Light Spotted at the End of the Tunnel: Still a Train

Senators like Dallaire to the Rescue?

So here’s the latest on Bill C-10, the omnibus tax bill, with its infamous, well-buried amendment designed to give bureaucrats the right to deny tax credits to makers of TV shows or movies that officials consider "counter to public policy."

Nothing’s really changed. The Conservative government is preoccupied with survival; denying bribery charges in the late Chuck Cadman affair and threatening to sue Liberal leader Stephane Dion for the allegations he made about the Cadman affair and now refuses to withdraw.

In the midst of all that activity, Heritage Minister Josee Verner issued a statement yesterday about Bill C-10 before heading off for a crucial budget vote…at least that’s how she explained her absence at yesterday’s Genie Awards.

Here’s a snippet from the release: “Bill C-10 has nothing to do with censorship and everything to do with the integrity of the tax system. The goal is to ensure public trust in how tax dollars are spent... We will act with great care to ensure there is no adverse effect on film financing practices in the industry.”

Well, that sounds warm and fuzzy but it likely signals the following:

1) The Tory government is clearly not considering a change of the amendment and is sticking to its guns.

2) It’s up to the Senate to lead on the matter…

And quite possibly Retired General and Senator Romeo Dallaire emerged (again) as a reluctant hero last night at the Genie awards when he told the crowd, “C-10 is not through the Senate yet.”

He also proved military guys can be funny when he introduced himself with, “Hi, I’m Roy Dupuis’s double.” (Dupuis, far left, played the General in the multi-nominated Shake Hands with the Devil.) And Dallaire looked quite dapper, outfitted with a chest full of service medals pinned to the left breast of his tux...But, I digress.

At this point, it seems C-10 will eventually be passed…Keep in mind, it hasn’t actually been “suspended,” it’s rather in limbo -- between its second and third reading in the Senate.

Bill C-10 is an omnibus bill, covering dozens of matters over hundreds of pages. Its scope creates tremendous pressure for the Senate to pass it. It’s just a matter of time before the bill goes to third reading.

Will it be amended before it gets there? One possibility: Senators argue for an amendment that clearly states that only the Criminal Code supersedes an artist’s or any Canadian’s Charter right to freedom of expression. Currently, the proposed amendment subordinates freedom of expression to the government’s right to define what is “counter to public policy.”

A bit of input from Sen. W. David Angus, Q.C., might be helpful...He's the head of the Senate's Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee -- AND a member of the Conservative Party, appointed to the Senate in 1993 by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

How again did this creative nightmare arise? Answer: The amendment was buried in tax law…law that wasn’t debated but shuffled through the House of Commons in a single day; October 29, 2007. (Trick or Treat!)

Bill C-10 won’t be forgotten during the next election campaign and an election – like a third reading – is inevitable in politics. Many Canadians – not just artists - will recall the Tory government effectively tried to shape Canadian cultural policy with a hidden amendment in a massive tax bill. And tried to subvert Charter rights to freedom of expression in the process.

Perhaps Prime Minister Harper should check out Vancouver filmmaker Geoff Browne’s brilliant doc, “Call It Karma.”