April 13, 2015 Hon. Stephen MacNeil, M.L.A., Premier of Nova Scotia 7th Floor, One Government Place 1700 Granville Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1X5 cc: Hon. Diana Whalen, M.L.A., Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Dear Honourable Premier, I was pleased to learn that the Minister of Finance, Diana Whalen, will be meeting with representatives of the Nova Scotia film industry on Tuesday, April 14, 2015. In the time since your government tabled its budget last week I have heard from many people employed directly in the film sector as well as friends, community leaders and citizens who have expressed concern about what the change to the N.S. film tax credit will mean for the industry in our province. It would be an understatement to say that those people whose livelihoods are directly impacted by the planned change are fearful of what it will mean to not just their professional lives, but also to their immediate personal economic situations. I write to you not simply to relay their fears and concerns, but rather as a passionate city-builder in our province’s capital with a deep understanding of the valuable contribution the creative sector makes to our economy and quality of life. It is also not just because my wife is an arts professional and my mother was an artist that I champion the vital role of arts and culture in our community. I know that support for the creative class is well-documented and irrefutable as an absolute necessity in the act of city-building. In the context of your desire to move forward with the agenda set out in the Ivany Report, I also know it is equally important for our province as a whole. The OneNovaScotia report was clear that Nova Scotians will all need to learn to do more with less. I accept that, and while I do not envy your task, I do admire your commitment to put our province on a secure financial footing to ensure future prosperity. The tough and unenviable decisions you have to make require that we are all prepared to bite the bullet a bit. I hope though that the dialogue your government opened today with the film industry will lead to an increased understanding of its valuable importance to our city and our province and to a recognition that any change to film financing structures should be further assessed. Certainly the change in the value of the Canadian dollar alone will make our country more appealing to U.S. producers so that it itself presents an opportunity for our province on which to capitalize. Analysis, engagement and collaboration can lead to the design of a film support mechanism that both respects the fiscal challenges we face and helps this valuable and growing sector of our economy to flourish. These interests do not have to be mutually exclusive. Sincerely, Andy Fillmore