NDP advocates for regulatory reform to help independent movie theatres
Independent movie theatres are favorite places for many. Beloved by local communities and movie buffs alike for showing the classics, the sleeper hits that are receiving notice on the second and third run, and the foreign movies that connect British Columbians with movie goers in different countries, they are also the theatres that choose to showcase home grown talent, building a following for B.C. and other Canadian movie makers.
However, the survival of these treasured independent theatres is increasingly challenged because of rising cost pressures, some of which are being caused by unnecessary red tape.
Currently, theatres have to pay Consumer Protection BC - at a rate of two dollars/minute - to reclassify a movie just because it has undergone digital reformatting. Older films, often classics or foreign films, are also subject to the same reclassification fee if they lose their original distributor.
New Democrat leader Adrian Dix and culture critic Spencer Chandra Herbert have been arguing that theatres should be relieved of this burdensome regulation. "It is more sensible for a film’s original classification to stand when the actual content of the movie remains unchanged," said Chandra Herbert.
Click here to view recent coverage of this issue on Global News.
