OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Shelly Glover issued a warning late Monday evening to the CRTC in a statement responding to day one of the Commission's TV Policy Review hearing.
It's an unusual thing for a cabinet minister to publicly interfere with a CRTC hearing but she (well, the Prime Minister's Office really, we're told) made it very clear that the federal government is mostly concerned about pick and pay – and will not stand for TV regulations being applied to new media outlets. The statement (which was e-mailed to some reporters and still can't be found online on a government web site) was also a partisan shot across the bow of the Ontario Liberal government (then by extension, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau), whose representatives Monday offered an opposing point of view in how to deal with the threat over-the-top video may pose to the traditional TV system.
"For the past year, our government has been clear that we believe Canadian consumers shouldn't have to subscribe to channels they don't want to get the channels they do… We asked the CRTC to examine unbundling as it undertook a broader study of how television services are provided, and our government is watching that study very closely," reads the statement.
"At the hearings (sic), the Ontario Liberal government made a submission recommending that online video service providers, such as Netflix and YouTube, be subject to regulation by the CRTC. The implication of such a proposal would be for these companies to incur substantial new costs, simply to provide the same services that Canadian consumers have come to expect and enjoy.
“The CRTC has in the past declined to regulate such services — a position that our government continues to firmly support. Liberals like Kathleen Wynne and Justin Trudeau have never seen an opportunity to regulate and tax that they wouldn't take, but Canadian consumers can rest assured that our government will continue to stand up for them," it continues.
“We will not allow any moves to impose new regulations and taxes on internet video that would create a Netflix and YouTube Tax.”
Responding late Wednesday afternoon to Minister Glover's statement, a spokesperson from Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Coteau’s office said: "It’s no surprise to see the Harper Conservatives distorting the facts. Monday’s presentation provided important elements for CRTC consideration as it undertakes its review. Ontario is not advocating for any Canadian content changes or for any specific regulations regarding new media TV."
The NDP also offered a pointed criticism over the federal government's meddling in an ongoing hearing that is supposed to be done by an arm's length agency. In essence, the government isn't supposed to tell the CRTC what to do, certainly during a public hearing.
"New Democrats are urging Conservatives to stop playing politics with the CRTC hearings," said its Wednesday statement. “It is extremely inappropriate for the Conservatives to play partisan politics with these hearings,” added NDP Heritage critic Pierre Nantel. “As the Conservatives well know, the CRTC is an independent body and must be allowed to come to its own conclusions.
"Partisan political meddling by the Conservatives risks undermining the consultation."
(Ed note #1: Amen)
The controversy is roiling through Ottawa backrooms and has been addressed directly by various presenters since it became public. "No matter how much money foreign OTT services take out of the Canadian system, requiring them to contribute something back has now been clearly taken off the table for this proceeding," said CMPA president Michael Hennessy during his presentation in reference to the statement attributed to the Heritage Minister.
(Addendum: Hennessy tweeted to us that he was actually referring not to Glover, but to the caution from CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais to the Ontario government reps – see below – and to this Huffington Post interview with the chair.)
So many have been talking about the statement and the shackles it has placed on the hearing that it caused CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais to directly address it late Wednesday at the end of the appearance of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "Before I let you go, you and others have made reference to some noise that's occurring outside this hearing room," he said. "I can't prevent that noise occurring outside this hearing room, but what I can assure you is that, figuratively at least, you'll have your day in court — we're not a court, we're an administrative tribunal — and you will — I can assure you of a fair hearing before us."
(Ed note #2: While we acknowledge the clarifier from the Ontario government on playing politics with the CRTC hearing, we have asked the Ontario Minister's spokesperson whether or not the Ontario government is going to back away from what their representative, Kevin Finnerty, assistant deputy minister of tourism, culture and sport for the Ontario government, actually told the Commission on Monday. Here's the segment of the transcript that was the most contentious, starting with chairman Blais addressing Finnertty.
1082 To put a blunt face on it, you are inviting the CRTC to regulate Google, YouTube and Netflix, aren't you, and what advice will you be giving your Minister later on today when the potential headline is, "Government of Ontario wants to tax Netflix" or "Government of Ontario wants to regulate the Internet"?
1083 MR. FINNERTY: Well, in fact what we recommend is that new media broadcasting activities be regulated. We did not recommend that the Internet be regulated, but we are very clear in our submission, both our written submission and in today's presentation, that we believe that new media broadcasting activity should be regulated to support the principles of the Broadcasting Act and to support Ontario's very important entertainment and creative cluster.
1084 THE CHAIRPERSON: So you will agree with me, though, that the activities on Netflix, on YouTube and some other online activities is clearly broadcasting subject to the Digital Exemption Order, so by saying what you have said you are in fact asking us to regulate directly those entities.
1085 MR. FINNERTY: We are asking you to regulate the new media broadcasting activities that are carried out by foreign over-the-top providers such as Netflix.
When/if we get an answer to our question, we'll update this piece again.)
