Mr. Jim Shaw
CEO
Shaw Communications Inc
Suite 900
630 – 3rd Avenue SW
Calgary AB T2P 4L4
Dear Mr. Shaw:
Thank you for your letter of December 20, 2006.
I was aware of the concerns expressed in the letter as a result of your recent appearance before the CRTC in the context of the OTA process. As you know, I have been attempting to arrange a meeting with representatives of Shaw and the Department of Canadian Heritage to discuss these concerns and am pleased that January 18 has now been confirmed for a meeting in Ottawa.
In addition, I will be calling a board meeting during the first week of January to review the specific proposals set out in your letter and to address your decision to withhold your contributions to the Fund.
The decision to withhold the Shaw and Star Choice contributions to the Fund will clearly have an immediate and dramatic impact on the Fund's ability to carry on its operations.
In that context I must ask whether your decision is intended to be effective right away, or it is to apply prospectively to the period following March 31, 2007, the end of the Fund's current fiscal period.
I understand that at the moment the Shaw and Star Choice contributions to the Fund are current to the end of October, 2006. If these contributions are committed to the end of the fiscal period, there will be no impact on productions that are currently in the system, and there will be time for us to meet with you to review your comments and expectations of the Fund.
If the contributions are terminated immediately there will be a serious effect on the applications that have been received and are in the process of being considered. If that is the case, I will be asking the Board to consider the risks associated with further funding activities and will move immediately to take the necessary steps to address those risks.
I would appreciate your clarifying your intentions in this matter as soon as possible.
As a personal aside, I must express my regret at your decision to remove Alex Park from the Fund's Board of Directors. Mr. Park has made an outstanding contribution to the activity and operation of the Board for a number of years and his contribution and wisdom on key strategic and operational issues will be missed.
Best regards,
Douglas Barrett
Chair
cc: Board of Directors
