Canada Media Fund Celebrates Industry Success
OTTAWA, Sept. 30 /CNW/ - The Canada Media Fund (CMF) yesterday in Ottawa celebrated the success of the Canadian television and digital media industries with an event that brought together the stars of Canadian television shows and the Members of Parliament and government officials who help bring these shows to life through their continued support of the Canada Media Fund.
The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, spoke to the crowd which included representatives from the creative, broadcasting, and distribution industries, as well as senior government officials.
"Six months into the Canada Media Fund, we have come an incredibly long way and it's gone incredibly well," said Minister Moore. "We want to make sure there's a broad diversity of Canadian content and Canadian culture available on the platforms that Canadians choose to consume it on."
"Arts and culture, the creative economy represents $46 billion in Canada's economy," continued Minister Moore. "It is directly responsible for over 640,000 jobs across this country. And I can tell you that any government - municipal, provincial, territorial or federal - that says that it has a plan for strong economic growth but doesn't have a plan for strong support of the arts is a government that doesn't have a plan for economic recovery. I can promise you that as the Minister of Heritage, I will keep on fighting to make sure that we get this right, that we work together, and that the arts and cultural sector will be alive and well in the digital world ahead."
Louis Roquet, Chair of the Board of the CMF, added, "The Canada Media Fund is pleased to be a part of the government's digital economy strategy, and we will strive to be a leading example of public investment that supports innovation in the creative industries. As we complete the first year of the CMF and look towards the future, we will continue to foster innovation, support the development of jobs in the digital economy, and seek opportunities to increase export revenue through the sale of CMF-funded content to international markets."
"The Canada Media Fund is the only fund of its kind in the world that supports the creation of convergent Canadian content and experimental content and software applications," said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the CMF. "I would like to thank Minister Moore and the Government of Canada for their vision in establishing the fund, and Canada's cable and satellite distributors for their continued support. I would also like to thank the wonderful, talented Canadian actors and actresses who took time out of their busy production schedules to come here today to show their support of the CMF."
The following Canadian television stars were present at the event:
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Ashley Leggat Life with Derek
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Athena Karkanis The Border
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David Paetkau Flashpoint
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Debra McCabe The Border, Degrassi: the Next Generation,
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, Heartland, Life
with Derek, Guns, Lost Girl
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Graham Abbey The Border
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Helene Joy Murdoch Mysteries, Durham County
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Jacques Girard Chabotte et fille
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Jarrett Cale Pure Pwnage
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Jocelyn Blanchard Il était une fois dans le trouble
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Joey Scarpellino Les Parent
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Lauren Collins Degrassi: the Next Generation
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Marline Yan How to Be Indie
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Melinda Shankar Degrassi, How to be Indie
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Michael Cram Flashpoint
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Paula Brancati Degrassi: the Next Generation, Being Erica
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Raphaël Grenier-Benoît Les Parent
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Rémi-Pierre Paquin Bienvenue aux dames, Mauvais karma, Rock n'Road,
Les Invincibles
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Ron James The Ron James Show
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Roxanne Boulianne Il était une fois dans le trouble
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Siobhan Murphy Men With Brooms
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Stephen Arbuckle Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
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Zaib Shaikh Little Mosque on the Prairie
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The following are some of the politicians who were present at the event:
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Carole Lavallée Bloc québécois Heritage Critic, MP for
Saint-Bruno - Saint-Hubert
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Francis Fox Honourable Senator
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Pablo Rodriguez Canadian Heritage Opposition Critic, MP for
Honoré - Mercier
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Peter Milliken Speaker of the House of Commons, MP for Kingston
and the Islands
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Connect.Create.Innovate.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) champions the creation of successful, innovative, Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms through financial support and industry research. Created by Canada's cable and satellite distributors and the Government of Canada, the CMF aspires to connect Canadians to our creative expressions, to each other, and to the world. www.cmf-fmc.ca
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: Photo accompanying this release are available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/
For further information: Media contact: Betsy Chaly, Director, Marketing & Communications, 416-214-4441
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