OTTAWA – The National Post reported earlier this week the CRTC could be named the regulator in charge of the upcoming legislation that will compel platforms including Google and Facebook to share revenue with Canadian news organizations.
“Several industry sources told the National Post that, following meetings with the government, they expect the CRTC could be tasked with the new regime,” an article from the National Post says.
A government source told the newspaper the CRTC will have a “light touch” and “will not be doing the arbitration itself – that will be left to an independent arbiter that both the digital platforms and news outlets agree on,” the article reads.
The Canadian government’s approach to addressing revenue sharing for online news is to be based on Australia’s approach.
It is unclear to what extent or with whom the possibility of the CRTC taking on the role of regulator within this system has been discussed. There is no mention of the CRTC specifically in the document that came out of Canadian Heritage’s stakeholder engagement related to the matter, and the process itself was not conducted in a public manner.
The Canadian Media Guild, which did not participate in the stakeholder engagement but did submit comments to the second phase of Canadian Heritage’s consultation, suggested the CRTC could oversee a public service media fund. There was, however, no mention of the CRTC as a regulator in a system based on the Australian model in any of the comments to the second phase of the consultation.
There is likely to be serious concerns brought up if the CRTC is in fact tasked with being the regulator in charge of the upcoming online news legislation.
If it happens, the CRTC will be expected to take on these new responsibilities in addition to the other new responsibilities the passing of Bill C-11 will give it. It is also worth noting the potential of an expanded role for the Commission comes at a time when it already seems to have trouble keeping up with its workload.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez was asked about the CRTC’s workload at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference earlier this year in the context of its expanded role due to C-11. In response, Rodriguez acknowledged the CRTC will need additional resources and said the Commission “will have a hundred percent of everything they need to do the job once C-11 is adopted.”
Canadian Heritage did not confirm whether the CRTC is being considered to be the regulator in charge of the upcoming online news legislation when Cartt.ca asked, however, it appears we will know more soon enough as the proposed legislation appeared on the House of Commons notice paper today as “An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada.”
While the CRTC’s role in the upcoming legislation is not certain, Rodriguez has made it clear broadcasters will be included despite several stakeholders having argued they should be excluded.
Bell, unsurprisingly, was one of the consultation participants advocating for the inclusion of broadcasters.
“We fail to understand how there can be any consideration of excluding certain news providers based solely on the underlying industry in which they have traditionally operated,” its submission reads. “An online link to a Canadian news story is not inherently less or more valuable based on whether the story was published by a broadcaster or by a newspaper publisher.”
Part of Bell’s argument is that broadcast news has been struggling as much as print, pointing out over three-quarters of its own local television stations have not been profitable for several years.
“We are no longer able to keep full-time journalists at city halls and courts across our country,” the company’s submission says. “We are missing stories on a daily basis and, as a result, our role in holding governments, big business and others accountable has diminished.”
