If You Vote Conservative You Don’t Support Canadian-Made Movies With Bare Bums, Boobies Or Bits

It’s not as important as bad drug policy, attacks on freedom of thought or wasting a gajillion-dollars on stealth planes but one reason to be suspicious of the Conservatives is their creepy 2008 attack on Canadian movies with sexual content.

Remember Bill C-10? Well, if not, here’s a memory-jogger, from a cbc.ca In depth feature:

The film and television industry is concerned Bill C-10 would restrict the kinds of movies and TV shows that can be made in this country. The Writers Guild of Canada says writers would be forced to self-censor and second-guess how a government committee might respond to any given production. There is also concern that the minister has the power to set a community standard for the whole country.

It gets worse: Charles McVety of the anti-gay marriage, anti-choice, pro-kooky Christian Canada Family Action Coalition claimed credit for influencing Bill C-10. I know that’s something I want in my Canada: extremist religious weirdos influencing public arts policy.

And don’t give me this baloney about how government shouldn’t provide incentives to controversial film productions. If you’re going to have a domestic film industry you can’t pick and choose what gets supported and what doesn’t on the basis of morality. It’s impossible. Try it, and you’ll drive our filmmaking talent out of the country. Besides, most people who like movies LIKE grown-up content.

Fortunately, the clause in Bill C-10 that let government morality police revoke tax credits for movies they didn’t like hurt the Conservatives in the polls and they backed off. It was probably a factor in their inability to land a majority government in 2008.

But it did show the Conservatives true colours on issues of freedom of artistic expression.

The way I see it, any political party that worries about immorality in movies while they’re building unnecessary prisons, cutting corporate taxes, muzzling government scientists and cancelling social programs invites a harsh look at it’s own morality.

Something to think about when you hit the polls tomorrow.