Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe on Wednesday tabled in the Quebec National Assembly Bill 109, An Act to affirm Québec’s cultural sovereignty and to enact an Act respecting the discoverability of Francophone cultural content in the digital environment.
Minister Lacombe also proposed introducing in Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms “a right of access to cultural content of original Francophone expression”, according to an English translation of a Quebec government press release.
This introduction of a right to discoverability and access to French-language content in the Charter “would serve to promote the presence, visibility and recommendation of Francophone cultural content in the digital environment and would prescribe compliance with obligations on the part of the operators of the businesses concerned that would result from the application of the Act respecting the discoverability of Francophone cultural content in the digital environment,” the press release said.
The “businesses concerned” that would be subject to the new legislation, if passed, include audiovisual content, music, podcast and audiobook platforms — Canadian and foreign — which would have obligations imposed on them “to ensure that Francophone cultural content is present and visible in their catalogues,” according to the release.
“Also, manufacturers of televisions and connected devices would be subject to terms and conditions that would require them, among other things, to offer access to certain viewing platforms that offer mainly original French-language cultural content and to put it in the foreground.”
“The bill is perfectly in line with Quebec’s actions in the area of discoverability in recent years,” said Lacombe, in a translated statement. “Both realistic and very ambitious, it has all the potential to play a decisive role in the future and vitality of our cultural and linguistic identity as well as in the preservation of our cultural sovereignty. As the home of the French language and Francophone culture in North America, Quebec is the most legitimate judge of the state of its language and culture. This is why the future of these must be decided at home and by us.”
The Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) applauded the minister’s introduction of Bill 109, calling it “a gesture full of meaningˮ in a press release.
The Quebec government’s proposed legislation “will set standards for establishing the amount or proportion of original French-language cultural content that must be found on platforms, as well as measures to promote works,” the AQPM said in its release.
“The AQPM is convinced that the Government of Quebec has an important role to play in protecting and promoting original French-language content on online platforms and connected devices,” Hélène Messier, president and CEO of the AQPM, said in a statement. “The issues of discoverability and promotion of cultural content are fundamental and must be part of a global strategy to support their creation, production, distribution and outreach.
“The online discoverability of Quebec’s original French-language cultural content is an essential weapon against the standardization of thought to the detriment of local expressions. By exercising its cultural sovereignty, Quebec is helping to express its uniqueness and to developing and maintaining the ties of attachment that exist between its citizens and the various forms of express of their culture,” Messier said.
The Association des professionnels de l’édition musicale (APEM) also welcomed the introduction of the proposed legislation.
“This bill addresses a real issue for the music sector, and we congratulate Minister Lacombe for this step forward. Ultimately, we hope it will ensure that French-language music receives its rightful place among the platforms’ recommendations,” said Jérôme Payette, executive director of the APEM, in a press release translated into English.
“APEM hopes that provincial regulations will complement federal regulations, which are currently under review by the CRTC, and that the main companies that broadcast music in Quebec will be called upon to contribute,” the APEM said in its press release. “Our association will closely monitor the progress of the bill, is prepared to intervene in parliamentary committee, and offers its full cooperation to the Quebec government.”
The tabling of Bill 109 in the Quebec National Assembly comes as the CRTC is holding a two-week hearing on the definition of Canadian content in the audiovisual space.
Photo via Wikimedia
