Appendix I

Business Reimbursement Guidelines

There are several alternative means of calculating loss of business commonly used in the film industry. Which method will be adopted is for the Film Company and the individual business owner to agree upon in advance. In all cases, only the Film Company and the business owner will review the background material, in order to maintain confidentiality. If the business owner wishes the Film Liaison Officer to mediate in loss-of-business negotiations, they will also be permitted access to the appropriate business records.

1) Average Day

This is the easiest method of determining loss of business: the previous year's gross store receipts are divided by the number of business days in the year (normally 365-9 statutory holidays = 356 working days). Statutory holidays are: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Documentation should include three years' worth of annual reports, if available. The filming day's receipts are compared to the average and the difference, if any, becomes the basis for reimbursement. This is the best method to use if the business is relatively young, and does not have three to five years' detailed records available.

2) Average comparable calendar day

In this method, daily cash register receipts are required. Use the precise calendar day's receipts from the past three to five years to compare what you'd expect to make on the DD/MM/YYYY combination on which filming will occur.

3) Average comparable week/month/day combination

Since DD/MM/YYYY is not sensitive to the day of the week, and retail sales frequently are, another method of obtaining comparable information is to compare the filming day's receipts with receipts on previous years with a comparable weekday. For instance, if filming is to occur on the first Tuesday in October, compare your receipts for the first Tuesday in October in each of the past three to five years.

• Please note that these are guidelines and suggestions, and do not take into consideration
•   Growth or decline of the business,
•  cost of re-capturing lost customers,
•  attractions value of having major movie stars in the downtown area,
•   inventory / stock remaining in saleable condition.

Negotiations with a business that will be used as a location / set (in other words, if it appears on screen in the film) will be more extensive than if it is merely in the affected area.

It is important that these details be discussed with business owners at the time of notification; having a satisfactory agreement in place will greatly improve the Film Company's chance of obtaining a permit.