City looks to make life easier for film industry: industry input will inform new bylaw to streamline shooting permit system.

• Author: Migneault, Jonathan
• Position: SUDBURY

The City of Greater Sudbury hopes a new bylaw can streamline the process for film productions applying for shooting permits around town.

The city has a bylaw in place for film industry permits, but it dates back to 2005.

"Since then, we've had a whole lot more filming," said Emily Trottier, a business development officer with the city's economic development department.

In fact, the city estimates that since 2012 direct local spending from film and television projects in Sudbury has totaled more than $45 million.

One issue the film industry faces, said Trottier, is that it can be unpredictable.

A production could get all the filming permits it needs from the city, but poor weather could delay shooting to the next day.

Under the current system, productions would need to apply for those permits all over again. "Ideally, it would be a lot more streamlined for us as staff for us to work with those changes" said Trottier.

The draft bylaw also accommodates different lead times before film crews are ready to shoot.

Some film shoots involve just a couple of trucks parked on the side of the road to get a quick shot, said Trottier, while the other extreme is complicated shoots that require stunt work and can shut down an entire street.

Under the new draft bylaw, more simple film...