The Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) said last week the Quebec National Assembly’s adoption of Bill 109, An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment, is an “important step.”
The bill’s adoption “is a significant confirmation of Quebec’s ability to act to preserve, facilitate access to, showcase, and promote original French-language cultural content in the digital environment,” according to an English translation of an AQPM press release.
The new law was unanimously adopted Dec. 11 by Members of the National Assembly, after the bill underwent a detailed review in November and December, during which certain clauses were amended.
The bill was originally tabled in the National Assembly of Quebec in May by Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe.
The new law introduces into Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms the right to discoverability and the right to access French-language cultural content. It also provides for the creation of a Discoverability Office within the Ministry of Culture and Communications to ensure compliance with the law, its regulations and agreements.
The AQPM said it is pleased the review committee took into account the rapid evolution of the various types of online platforms by amending the bill in such a way as to eliminate any loopholes that could exclude some of them from its scope.
In addition, the AQPM said it is pleased with the recognition given to the contributions of industry stakeholders, particularly given the amendment to the Discoverability Bureau’s mandate, which now includes the ability to conduct public consultations to facilitate its work. It also highlights the increased transparency in the sharing of data that will be collected in the registry of digital platform registrations covered by the bill, the AQPM said.
“We welcome the unanimous adoption of the Act and look forward to working with the government to establish the new Discoverability Office,” said Hélène Messier, president and CEO of the AQPM, in the English-translated press release. “We will also be involved in drafting the regulations that will implement the Act. In particular, we hope that these regulations will include obligations to promote specifically Quebec content. Such a measure seems essential to ensure that local audiences have access to a rich offering of content rooted in our identity.”
The AQPM said it congratulates the Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, for his determination to successfully complete this initiative by bringing all political parties on board. It also thanked the Members of the National Assembly who contributed to the Commission’s work and who listened attentively to the representations of the independent audiovisual production industry.
The AQPM represents more than 150 independent film, television and web production companies in Quebec.
