What Canadians see on TV in the future could be affected by hearings beginning Monday in Gatineau, Que.

Seven years ago, the Canadian broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, removed the rule forcing private conventional television broadcasters to spend a minimum amount on Canadian dramatic programming.

The result, some groups say, has been a sharp drop in Canadian dramas and comedies on television.

On Monday, broadcasters, producers and other "stakeholders" in Canadian TV go before the CRTC as it begins a review of over-the-air television policy.

Scripted drama

For ACTRA, the union representing Canadian actors, the hearings are a chance to demand new policies that force broadcasters to spend on Canadian drama.

"The future is bleak … I believe and I fear, in respect of Canadian programming because broadcasters and others are not being required now to produce scripted drama," Stephen Waddell, executive director of ACTRA told CBC Radio.

In 1999, the CRTC changed the rules to allow broadcasters to include reality TV and entertainment magazines to make up their quota of Canadian programming.

"In 1999, there were 12 one-hour television series. And just two years later, after those rules were changed — the expenditure and content requirements were eliminated — we were down to four Canadian one-hour television series and we've seen it actually decline since then," Waddell said.

Expensive to produce

Drama is expensive to produce, and without rules to force private sector broadcasters to make it, there was little incentive to do anything but buy U.S. programming.

The production sector is seconding ACTRA's call for the CRTC to force broadcasters to spend a percentage of their advertising revenues on Canadian drama.

"It's not a showdown. But we think it's a major turning point in the industry if we want a viable production sector and we want viable and competitive programming that people want to watch," said Guy Mayson, president of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.

Not surprisingly, the private networks are arguing against any change.

The program most watched by Canadians last season was CSI, a U.S. show, but also a drama. That's proof, Waddell said, that Canadians want to watch drama.

But he argued Canadians should have stories of their own to watch, dramas reflecting life in this country.

Entertainment newsmagazines

Another issue likely to come up at the hearings is whether entertainment newsmagazines are the kind of programming that should be considered part of broadcasters' "Canadian content."

The CFTPA asked the broadcast regulator to monitor these programs leading up to this week's hearings.

On weeknights on Global last week, Entertainment Tonight Canada was the only Canadian show running in prime time.

On CTV, the Canadian offerings were E-Talk Daily and Corner Gas.

The entertainment magazine shows carry a lot of news about the personal lives and appearances of Beyoncé and George Clooney, raising the question of whether they should be considered Canadian, said Mayson.

"There seems to be a classic case of taking an awful lot of foreign entertainment promotional information and inserting a little bit of Canadian promotion, and having that show qualify as Canadian," he said.

When the CRTC expanded its definition of "priority" Canadian programming in 1999 to make shows like these eligible, the idea was to provide promotion for Canadian films, television, music and stars.

If the shows are primarily vehicles to promote U.S. entertainment, their eligibility as priority programming should be questioned, Mayson says.

He's hoping the CRTC will reconsider the rules involving these programs as it goes through its review.