And send it to the Heritage Committee
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – After tabling Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, on Feb. 2, the House debated it on four occasions and the Conservatives, the official opposition, have been able to stall the legislation, forcing the government, with the assent of the NDP, to use a procedure setting a time limit on the debate to ensure passage of the second stage of the bill.
The motion was adopted today, opposed by the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois (who support the bill) and it is expected the vote on second reading will be…
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By Monica Auer
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is asking Canadians to trust the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement new legislation about electronic communications.
The CRTC is now responsible for implementing Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, Canada’s ‘Anti-Spam’ law as well as parts of the Canada Elections Act and the 2019 Accessible Canada Act: the government is proposing through Bills C-11 and C-18 to give the Commission more powers over Canadian and foreign Internet broadcasters as well as Canada’s news media, along with new authority to levy administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance with the CRTC’s requirements.
In February the government assured…
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MONTREAL — Bell Let’s Talk today announced $500,000 in new grants from the Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund to support six organizations working to improve access to mental health care for Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities in Canada.
This is in addition to $600,000 in grants disbursed earlier this year to six other organizations focused on increasing access to mental health services for members of BIPOC communities.
Since its launch in 2020, the Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund has provided $3.35 million in grants to 28 organizations, including inaugural donations to Black Youth Helpline and the National Association…
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TORONTO — To celebrate Asian Heritage Month, SiriusXM Canada announced today it is featuring special programming, new stations, podcast episodes and exclusive commentary spotlighting the Asian Canadian and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture, traditions and history during the month of May.
Throughout AAPI and Asian Heritage Month, SiriusXM will spotlight Asian music and comedy artists on K-Pop Radio (channel 104, May 18-24), Steve Aoki’s Remix Radio (ch. 104, May 25-31), Raw Dog Comedy (ch. 99, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET), Comedy Central Radio (ch. 95, 5 p.m. ET throughout week of May…
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By Howard Law
This is part three of a three-part series – read part one here and part two here.
What will “television” look like in 10 years?
Looking into the future of particular services and companies, the Commission expects that vertically integrated companies (companies that own or control programming services as well as distribution services), for their part, will continue to have the opportunity to leverage their resources and audience reach to acquire popular and lucrative programming as well as be well positioned to produce high-quality programming made by Canadians. Their critical mass provides these companies with the financial…
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OTTAWA – Canadian Heritage announced yesterday the federal government is holding a National Culture Summit on the Future of the Arts, Culture and Heritage in Canada in a hybrid format May 2-4, 2022, to consider the recovery of the country’s cultural sectors from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The summit was initially announced in December, and postponed in January due to the ongoing pandemic.
The rescheduled event will explore four themes: the promotion of long-term competitiveness and growth, the return of visitors (as well as engaging new audiences), the role of digital platforms in Canada’s cultural sectors, and…
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By Valerie Creighton
WITH ALL THE NOISE created by the many opinions and assumptions being floated about Bill C-11, it feels like the bill’s original purpose has been lost in translation.
The summary page of Bill C-11 clearly states the primary objectives (distilled) as:
add online undertakings as a distinct class of broadcast undertakings.
serve the needs and interests of all Canadians – including racialized communities, ethnocultural backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, abilities, disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and ages.
provide opportunities to Indigenous persons, programming that reflects and is in Indigenous cultures and languages.
Bill C-11 is called ‘The Online Streaming Act’…
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By Howard Law
This is part two of a three-part series – read part one here.
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST the Liberals’ first attempt at passing the Online Streaming Act as Bill C-10 last spring is poised for relaunch as the House of Commons considers Bill C-11.
In my last post I described what Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is trying to accomplish with C-11. In this post we’ll take a look at the critique by the bill’s opponents.
Like previous criticism of C-10, it’s best articulated by Michael Geist’s prolific posting. His arguments have been picked up by Conservative…
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By Howard Law
THE NEW SEASON of Canadian culture wars is now available from the House of Commons’ second reading of Bill C-11 the Online Streaming Act, the federal Liberals’ digital reboot and seventh iteration of the Broadcasting Act since 1932.
After minor revisions by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, the Bill C-11 debate promises to be a re-run of last year’s Bill C-10 which drew flak from friends and foes alike and was successfully filibustered by the Conservatives prior to the dissolution of Parliament for the fall election.
Split into three posts, I will cover what Rodriguez says C-11 is about, what its…
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AS THE FEDERAL government works towards modernizing Canada’s broadcasting system through Bill C-11, its intentions for the future of the country’s national public broadcaster remain murky at best.
The mandate letter provided to Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez makes it clear the government intends to modernize CBC/Radio-Canada, but what that will look like, how it will be done and when remain mysteries.
Among other things, the minister’s mandate letter says the Corporation’s mandate should be updated “to ensure that it meets the needs and expectations of Canadian audiences, with unique programming that distinguishes it from private broadcasters.”
CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate is not…
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