Mayor Shaun Collier said.

Hollywood, foreign film productions reach record high in Canada in COVID's first year

OTTAWA — When the pandemic first hit, the world shouted "cut." Cameras stopped rolling, film sets went black and stars with seven-figure salaries were sent back to their hotel rooms.

But a report by the Canadian Media Producers Association on the state of Canada's film industry in the first year of COVID-19 shows it did not take long for shooting to resume.

Hollywood studios, and other filmmakers from abroad, were not greatly deterred by stringent health and safety measures from making movies in Canada, the financial report makes clear.

They made a record volume of productions here between March 2020 and April 2021 worth $5.27 billion.

Canada's homegrown film and TV industry also remained afloat, with some government underpinning, though it saw a dip in production of 12 per cent.

Overall, production in Canada dipped by only five per cent in the first year of the pandemic.

TV pilots were COVID-19's biggest casualties, largely grinding to a halt.

“Canada’s independent producers demonstrated incredible resilience and the ability to adapt to new realities in the face of a global pandemic, all while continuing to create content that reflects the people and places that make up this country,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association.

When the pandemic first struck, the prognosis for Canada's film industry looked grim. Insurers, spooked by the prospect of the virus on set, suddenly pulled the plug on productions and withdrew their backing.

The big Hollywood studios had the financial might to continue or could self-insure. But smaller independent Canadian studios had to put the covers on their cameras.

It was not until the government stepped into the gap and agreed to underwrite productions that they started rolling again.

Ottawa agreed to foot the bill if filming was interrupted due to a case of COVID-19 on set through a $50 million short-term compensation fund for Canadian audiovisual productions.

In last week's budget, it extended the film compensation fund by $150 million until next year.

The report shows that Canada remained a favourite location for Hollywood and other foreign studios in the first year of the pandemic.

The Hollywood and foreign film industry was the only sector to see an increase in Canadian production, creating thousands of jobs, not just for actors and crew but thousands of associated roles in production and post-production.

But despite the huge injection into the economy, Canadians owned the copyright of only five to 10 per cent of these productions, meaning they would not cash in if the movie became a hit.

Mastin said it is time that Canada's creative talent is properly rewarded for its hard work.

He also wants small independent Canadian production companies to have more bargaining power when selling their TV shows and films to the big streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

He contends there is a huge imbalance between the number of Canadian production companies making movies and shows and the places they can sell them.

This means that often Canadian filmmakers have to sell all the rights to their work just to get their productions made.

And if a movie or show turns out to be a hit, and is sold all over the world, the Canadian production company won't get a slice of the profits.

There are over 500 independent Canadian TV producers in Canada but fewer than a dozen major potential buyers, according to a broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review panel report.

"The streaming services are very powerful gatekeepers because they are huge relative to independent producers in Canada," Mastin said.

He wants the government to use an online streaming bill, now going through Parliament, as a vehicle to give small Canadian production companies more bargaining power, and a greater share in the success of the films and TV shows they make.

Bill C-11 would subject streaming companies to the same rules as traditional Canadian broadcasters, such as offering a set amount of Canadian content and investing heavily in Canada's cultural industries, including film, television and music.

Small production companies can take years just developing a script and getting a production off the ground, said Mastin. But often they have to turn over not just the rights but creative control to the big streaming platforms.

Mastin said the online streaming bill offers Canada the opportunity to do what the U.K. has already done, by making it a legal requirement that independent production companies get "a more equitable share" of success and a slice of future profits from the shows they create.

"A producer will spend years developing a show and all that investment in blood, sweat and tears," Mastin said. "What we are saying is that when a show is a success on one of these platforms, they should be sharing in the success because it is their show."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER

Skateboarders fill chamber as CNV passes motion to include consultation in rec review

IN THE FUTURE

Tuesday

City of North Vancouver council affirmed its position to rectify the perceived wrongs of demolishing Lonsdale Skatepark without a replacement, as it unanimously voted Monday night (April 4) to include more consultation in future plans for skate parks around the city.

In an at times colourful meeting, more than 20 people from the North Vancouver skateboard community packed the chamber to share their thoughts ahead of Coun. Tony Valente’s motion to make sure users' input be included in the upcoming North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission and Sport Facility Venue Review.

Ten speakers from the community addressed council in the public input period at the start of the meeting, all pressing for the acknowledgement of the importance of the skateboarding community, and that while the interim solution of Mahon Park is greatly appreciated, more needs to be done to include skateboarding in long-term plans for North Vancouver.

“We would like to say that the proposed solution does not go far enough to address the needs and size of our diverse community. Mahon Park is out of the way and there's a considerable amount of work to be done before it is usable,” Evan Tancredi, Skaters of the North Shore founder and sponsored skateboarder, said. “It's small in size and has somewhat of an awkward layout. … That said, we do support the development of this location, as well as a more suitable midterm replacement for Lonsdale, and a broader community strategy for skateboarding in North Vancouver.”

In discussions on the motion, Valente said that while the temporary facility at Mahon Park begins to address the needs of the community as the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre skate park is built, “This motion is intended to support skate park users in thinking about the future of safe spaces for skateboarding on the North Shore.”

Valente noted the City of Vancouver’s shift in strategy from “controlling to supporting” skateboard culture.

“I think we need to do more to plan for its future. I think this is a community that is fully aligned with our council strategic plan as a city for people, as a vibrant city. This is an all-ages, genders, and ethnicities activity, it does not discriminate,” he said.

Mayor Linda Buchanan reiterated her thanks to the community for making their voices known by writing in and showing up at the meeting on Monday night.

“The feedback that we receive, the comments that we get, that the input helps us move forward, and do better as we work to provide much needed recreation investment for a variety of different sports across the North Shore,” she said.

Buchanan said she fully understands how beloved the Lonsdale Skatepark was, and recognizes that she and two other councillors fought hard to have the facility retained when the city was looking at developing HJCRC.

“That centre, as you know, is very large, sitting right now at $210 million. And there was a significant amount of balancing that needed to happen for a variety of different uses. In the end, the decision was that because of the aquatics component of the new centre, the skate park had to go,” she explained.

“I again apologize for that misstep, in terms of [not] convening the [skateboard community] again and just making sure that people understood what was happening moving forward. That probably doesn't satisfy a lot of people, but let me tell you that staff’s recommendation to move to Mahon, and I know for some they won't see it as a win, but that park will be ready to go June 1. It'll have some features, and then we'll add features as it moves along,” she said.

Charlie Carey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News