CITIZENSHIP and Immigration Minister, Chris Alexander, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday celebrated in Mumbai, India, the coming-into-force of the Canada-India Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty.

The Treaty, which came into force on July 1, will allow producers to combine their creative, technical and financial resources to create audiovisual coproductions between both nations, not only keeping Canada on the leading edge of media production but more importantly helping to create jobs and economic growth in both countries. Mumbai, where the celebration took place, is the centre of India’s Bollywood industry.

The Treaty presents significant opportunities for jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity in Canada as it attracts foreign investment and creates business opportunities for the audiovisual industry, and generates employment for Canadians through audiovisual coproductions that may not have been made otherwise.

In the past 10 years, Canada has produced close to 700 audiovisual treaty coproductions, with total production budgets of approximately $5 billion.

In 2012–13, Canada’s audiovisual sector contributed $5.8 billion to the Canadian economy and generated approximately 127,700 jobs.

“In celebrating the Canada-India Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty, we look forward to a deeper level of engagement between our respective audiovisual sectors, greater cultural and economic benefits to both countries and increased access to audiences worldwide,” said Alexander.

“Our Government has actively set out to make Canada a coproduction partner of choice and an even better place to do business. We have good reasons to be celebrating today as the Treaty between Canada and India is the very first to come in effect since the implementation of Canada’s Policy on Audiovisual Treaty Coproduction in 2013,” said Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.