Defending B.C.’s stake in the film and TV industry against competition from Eastern Canada, the provincial government is boosting film tax credits and creating a new credit for video game production.

The enhanced package should encourage more foreign and domestic film productions to shoot in B.C. That can only be good for the Interior, said Thompson-Nicola film commissioner Vicci Weller.

“I think it’s very good because we think the tax credits, for one thing, are sustainable whereas we don’t think Ontario’s and Quebec’s, such as they are, will last long,” Weller said.

She also applauded the government for leaving its regional tax credits — designed to lure productions to the Interior — intact.

The incentives come at the start of a year without the promise of large-scale Hollywood production shoots in the region, such as last year’s A Team and 2008’s 2012.

“They pack a lot of money in a small punch,” Weller said of the economic impact. “From the creative on down, (2010) is a slow year.”

Last year Quebec, followed by Ontario, sweetened their credits considerably, leading to fears of an exodus of productions from B.C.

The government says the tax credits, which still need to be approved by the legislature, will help keep B.C. competitive in an industry that contributes more than a billion dollars to the provincial economy each year.

Under the changes, tax credits on the labour costs of foreign movie and TV productions will jump to 33 per cent from 25 per cent.

A new tax credit of 17.5 per cent will be offered on the labour costs of video game makers, while the credit for digital animation and visual effects makers will rise to 17.5 per cent from 15 per cent.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen said the package recognizes the convergence taking place in the film, TV, video game and animation sectors.

The province is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York, and had a total of 260 productions in 2008. Consistent with a universal trend, revenues from video game production in B.C. far exceed those from film and TV.

"Our changes will promote an increase in B.C.-based production for

these dynamic and rapidly changing sectors," said Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Kevin Krueger.

"They will serve to help keep B.C. at the forefront of the North American film and television industry, while providing a significant boost for video game production in our province."

Weller said the burgeoning video-game industry should not be overlooked as a potential source of economic development in Kamloops, particularly with TRU’s digital media program.

“We have the biggest broadband in the world coming through Kamloops,” she said.

While international productions have slowed with the economic downturn, a number of TV series and Canadian productions are showing interest in the region.

The possible productions include Afghan Luke, a project by the same production team that does Trailer Park Boys, and the McLean Boys, for which shooting is expected to begin this year.

Producers for an unnamed TV series are scoping out the region this week.