October 27, 2026

The Honourable Marc Miller
Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and
Minister Responsible for Official Languages

cc: Francis Bilodeau, Joelle Montminy, Blair McMurren, Michel Sabbagh

Re: Independent Producers commit $131,000 to support the continuance of Rocket Fund Canada operations and its vital role in the children’s and youth media sector as they await clarity on its future.

Dear Minister Miller,

We are writing on behalf of independent children’s and youth television producers across Canada to bring to your attention the importance of Rocket Fund Canada and encourage the Government of Canada to step in to ensure the Fund continues to exist now and well into the future.

As you are aware, the Rocket Fund is fighting for its existence after Rogers Communications pulled its funding over a year ago. Though our sector is hopeful the government will step in to ensure Rocket Fund’s survival, the situation has become so dire that small and mid-sized Canadian producers have come together to give $131,000 to the Fund to cover operational expenses as it awaits word regarding its future. While this gift was made possible by twenty-four of us, it is given on behalf of all independent producers in the children’s media sector. At a time when independent producers and our entire sector are in free fall, we have come together to support the Rocket Fund when it is needed most.

We urgently ask the Government of Canada to help secure Rocket Fund’s future by allocating a meaningful, ongoing contribution directly to Rocket Fund from the $600 million in annual support for Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors. This direct funding would provide the immediate support and long-term stability needed to ensure Rocket Fund can continue serving Canada’s children’s and youth media sector. Our industry depends on it, and more importantly, so do Canadian children and families.

We are asking for your support because the Rocket Fund is a critical asset to Canada, the world, and the future of Canada’s media sector. The Fund provides critical investment to allow Canadians to tell our individual and collective stories to children and families in English, French, and Indigenous languages. It provides vital research, most recently through its white paper: Project Sunbeam: Kids’ Rights in Canadian Media, to the media sector and Canadian society at large. The Fund provides a global outlook to our sector, bringing producers from around the world to Canada, and Canadian producers and stories to the world. Like no other fund in Canada, Rocket Fund is recognized for its innovation, continually evolving with the media sector and adapting its programming to serve producers and storytellers as well as children and families in real time.

The loss of the Rocket Fund would be an immeasurable loss to our country, our production sector, and our children and families, who are the future consumers of all Canadian media. Rocket Fund serves Canadian children, parents, and educators by supporting high-quality trusted content that reflects Canadian values and our diverse cultures, languages, and communities. Canadian children have a right to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the media they consume and to access Canadian stories that support their identity, development, and sense of belonging. We are encouraged that our government believes Canadian children and youth must remain at the heart of Canada’s cultural future, and Rocket Fund is key to making this future a reality.

Losing the Rocket Fund would be like losing the heart of the Canadian media sector. The results would be devastating. Not only would Canadian children, storytellers, and producers lose their vital connection, but it would also have a serious impact on the growth of the Canadian media sector as a whole. Children’s television has historically been a training ground for producers, writers, and crew before they branch out into other genres.

Finally, Rocket Fund is considered a jewel of Canadian innovation and infrastructure globally. Losing the Fund would signal to the world that Canada is pulling out of the children’s media business, a critical building block to our media sector. We can’t allow that to happen and believe the Government of Canada won’t allow it to happen either. This is why Canada’s independent children’s and youth media producers have come together to support Rocket Fund at this critical time, and why we ask the government to support it into the future.

We look forward to hearing your response to our letter. Members of our community are available to speak with you at your convenience should you have any questions regarding our support of the Rocket Fund and the state of the Canadian children’s and youth media sector as a whole.

Sincerely,

Virginia Thompson, President, Vérité Films
Ken Faier, President, Epic Story Media
Sarah Chatelain, Président, Écho Média
Daniel Coutu, President, Prestigo Media
Steve Couture, President, Epic Story Worlds
Juan Cruz Baldassarre, President, Moonshot Rights
Frank Falcone, President, Guru Studios
Jonathan Finkelstein, President, Apartment 11 Productions
Sarah Haasz, Founder & Executive Producer, Pillango Productions
Tara Hungerford, Imagine Create Media
Kyle Irving, Co-Owner, Executive Producer, Eagle Vision
J.J. Johnson, President, Sinking Ship Entertainment
Maria Kennedy, President, Little Engine Moving Pictures
Georgina and Rennata López, Executive Producers, Lopii Productions
Tom McGillis, President, Fresh TV
Adam Mimnagh, President, Huminah Huminah Animation
Natalie Osborne, Chief Strategy Officer, 9 Story Media Group
Rag Panikkar, Producer & Chris Szarka, Principal & Producer, Fifth Ground Entertainment
Dallas Parker, Creative Director, Co-founder, Doberman Pictures
Heather Puttock, President, Kickstart Entertainment
Eric Rebalkin, Co-Founder, COO, Mosaic Entertainment
Renaud Sylvain, President & Executive Producer & Athena Georgaklis, Executive Producer, Happy Camper Media
Francois Trudel, President, PVP Media
Catherine Winder, President, Wind Sun Sky Entertainment

On behalf of the Canadian children’s media sector

Contact Virginia Thompson, virginia@veritefilms.ca, and Ken Faier, ken.faier@epicstorymedia.com, for more info or to lend your support.