Trailer Park Boys, screen industry appeal to save Nova Scotia film tax credit

HALIFAX – A comedic trio’s attempt to raise awareness about the importance of a film tax credit in Nova Scotia has caught the attention of celebrities like Snoop Dogg and helped fuel an industry movement to save it.

Rob Wells, Mike Smith and John Paul Tremblay _ also known as the Trailer Park Boys _ recently posted a video as their characters Ricky, Bubbles and Julian asking the government to preserve the tax credit for the film industry.

The government has not said it is eliminating the credit, which costs about $24 million per year, but Finance Minister Diana Whalen recently told a business group she was examining it as she gets ready to present her 2015-16 budget on Thursday.

The video, which has garnered more than 500,000 views on the Trailer Park Boys Facebook page, says their show could no longer be filmed in Nova Scotia if the credit is cut.

Rapper Snoop Dogg later retweeted a tweet from the Trailer Park Boys and asked his 12 million followers to sign an online petition to preserve the tax credit.

The petition had about 17,000 signatures by early Monday afternoon and was still increasing.

(The Canadian Press)