Will hear from Lametti, Guilbeault, expert panel on amended bill
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Following some back-and-forth from members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on a motion introduced last Friday regarding the Bill C-10 review, consensus was reached on Monday to invite Justice Minister David Lametti and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault to appear before the group as early as Friday, with Members of Parliament on the committee to hear from an expert panel as soon as Monday.
Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kevin Waugh proposed amending Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather’s motion seeking a revised Charter statement on C-10 that would seek clarity on whether the bill’s references to “programs uploaded by users of social media services” comply with Charter section 2(b) protections for freedom of thought and expression.
Waugh wanted the motion amended to replace the word “programs” with “content,” which undoubtedly was connected to comments Guilbeault made on CTV’s “Question Period” on Sunday. He said that C-10 “should apply to people who are…or act like broadcasters,” and are “deriving revenues” from a “YouTube channel with millions of viewers.”
In a statement released on Sunday night, the Heritage minister clarified that “an individual” using social media “will never be considered as broadcasters and will not be subject to the obligations or regulations within the Broadcasting Act, which C-10 seeks to update by including digital streaming services.
His parliamentary secretary, Toronto-Danforth MP Julie Dabrusin, who also serves on the Heritage committee, reiterated Guilbeault’s clarification with reporters following Monday’s meeting, adding C-10 “severely” limits the CRTC’s powers to regulate social media platforms. She said the Commission’s mandate would be to “request information from foreign companies on the revenue they generate in Canada from their broadcasting activities” request that they invest “a certain percentage of these revenues into Canadian productions;” and ask that platforms “make it easier to discover and access Canadian stories and music.”
Guilbeault’s statement also cited support – during the clause-by-clause process in committee – from both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois on “including social media platforms, when they act like broadcasters, to regulation under C-10.”
But Alberta MP Heather McPherson, the NDP’s sole member on the committee, said in a statement to Cartt.ca that the federal Liberal government is “not doing what is needed to reassure people.”
“The goal of this bill is to put web giants on a level playing field with Canadian broadcasters, not to go after people who put videos of their cat on YouTube,” she said. “We must ensure that we get this bill right. That’s why we have voted in favour of an analysis of the bill by the Department of Justice and that’s why we’re committed to working on this bill on behalf of Canadians and Canadian media.”
At Monday’s committee meeting, members approved Waugh’s change for the Charter review, but broadened his ask regarding expert input.
“The key focus of regulating streamers – like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple, Disney+ – the same way Canadian broadcasters are treated can’t fall victim to all of the questions and debate over all these issues that have been added on.” – Tory Reeb, Corus Entertainment
The MP for Saskatoon-Grasswood, a former sports broadcaster, wanted Michael Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa and is a harsh critic of C-10 and is quoted far and wide, to appear before the committee.
Bloc MP Martin Champoux was among the committee members who pushed back.
Troy Reeb
“Although Mr. Geist is certainly a credible witness that our colleagues have repeatedly quoted, he has, at the same time, been extremely vocal on social media, so we know his point of view very well,” he said. “I don’t think he is necessarily the supreme authority for the work we are doing. And he will also probably contradict the two ministers’ opinion, whether they come to talk about the committee’s amendments or about the revised Charter statement.”
In response, Waugh suggested each of the four parties (Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc and NDP) recommend one expert, and his idea was also adopted as part of Housefather’s amended motion.
However, a senior Canadian media executive told Cartt.ca he is “frustrated and concerned” that the purpose of C-10 is getting lost in the weeds of discussions about uploading content on YouTube.
“This bill was designed to tackle the lack of a level playing field between Canadian broadcasters and our foreign counterparts,” said Troy Reeb, executive vice-president of broadcast networks for Corus Entertainment Inc.
“It’s been over 30 years since the Broadcasting Act was updated, and there a lot of other issues that need to be tackled. But we can’t allow what had been a good all-party consensus that we needed to level the playing field to now be torn down by disagreements by how far the bill should reach into social media.”
“The key focus of regulating streamers – like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple, Disney+ – the same way Canadian broadcasters are treated can’t fall victim to all of the questions and debate over all these issues that have been added on.”
