By Konrad von Finckenstein, former chair of the CRTC, and Philip Palmer, former general counsel at the Justice Department focused on communications law
The Online News Act, Bill C-18, states as its purpose “to regulate digital news intermediaries” in order to bring fairness to the Canadian news marketplace. Digital news intermediaries are simply any online social media or search platform that carries links to or produces search results for news items.
The language of the Act is couched neutrally, but the announced intent is to regulate digital news intermediaries such as Meta (Facebook) and Alphabet (Google) so as to force them…
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By Connie Thiessen
OTTAWA — Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has appointed filmmaker and National Film Board (NFB) veteran Julie Roy as executive director of Telefilm Canada for a five-year term, effective April 3.
Roy has nearly 30 years of experience in the Canadian film industry, including holding several senior leadership positions during a 20-year run with the NFB, most recently serving as Director General and Head of Programming.
In her most recent role, Roy oversaw production studios across the country, as well as NFB’s distribution, marketing and merchandising units. Canadian Heritage credits Roy, in a release, with helping establish the NFB’s vision and programming goals…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – The head of Google’s Canadian operation was repeatedly pilloried on Friday by members from all parties of the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage frustrated by her failure to provide the information they sought on the company’s test limiting news for some Canadian users.
While Sabrina Geremia, vice president and country managing director for Google Canada, said the test in response to bill C-18 would end on March 16, she was pressed by Montreal Liberal Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather on whether the company relied on individual user data to block under four per…
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By Christopher Guly
The federal government has formally responded to amendments the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications made to bill C-11 that passed the upper house on Feb. 2 and which has been under consideration in the House of Commons.
In a notice sent to the Senate on Tuesday, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who sponsored the bill when it was introduced in the House on Feb. 2, 2022, highlighted several changes the government would like the Senate to make before the Online Streaming Act is granted royal assent.
The Senate defined “community element” as “includ the participation of…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his displeasure Friday with actions by Google to take its opposition to bill C-18, the Online News Act, to users of its search engine.
This week, The Canadian Press broke the story that Google would limit access to news content – including from Canadian broadcasters and newspapers – for under four percent of its Canadian users over about a five-week period.
“It really surprises me that Google has decided that would rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying journalists for the work they do,” Trudeau said…
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MARKHAM, Ont. – Effective immediately, Allison Lenehan is no longer the president and CEO of Xplore, according to a press release Thursday.
That title in the interim now belongs to Francis Shammo, chairman of the Xplore board of directors and former chief financial officer of Verizon.
Lenehan will now be a senior advisor on the board, “where he will focus on strategic initiatives,” the release said. Lenehan has spent 10 years as the company’s head, with a total of nearly 30 years with the company.
“The Board has commenced a search for a permanent successor and, recognizing the company’s strong Canadian heritage…
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OTTAWA – Canadian Heritage has released Friday the job posting for the Quebec representative on the CRTC.
The job ad says the department will review applications starting March 20 for the position that was recently vacated by Alicia Barin, who became the full-time vice-chair of broadcasting in December.
With the Barin announcement came the appointment of commission head Vicky Eatrides and vice-chair of telecommunications, Adam Scott. Then, late last month, Heritage appointed Bram Abramson for commissioner of Ontario.
The Quebec commissioner position is the final piece to complete the nine-person commission, which received a new policy direction from Innovation…
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OTTAWA — The Canada Media Fund is later this month launching its national survey to get perspectives from the audiovisual sector on how the current definition of Canadian content should evolve in light of bill C-11, the legislation that will empower the CRTC to force foreign streamers to contribute to domestic content.
The 10-minute survey, which will be open on February 27, was designed in collaboration with firms La Societe des demains and Humain Humain and was “informed by input from the CMF’s annual industry consultations and preliminary in-depth interviews with dozens of individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives,” the…
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Government “disagreed” with incumbent arguments about direction usefulness and legality
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Innovation Canada has kept its proposed policy direction to the CRTC largely intact, as the final version released Monday shores up language to reinforce the government’s perspective on the importance of competition and affordability in the wireline and wireless sectors of the telecommunications industry, while maintaining that the direction will encourage innovation and network investments.
The department clarified language in the final version that made clearer the importance in CRTC decisions of network reliability, fair roaming rates, and “just and reasonable” rates at which smaller internet service…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Canadian Heritage and Innovation Canada are emphasizing the speed at which the CRTC makes decisions in a mandate letter to new head of the regulator, Vicky Eatrides.
“There is a perception that the CRTC is taking too long to make decisions,” the Monday letter said. “CRTC regulatory decisions are essential to creating a stable, competitive, and innovative business environment.
“Undue delays create uncertainty and potentially impact investment decisions and service offerings for Canadians,” the letter added. “As the pace of technological change continues unabated, timely decision making will only be more critical in responding to the needs…
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