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Does film industry need taxpayer money?

Re: “Victoria council urged to restore film-commission funding,” July 29.

Re: “Victoria council urged to restore film-commission funding,” July 29.

If Victoria persists in doling out taxpayers’ money to private-sector lobby groups such as the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission, it should at least require independent proof of a net benefit to the city.

Merely claiming that the film industry boosts the local economy is unhelpful in deciding whether to donate public funds to the commission.

How much of the purported film spending went to foreign companies? To non-Victoria companies? What else could be done with the funds?

Filming disrupts local business, neighbourhoods and traffic. What is the cost of this? Are there other potential beneficiaries that would bring more benefit to the city?

In 2017-18, B.C. taxpayers — that’s us — coughed up an estimated $545 million to the film industry in tax expenditures, according to Feb. 20 provincial budget documents. Federal taxpayers — that’s also us — are due to kindly throw in another $155 million in refundable tax credits this year.

If Victoria really does have an extra $45,000 kicking around, it isn’t hard to think of deserving causes. To compare the worthiness of the film commission, which supports the activities of some very wealthy foreign corporations, with that of the Coalition to End Homelessness is little short of pathetic.

If municipalities insist on shaking down their taxpayers for extra funds, only to turn them over to the private sector, how about donating it to the newspaper industry instead? At least newspapers demonstrably provide a valuable public service.

Russ Francis

Pender Island