MONTREAL and WINNIPEG – The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, said this week it “deplores” the delay of the clause-by-clause study of Bill C-10 to amend the Broadcasting Act.
The coalition which includes creative associations such as ADISQ, ACTRA, CMPA, SOCAN and WGC, among others, “urges all members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage committee to agree to resume the study of the bill promptly,” reads its press release.
“Without a rapid resumption of this work, the entire fate of Bill C-10 is at stake. And without the immediate implementation of this bill, the entire Canadian cultural community will be deprived of the necessary tools that have long been called for to meet the challenges posed by the accelerated development of online platforms,” it continues.
“The CDCE stresses the urgency of modernizing the Broadcasting Act to avoid the collapse of Canada’s cultural ecosystems and the people who work in them. The cultural sector has been hit hard by the health crisis and a new Broadcasting Act is needed to revive the sector. We simply want the large online companies that profit from the distribution of professional cultural content to share public interest information with the CRTC and contribute to the funding and the showcasing of that content.”
The committee resumed the clause-by-clause examination of the bill, by accident, during its Thursday evening meeting.
“The CDCE has no concerns about Bill C-10, and understands why real experts are invited to give their opinion on this issue. It would be deplorable, however, if such an important concern were to end up being a partisan obstructionist tool for which the cultural sector would pay the price. People in the sector, as well as the general public, who watch the debates know the difference,” reads its release.
Indigenous broadcaster APTN wants Bill C-10 to become law for other reasons.
“Bill C-10 recognizes, for the first time, that Canada’s broadcasting policy should provide opportunities for Indigenous peoples to create programming and to own and operate our own broadcasting services,” says its press release.
The bill “is an important step towards recognizing in Canadian legislation Article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Article 16 of the UNDRIP states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages and the right to have access to all forms of non-Indigenous media without discrimination,” adds the release.
“We had the opportunity to appear as one of the first witnesses in front of the Heritage Committee to explain how important this bill is for Indigenous broadcasting and Indigenous programs… We urge them to continue on the clause by clause work to make sure that this bill becomes law without delay,” said Monika Ille, CEO.
