News
March 25, 2021
Provincial Budget Update
As expected, today's Budget is very focused on the effects of the pandemic on the province's finances and providing support to those who were hardest hit - especially healthcare, small businesses and the hospitality and tourism sectors.This means that there are no specific initiatives for the film and television industry in today’s Budget - but our tax credits remain stable and the province continues to be open for business for the film and television industry.
At FilmOntario, we will continue to work with the Ministers' Film and Television Advisory Panel on streamlining the tax credits, workforce development, and support for domestic producers. The Panel's Final Report is due to be submitted to Ministers MacLeod and Bethlenfalvy in the Fall of 2021.
Some additional notes from the Budget:
- an additional $50 million will be awarded to the NOHFC over the next two years to support their renewed slate of programs;
- just over $200 million in funding will be provided to workforce development programs through the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, some of which will be accessible by the film and television industry;
- $10 million will flow through the OAC for arts organizations to pivot to digital, absorb some of their sunk costs for live events that could not happen, and account for lost ticket revenue; and
- for those businesses that already received an Ontario Small Business Support Grant, an automatic 2nd payment will be provided (with no application required).
Thank you to all our members for your ongoing support. Without it, we would not have been able to get back to work and keep our industry working - safely. We look forward to continuing our work together.