By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In our last story about Bill C-10, the long-awaited Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault wanted to proceed quickly to and through second reading. Passage from second reading is normally a prerequisite before a bill goes to the Heritage Committee for study.
That was two weeks ago. Word is that debate could resume Friday, December 4, along with Bill C-11 on Privacy Protection.
Considering the House will break for the Holidays on December 11, there is slight chance the Committee will start sitting this year, possibly with government presenting the bill to committee members.
The Minister has indicated on a number of occasions that he was ready to entertain amendments and we understand numerous meetings with industry stakeholders are being held to discuss various points of contention (like this one). Of course, everyone will have suggestions, and amendments could be proposed by the Minister himself as he goes to the committee.
Also to be discussed are the specific directions to the CRTC which have been proposed, particularly concerning regarding quotas of the money levied on the web giant to be earmarked to French Language production.
Another issue will no doubt be raised with the Minister is as the intellectual property of Canadian productions. On this, Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO, CMPA, made the following statement: “As the federal government works to update the Broadcasting Act to reflect the digital, and increasingly borderless, realities of our media landscape, we must also ensure that Canadian ownership and control of our system is safeguarded.”
“This includes ensuring Canadians maintain ownership and control of the traditional broadcasting system itself, as well as ensuring that Canadian producers have the opportunity to own and control the intellectual property behind the Canadian stories they bring to the screen. These elements of Canada’s broadcasting and domestic production ecosystem are foundational to our cultural sovereignty and national identity.
Another issue that is gathering steam is the loophole which prevents Canadian advertisers to deduct as a business expense when they advertise in American TV and radio stations but allows them to advertise on foreign web giants and claim it as an expense.
Just as a reminder, we should keep in mind that the existing version of the Act was introduced as Bill C-136 in the House of Commons on June 23, 1988. The Bill did not become law before the House was dissolved on October 1, 1988.
A new version, Bill C-40 was reintroduced on October 12, 1989, and enacted on February 1, 1991.
The same fate could await Bill C-10 whose process could also be interrupted by an election.
