Nicole Knowles
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder
Regional District of Nanaimo Board members have voted to continue providing an annual grant of $50, 000 to Vancouver island North Film Commission (INfilm).
This came at the November 26 meeting of the Board.
The Board had initially voted against providing the funding, following presentation from Brandon Lepine, Regional District Manager for Vancouver Island North Film Commission (INfilm).
INfilm is a not for profit that provides liaison and location costing services to the film, television, commercial and new media industry that is interested in filming mid-northern Vancouver island.
Director Leonard Krog (who represents the City of Nanaimo on the RDN Board) was absent at the beginning of the meeting when the motion was passed.
Krog showed up later in the meeting. As he had been unable to vote or speak to the motion to deny the funding, he brought the motion back for reconsideration.
This sparked many opinions and discussions amongst the board of directors.
Director Lauren Melanson had spoken against the funding, saying that there is no particular benefit to the voters in Electoral Area C (Extension, Nanaimo Lakes, East Wellington, Pleasant Valley)
Director Krog said, “I thought we had discussed this last year and I appreciate the position that Director Melansom takes with this.
“I’ll make the same comments as I did last year. The reality is that people who work in the film industry live up and down Vancouver Island, let alone in the various electoral districts, the city of Nanaimo, the city of Parksville, Qualicum Beach et cetera.
“It is an incredible economic generator. Here’s an opportunity for us to take rate payers dollars and put it back into the economy in a very direct way that has proved incredibly successful.”
Krog said for the cost of 34 cents per person in the City of Nanaimo, “we might want to consider that this investment of $50,000 is valuable and worthwhile and also sends a signal to the industry in general that we are a welcoming community when it comes to further productions that involve significant contributions.
“It’s not just people who work in the film industry. It’s the restaurants, the people who work in the bars, the people who deliver goods, the people who provide services, the carpenters, all of those folks.
“This plays out into a multitude of sectors of our economy and I would hope for the sake of $50, 000, we would want to do that as opposed to pretending that we are going to make a significant budgetary contribution by reducing the budget of the Regional District of Nanaimo by $50, 000 and pat ourselves on the back.
“This an opportunity to demonstrate we are forward looking and we want to put money into…an industry the generates literally billions of dollars of economic activity in British Columbia.”
The directors had a lengthy discussion with points made both for and against the issuance of the grant.
Those opposed acknowledged that without doubt the industry brings money to the region.
The suggestion was this grant should be funded by the municipalities, that there was uncertainty if the benefit shared across all electoral areas, that smaller non profits could do a lot for the community with this money, and that this grant was being considered without going through the channels that all other groups requesting have to go through.
Director Melanson said, “this is economic stimulus, and we deliver services.
“We do not stimulate the economy. It is not part of our mandate and I will firmly stand behind that statement. On top of that this is one of the few industries that is probably going to thrive in the next few years with the lower canadian dollar and with all of the chaos happening south of our border.
“I don’t think they need our $50,000. Maybe $50, 000 isn’t a lot for the City of Nanaimo but it is for electoral areas.”
Director Paul Manly (City of Nanaimo) pointed out that the grant would amount to only 2.7 cents per person in the region.
Manly said he people who lived on Gabriola Island and would commute to Vancouver for work in the industry. Supporting the INFilm could mean, “they can work in our community.”
He supported the grant stating, “we spend money on supporting other non-profits in the community.”
Director (and Board Chair) Vanessa Craig represents Electoral Area B (Gabriola, Mudge, Decourcy.
Craig said, “the RDN has specifically chosen not to get engaged in economic development. I don’t think I’ve heard anybody arguing that it’s not a benefit to the entire region to have the film industry active in the area. The question is whether or not we want to give tax dollars to support INfilm?
“I agree, we give $40, 000 to NaLT [Nanaimo and Area Land Trust] and a smaller amount to GaLLT [Gabriola Land and Trails Trust].
“These are non-profits that are actually helping the RDN do its mandate, working in parks or working directly in our community as small non-profits.
“I don’t think I’m in support of providing $50,000 to INfilm.”
Krog closed the discussion by saying, “government is about taking money from the population and then redistributing it. That is the fundamental thing we do and we can argue around the edges whether this is an economic development tool or whether this is providing services, et cetera.
“I want to thank the chair for pointing out NaLT because that is the exact example I was going to use.
“Without hesitation we give NaLT money every year, to lobbyists. We give money to an organization of lobbyists to spend more taxpayers money on park acquisition and programs to benefit the environment and nobody has a problem with that.
“But….we are asked for $50,000 to go to a non-profit organization – that everyone more or less acknowledges and agrees provides incredible economic benefit. This board through many years has chosen wisely I think to support it. It ill behoves us now to say we are in such difficult financial circumstances that somehow the common sense of previous boards is to be tossed out the window.
“We have an opportunity here to continue to deliver what the previous boards have decided was a good thing for the Regional District of Nanaimo.”
The weighted vote was held with 8 board members voting against the grant, and 10 board members voting for the grant.
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