User:HumanxAnthro/sandbox/2019 White Van kidnapping rumors

The scandal was one of the highest-profile incidents in Canadian entertainment at the time.

Background

Government funding had a significant role of the film and television industry in Canada throughout its history, even with the biggest producers; funding of entertainment was met with skepticism of the Canadian public even in the least scandalous times, as citizens felt tax dollars should go into essentials like education and health care and not entertainment.

Generally, government subsidies made up around 20% of budgets of Cinar series, with the other 80% coming from self-funding. According to the company's annual reports, Cinar garnered a net profit of $5.3 million and received financial and provincial subsidies of $8.9 million in 1995; received $8.4 million net profit while garnering $13.1 million in subsidies in 1996; garnered $12.9 million in profit and $22.6 million in subsidies in 1997; and had a nearly equal net profit ($21.8 million) and subsidies amount ($21.5 million) in 1998.

1999

On October 14, 1999, Le Journal de Montréal reported that police began investigation into a Montreal production company based on a tip from an "unnamed informer"; it was reported to be for a possible tax credit scam, where the producer used credits of Canadian names for scripts by non-Canadians to take advantage of the Canadian government's funding of the country's film and television productions. Although the report didn't specify the company, it revealed Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO), and Revenue Canada were interviewed for the investigation. The next day, Radio-Canada ran a report identifying the company as Cinar Corp, as well as interviewing an American screenwriter that admitted he wrote for a Cinar series but was never credited. Then, in the House of Commons, Bloc Québécois Member of Parliaments (MP) made allegations of Cinar's possible tax credit fraud. On October 19, then Bloc Québécois MP Stephane Bergeron, in the House of Commons, stated that an executive producer at production company World Affairs told him about Cinar's tax credit fraud.

In an interview published in the Montreal Gazette on October 21, 1999, Cinar managers and ING Barings LLC claimed the allegations were related to how Cinar sold limited partnerships to individuals for the funding of 13 episodes of the series Chris Cross (1993). They claimed the individuals that bought the limited partnerships took advantage of a tax credit loophole, which was made illegal in 1996, by investing in "certified" Canadian media.

Around the same time, Heritage Minister Sheila Copps demanded CAVCO, Telefilm and the Canadian Television Fund be reviewed for their management. The review was released on the week of February 18, 2000, and concluded all of the film and television agencies collaborated with each other too little and lacked independent risk assessment. Following the release of the review, Copps demanded CAVCO created independent risk assessment and better processes all within six months.

Quickly after these allegations, the media, including publications like the La Presse, The Globe and Mail and Le Devoir, suspected the scandal was an indicator of a wider issue of Canada's funding of the arts and government authorities being too lenient on Canadian film and television production companies. The scandal also led to members of the opposition of Canada's then Liberty Party governances stating it was evidence of a bigger problem of abuse of the Canadian government's funding of arts. On the week of February 25, 2000, Bergeron found government measures too weak, noting that the Liberal government's funding to companies with Liberal connetions, like Cinar, weren't addressed and asked if the scandal was "a new tactic by the Liberal Party to protect its friends [...] [where] when they get caught, they acknowledge their error, pay the fine, and bury the whole thing?" He also stated, "The programs were put in place to help Canadians, and we are helping Americans instead."

Canadian officials quickly responded to the allegations. Canadian Television Fund's Garry Toth claimed the institution never found any cases of intentional fraud, while Telefilm Canada spokeswoman Jeanine Basile described its operations as tightly-managed.