Correct Answer: whether and how to make the film tax credit richer
Passage Reference: I believe our province should make its film tax credit richer
Why this is correct: The columnist opens by saying the province should make its film tax credit richer. Every view in the column is about whether and on what terms to do that.
Tips: For a question about the whole column, read the first sentence closely. Each speaker then gives a view on that same idea.
Why the other options are wrong:
- why American series prefer to film in Toronto: The American series went to another province because of its credit. Toronto is mentioned only as the place where crews move.
- how to lower taxes for manufacturers: Kerrigan speaks for manufacturers, but nobody proposes lowering their taxes. She wants a ceiling on film support.
- which hotels should host visiting film crews: Hotels come up only in Baird’s test of local benefits. No hotels are chosen.
Correct Answer: Cassius Deschamps
Passage Reference: “When the stages go quiet, our best grips and electricians move to Toronto and do not come back,” he told the finance committee
Why this is correct: Cassius Deschamps says that when the stages go quiet, the best grips and electricians move to Toronto and do not come back.
Tips: Two speakers mention electricians, so read both closely. Ask which one is worried about workers leaving the province, not moving to another industry.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Rhiannon Kerrigan: Rhiannon Kerrigan worries that factories will lose electricians to film, not that skilled workers will leave the province.
- Navdeep Savard: Navdeep Savard worries that credits become permanent, not that workers will leave.
- Winifred Baird: Winifred Baird backs keeping crews at home, but the warning that crews move away and do not come back comes from Deschamps.
Correct Answer: factories losing electricians to film sets
Passage Reference: warns that an open-ended credit lets film productions outbid factories for electricians and warehouse space
Why this is correct: Kerrigan warns that an open-ended credit lets film productions outbid factories for electricians. Factories losing electricians to film sets would support her position.
Tips: Find Kerrigan’s warning and read it to the end. The right choice is evidence that her warning is already coming true.
Why the other options are wrong:
- crew members moving away after slow years: Crew leaving after slow years would support Deschamps’s case for a richer credit, not Kerrigan’s warning.
- an audit that found no count of jobs: A missing job count would support Savard’s call for an independent count, not Kerrigan’s warning about factories.
- hotel bookings that rose during a big shoot: Rising hotel bookings would show a local benefit under Baird’s test, which argues for the credit rather than for Kerrigan’s caution.
Correct Answer: an end date and a job count would be law first
Passage Reference: Savard supports a credit based on local hours if both of those are written into law before any rate increase.
Why this is correct: Savard supports the credit only if two things are written into law before any rate increase. These are a five-year end date and an independent job count.
Tips: Savard’s condition refers back to an earlier sentence. Read one sentence back to see what he is asking for, then match it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the credit would rise first and be reviewed later: Savard wants the end date and job count in law before any increase, not a review after it.
- the guild would decide the credit each year: Savard wants the rules written into law. The screen guild is never given the power to decide the credit.
- star fees would count toward the credit: Star fees come up only in Deschamps’s view, and he wants them left out. Savard never mentions them.
Correct Answer: back a richer credit that ends unless it proves itself
Passage Reference: Raise the credit, tie it to local hours, and let it expire in five years unless the job count shows it worked.
Why this is correct: The writer wants to raise the credit, tie it to local hours and let it expire in five years. It would end unless the job count shows it worked.
Tips: For a purpose question, read the short orders near the end of the column. They sum up what the writer wants done.
Why the other options are wrong:
- warn that film credits always waste public money: The columnist wants a richer credit, so they do not think film credits always waste money.
- explain how film crews are trained: The column never describes how crews are trained. It argues about the size and terms of the credit.
- praise the crews who worked on American series: The American series went to another province, so local crews never worked on them.
Correct Answer: its credit covered more of local wages
Passage Reference: Last year two American series chose to shoot in another province because its credit covered a larger share of local wages
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, two American series chose another province because its credit covered a larger share of local wages.
Tips: The comment asks why the two series went elsewhere. Look for the word “because” in the first paragraph.
Why the other options are wrong:
- its studios were newer and larger: The column never compares studios. The reason given is the size of the credit.
- its winters were shorter and milder: Weather is never mentioned in the column.
- its film schools trained more crew: Film schools are never mentioned. The reason is the credit covering more wages.
Correct Answer: stays even after productions leave
Passage Reference: a credit becomes permanent even after the productions leave
Why this is correct: Savard is the finance minister. Savard says that without an end date and a job count, a credit becomes permanent even after the productions leave.
Tips: The comment says “the finance minister”. Read Savard’s warning sentence to the end and match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- costs twice as much as planned: Savard warns that a credit becomes permanent, not that it costs twice as much.
- helps only the largest studios: Savard never says the credit helps only large studios.
- ends before any jobs appear: Savard’s worry is the opposite: without an end date the credit never ends.
Correct Answer: their effect on caterers and hotels
Passage Reference: richer credits should be judged by what they do for the caterers, hotels and equipment rental shops near each shoot
Why this is correct: Baird says richer credits should be judged by what they do for the caterers, hotels and equipment rental shops near each shoot.
Tips: Baird names a test for judging credits, and also says what should not count. The blank matches the test she wants.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the number of films released: Baird never mentions counting films. She looks at local businesses.
- what studios say in press releases: Baird says credits should not be judged by studio press releases.
- the fame of visiting stars: Visiting stars come up only in Deschamps’s view. Baird’s test is local businesses.
Correct Answer: end at the age of forty
Passage Reference: it would sadden me if film careers in my province ended at forty
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph, the writer says it would sadden them if film careers in the province ended at forty.
Tips: The comment says “Like the columnist”, so look at the writer’s own feelings. Find the sentence with the word “sadden”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- depend on visiting stars: Visiting stars are part of Deschamps’s view on fees, not the columnist’s worry about careers.
- start without a diploma: Diplomas and training are never mentioned in the column.
- pay less than factory work: The column never compares film pay with factory pay.
Correct Answer: has no ceiling
Passage Reference: not one whose support has no ceiling while other exporters get nothing comparable
Why this is correct: Kerrigan accepts a film industry, but not one whose support has no ceiling while other exporters get nothing comparable.
Tips: Kerrigan says a film industry is welcome, but then adds a limit with “but not one”. The blank matches the idea after those words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- comes from federal money: Federal money is never mentioned. The credit is the province’s.
- goes mostly to star fees: Star fees come up only when Deschamps says the credit should not be tied to them.
- helps only one city: Kerrigan compares industries, not cities.
