THE BILL
At her June 8,1988, Press Conference, PC Minister of Communication, MP Flora MacDonald sought to ensure public awareness of Bill C-136 content. The read-out for the press conference chronicle, decade by decade, the situations that exacerbated CanCon’s lockout from Canadian cinemas, and the shelving of the bill to accommodate Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.(CUSFTA)
Download your free read-out of Flora’s fascinating press conference!
Flora Isabel MacDonald was a federal politician (1979–1988), humanitarian and feminist. Her obituary (1926-2015) is a testament to a politician with un-parallel depth of service to Canada. Since 1950, as a member of the Progressive Conservative, she has had a front row seat to the country’s growth and development of which she has been an insider witness and contributor. During her tenure as Minister of Communications, MacDonald focused on addressing longstanding issues identified by Canadian filmmakers, particularly concerning their restricted access to theatre screens for domestic content. Bill C-136 received its first and only Caucus reading in October 1986, coinciding with the inaugural Parliamentary Caucus reading of the U.S./Canada Free Trade Agreement. C-136 asserted: This bill and other measures in our new film policy mark a turning point in the history of the Canadian film industry. But not so fast! Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) warned Flora’s Film Products Importation bill could sour the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.(CUSFTA) CUSFTA was signed into law on June 2, 1988 Bill C-136 was shelved.