Changes to Nova Scotia film tax credit won’t be pushed back: premier

Above watch: With the government set to pass cuts to subsidies for the film and TV industry, opposition parties and the industry group are calling on the Liberals to at least delay the implementation date for the cuts. But as Global’s Marieke Walsh reports, the premier has already said no.

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says there will be no extension of the July 1 implementation date for a new $10 million film production fund that replaces a $24 million tax credit.

McNeil says the province typically knows how many productions it will fund for the fiscal year by July 1 and so it has decided that applications received after that date will be assessed under the new funding program.

READ MORE: Film industry, government have differing opinions over outcome of film tax credit meeting

Representatives from the province’s film industry want a delay to the change in the current tax credit, saying the deadline doesn’t provide enough time to adjust given there are still no details about the new fund or how it will actually work.

Screen Nova Scotia chairman Marc Almon says the confusion is causing havoc for the industry, which is gearing up for summer productions.

In an open letter to the province’s MLAs that was also printed in local newspapers, Screen Nova Scotia says “the changes in the incentives offered to the screen sector came out of the blue,” and “there are no economic studies illustrating the need for them.”

Read an open letter from Screen Nova Scotia to the Nova Scotia MLAs:

Opposition Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie says extending the deadline to the end of the fiscal year on March 31 would give the industry and the government the time needed to get things right.

Baillie says McNeil is being “reckless and stubborn” with an important part of the province’s economy.

– With Global News files