As the Nova Scotia Liberal Party kicks off its annual general meeting Friday evening, protesters from the province’s film industry are rallying outside.
The Nova Scotia government says there are no changes coming to the province’s film production incentive fund, at least for now.
The fund was created in the 2015 budget after the government cancelled the film tax credit. So far, only 13 productions have accessed about $3 million of the available $10 million.
The Atlantic division of the Director’s Guild of Canada says its members have seen wages and work drop by 50 per cent since the end of the film tax credit.
Business Minister Mark Furey met for several hours on Thursday with representatives from Screen Nova Scotia. At the time, Furey said he may make changes to the incentive fund based on that meeting. However, at a press conference late Friday afternoon, Furey said that won’t be happening.
“The discussions did not result in that,” Furey said. “So today when there appeared to be expectations that had no basis, it was important to clarify that. And that’s why we’re having this discussion at this time.”
Furey isn’t ruling out changes in the future, saying there is more work to do with industry representatives. Furey also says he hopes the fund will be exhausted in the future.
