The chairwoman of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association says she believes the federal Tories may have written off the cultural sector.

Recent cuts to cultural programs appear to be haphazard slicing without any sense behind them, Sandra Cunningham, chair of the CFTPA, told CBC News on Monday.

"I'd love to know," she said, when asked what she thought the thinking was behind the cuts.

Cunningham said Heritage Minister Josée Verner's office has not responded to requests for an explanation from the industry.

The cuts seem to be coming from much higher up, without input from the heritage ministry, she said.

"I think they don't care. They don't care about building this sector. It's not been high on the radar screen of this particular government," Cunningham said, though she added that other conservative governments have not been so short-sighted.

"To make the announcement on a Friday in August without any kind of press releases or public statement attached to it. It begs the question of 'what message are you sending?'"

"We have asked to meet with the Heritage Ministry and Department of Foreign Affairs and asked for a meeting and received no reply."

Among the program cuts over the past two weeks, without industry consultation, are:

• The $4.7 million PromArt program, which subsidizes the promotion of Canadian artists touring abroad.
• The $9 million Trade Routes program, which promotes the export of Canadian arts and culture products abroad.
• $300,000 from the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, for programs archiving important film, television and musical recordings.
• $1.5 million from the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund.
• $2.5 million from the National Training Program in the Film and Video Sector.

Cuts such as the Trade Routes program hurt the ability of the Canadian film industry to do deals with international investors, Cunningham said.

The government seems to be cutting programs that are effective in building the industry, she said.

"It's not just individuals. This is small- and medium-sized businesses that will be hurt," she said.

Among the institutions that will be affected is the Winnipeg-based National Screen Institute, a school that trains film and TV professions.

"If you cut off the future at its knees, where do we go from here?" Cunningham asked.

"The government thinks these are very small programs and it can cut them without having any effect."

She fears this is just the start of cuts to the cultural sector.

"The most important thing for us to point out is that from our organization's point of view, this feels like the thin edge of the wedge," she said.