In what could be seen as an attempt to take advantage of a crumbling Conservative opposition, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are optimistic about pushing through an updated Broadcasting Act—a revision of the controversial C-10 panned by critics in the previous Parliament. Except this time, individual social media users will be off the hook.
On February 2, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced the Online Streaming Act, or Bill C-11.
The federal government says Bill C-11 “would require online streaming services to contribute to the creation and availability of Canadian stories and music.”
Further, streaming companies would be required to “pay their fair share in supporting Canadian artists, just like traditional broadcasters.”
“Canada’s strong culture is no accident. We chose to be different. We care about our cultural sovereignty, and we believe diversity makes us stronger. Our culture is who we are. It is our past, our present and our future, it is how we tell our stories,” Rodriguez said during last week’s announcement.
“The Online Streaming Act will help make sure that our cultural sector works for Canadians and supports the next generation of artists and creators in this country,” he added.
The move aims to even the playing field among online streaming and traditional broadcasters, who have lost significant viewership since the former became mainstream.
Last year, Bill Brioux wrote for the Toronto Star that by mid-November 2020, CBC, CTV and Global “all showed year-to-year drops in primetime viewing of around 20 per cent.”
“The news is even worse for American networks,” Brioux wrote. “According to Nielsen, through February 28 [2021], ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW, on average, showed a loss of 23 per cent from the comparable period a year ago.”
Part of the federal government’s messaging on the bill is to remove systemic barriers for Indigenous and racialized artists, and artists with disabilities, noting “it would make programs by talented artists in both official languages more accessible to Canadians.”
In a change from the previous Parliament’s polarizing Bill C-10, “the bill does not apply to individual Canadians, but to streaming providers that broadcast commercial programs.”
While the language remains vague, the government believes the Act would make sure more national content is showcased to Canadian audiences.
The NDP’s response to the bill
In May 2021, the federal NDP voted in favour of a motion “that put Bill C-10 on hold while the Department of Justice conducts a new Charter compliance analysis,” while also announcing plans “to table a sub-amendment that puts a timeline on the motion to make sure the Conservatives are not using this as an opportunity to delay the advancement of the bill indefinitely.”
Now, it seems the party is satisfied with the updated legislation.
In a statement to rabble.ca, NDP Heritage Critic Peter Julian stopped short of endorsing the bill—suggesting Bill C-11 is not necessarily a done deal.
“We long fought for this bill to be introduced,” Julian wrote. “We are pleased to see that the government heard the concerns of many Canadians regarding freedom of expression.”
Julian noted that modernizing the Broadcasting Act is “important” and reiterated the NDP’s goal of “creating a level playing field between Canadian broadcasters and web giants.”
“The NDP will continue to analyze the bill, discuss it in caucus and we’ll work with experts and workers impacted to ensure that its measures restore the level playing field,” he added.
Open internet advocates still concerned with revised bill
For OpenMedia, a Vancouver non-profit organization dedicated to keeping “the Internet open, affordable and surveillance-free,” the updated legislation “remains seriously flawed.”
According to the non-profit, “over 36,000 actions” were taken by members of the organization’s community “calling for reform of 2021’s Bill C-10.”
In a February 2 press release responding to the new bill, OpenMedia said that “while the proposed amendment takes one step forward in specifically excluding user generated online content, it doubles down on an outdated broadcasting era vision of content that’s a poor fit for regulating Internet streaming.”
“Treating the Internet like cable television was a bad idea last year, and it’s a bad idea now.” said OpenMedia Campaigns Director Matt Hatfield in the release. “The Online Streaming Act continues to give the CRTC the power to use sorely outdated 1980s ideas about what “Canadian” content is, to control what shows up on our online feeds and what doesn’t.”
Hatfield, while touting the improvements, he warned that “working from a foundation of a clean separation of professional and amateur content on the Internet simply doesn’t exist,” noting online productions like podcasts could soon “find themselves in the worst of all worlds—subject to CRTC regulation, while not being able to seek [Canadian content] funding.”
“Until major reforms are made to [Canadian content’s] points system, many Canadian digital first creators will not be considered “Canadian” enough to qualify for support under Bill C-11.”
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