Minister of Heritage Visits Flashpoint Set.

There's very little point of speculating about what will really happen down the road with this Canada Media Fund, because none of the details seem to be worked out.

The major changes are that the Board will change -- now the BDU's will get to appoint who sits on the board.

This is not a bunch of new money. It's the same money -- CTF plus Canada New Media Fund money rolled into one.

Plus, the loss of a guaranteed CBC envelope may not be the disaster it first seems, either. The fund envelopes will be based on performance, but the CBC will be in a strong position, supposedly, because they run more original programs, longer orders, less repeats, etc.

Bottom line:

Heritage's decision is better than the cockamamie two-fund solution proposed by the CRTC.

In the current climate, that's the biggest win you could probably hope for. It remains to be seen how the details will work out -- it's definitely a big reward for the BDU's, but there you go.

The Minister came, he toured, he talked to the writers. Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, Flashpoint's co-creators, were engaging, and the actors joked around with the Minister, too.

WGC's press release on the visit is available here.

EDIT: An earlier version of this post apparently mischaracterized elements of the Flashpoint tour by the Minister. The Management regrets the error and has dutifully redacted all colour from the post.