The Canadian federal government has announced the creation of a $50 million fund which would provide insurance coverage to domestic film and TV productions.
The fund will offer Canadian film and TV productions maximum compensation of $1.5 million in the event of a temporary interruption. For cases of complete production shutdown, the fund can provide producers up to $3 million.
In a conference call announcing the relief fund, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault explained that production companies have to meet criteria to be eligible for the coverage – specifically, they have to be local productions and should have a clear plan on how to handle the coronavirus risk.
“It would have to be a production owned and controlled by Canadians regarding Canadian production,” said Guilbeault.
“The company would have to have a COVID security plan. It would have to be an independent production company, so not affiliated with a broadcaster.”
CBC News reported that the relief fund will be managed by Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund. Guilbeault said that in the coming weeks, Telefilm will reveal more information about the new fund, and that the ministry is “literally running to put this together and get this in operation as soon as possible.”
The launch of the film insurance fund comes months after the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and the Association quebecoise de la production mediatique petitioned the federal government to create a $100 million backstop – a reserve pool program where media producers, insurers, and the government all chip in for a fund that pays out for COVID-19-related insurance claims.
