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Support for Quebec film studios - Quebecor calls on political parties to commit to maintaining the film production services tax credit
Support for Quebec film studios - Quebecor calls on political parties to commit to maintai...
About this update from Quebecor Inc. Class A
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nSupport for Quebec film studios - Quebecor calls on political parties to commit to maintaining the film production services tax credit\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCanada NewsWire\nMONTRÉAL, Sept. 26, 2018\n\n\n\nMONTRÉAL, Sept. 26, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebecor has joined its voice to that of a major U.S. producer, whose comments were reported in a Montréal daily this morning, and is urging Québec's political parties to make a formal pledge to maintain the predictability of the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit and support the continued development of Québec's thriving filming industry. \n\"We have been pleading our case to the Couillard government for more than a year, to no avail,\" said Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor. \"All we're asking for is the fiscal predictability we need to be able to invest some $40 million to build new MELS studios in order to meet the needs of the producers who are knocking on our door, creating hundreds of new jobs in the process. Without such guarantees, studios such as MELS are at the mercy of shifting government policies, such as the cuts in business tax credits in 2014, that would make Québec less attractive on the highly competitive film production market. If our governments were able to extend written guarantees regarding tax credits to companies such as Ubisoft and Warner in the video game industry, why wasn't the Liberal government able to do the same for an industry as important as film and TV production?\" \nWhile 23 foreign films were shot in Québec last year, generating direct expenditures of $383 million, up 28.5% from 2016 and 440% from 2009, Québec currently accounts for only 11% of foreign film productions in Canada, compared with 62% for British Columbia and 23% for Ontario. \nWhile the supply of film studios in Québec is stagnant, the rest of Canada and the rest of the world are expanding their facilities. After acquiring Pinewood Toronto Studios in March 2018, Bell announced plans to add more than 170,00...