The Stephen Harper minority Conservative government has drafted guidelines that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show that it deems offensive or not in the public’s best interest.
The proposed changes to the Income Tax Act would allow the Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to projects deemed offensive, effectively killing the productions.
Morality experts from Heritage Canada and the Department of Justice will determine which shows or films pass the test.
Woo!
Game shows, news, sports, and reality television are already excluded from access to the tax credits. So, the proposed prohibition would cover a range of material, such as anything explicitly sexual nature, excessively violent or without educational value.
Ouch!
So whose idea was this anyway?
Apparently a well-known evangelical crusader is taking credit for the federal government’s desire to cut tax credits to TV and film productions that contain sex and violence or lack moral fiber.
One Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, said his lobbying efforts included discussions with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, and “numerous” meetings with officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Oh joy!
“We’re thankful that someone’s finally listening,” he said yesterday. “It’s fitting with conservative values, and I think that’s why Canadians voted for a Conservative government.”
Christian Conservative values?
Now, the last time I checked, Christian Conservative Values (C.C.V’s) seemed to exist in small pockets in Alberta and British Columbia – home to book burnings and other scary behaviors…
And to be precise, we have a Conservative minority government…
Which means… more or less… than the Christian Conservatives, in Canada at least, exist at generally safe levels for the rest of us – meaning few…
Thank you God.