Although the NDP and film-industry leaders have drawn attention to B.C.’s failure to match the expanded tax credits of other Canadian provinces, this is only one of many challenges that Hollywood North is facing.

“Right now, we’ve got the perfect storm of the winter season, the tax credits that are unbalanced right now, and a high exchange rate, so it’s not just one factor—it’s multiple factors that we’ve got against us right now for the film industry,” Paul Klassen, IATSE Local 891 business representative, said by phone.

The 2010 Winter Olympics are another problem, but Klassen added that they are actually “just a one-month blip for us”.

He stressed that it is the combination of various conditions that is proving to be problematic.  "If we had a 70-cent dollar, it doesn't matter what the heck was happening," he pointed out. "The exchange rate is a huge factor for productions' considerations to come up to Vancouver."

Mayor Gregor Robertson, in an open letter  to the film industry (dated December 22, 2009), promised that areas in the downtown core would be accessible by early March and that "we'll be back in business as you've come to expect" by early April.

Klassen stated that some film-industry workers, particularly those in lighting, have gotten Olympics-related work. Unfortunately,  other professionals, such as script supervisors, editors, or production accountants, haven’t been needed. He also added that they haven't had as many union contracts as they would have liked to have seen.

Klassen explained why much focus has been on film tax credits. “The tax credits are a huge concern for us, absolutely,” he said. “But our productions depend on a number of factors. That’s unfortunately the only one that can really be modified. We can’t really see where the exchange rate is gonna go, the seasons do what they were, and other jurisdictions do what they do, but the tax credit’s the only one where we do have influence.”

In June 2009, Quebec and Ontario announced that they would expand their tax credits to include all production costs. B.C.’s tax credit covers only labour-related expenses.

At a news conference on January 31, New Democrat Leader Carole James proposed the enhancement of three tax credits (digital animation or visual effects, production services, film incentive), a bonus for television pilots and first-year series, and the implementation of an Intellectual Property Development Fund.

The rough budget estimate for these proposals is $50 to $70 million, according to NDP arts and tourism critic Spencer Herbert. “It’s not like you’re taking money from health care to fund this,” he said by phone. “This is basically you’re forgiving some of the taxes in order to create the jobs.”

B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen was unavailable for comment, but was scheduled to make an announcement with Kevin Krueger, the minister of tourism, culture, and the arts, on February 3.  A B.C. Film Commission  spokesperson was also unavailable for comment.