COMMENTARY: The new bill can’t be the same as the old bill
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
FOR MOST OF ITS SHORT life, Bill C-10, your now-dead proposed amendment to our Broadcasting Act, trundled along, hardly noticed by those outside the content industry.
It was considered a modest attempted bill which avoided some complicated questions altogether (such as the CBC’s future mandate) but, as you know, aimed at one main thing – having the likes of Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Google and others, contribute to Canadian content.
However, the whole thing turned sour, as you and our readers may recall, on just what will be…
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OTTAWA — The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération) announced today they are now accepting applications for a new round of funding from the federal government’s Local Journalism Initiative (LJI).
The announcement follows the Government of Canada’s renewal of CACTUS’s funding to support local journalists and communities under the LJI. CACTUS’s LJI contract with the Department of Canadian Heritage was extended until March 31, 2024, and includes an additional funding allocation for 2021-22 and 2022-23 to focus on underrepresented voices, says a press release.
As a result of…
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Five little words and a world of difference
By Doug Barrett
It’s hard to say how much the detailed party platforms matter in an election. In this one, each of the main platforms contains dedicated sections on the arts/culture/broadcasting sectors and it’s instructive to have a look at them.
To start, there appears to be complete unanimity on the question of ensuring the “foreign web giants contribute to the creation and promotion of Canadian stories and music” (Liberal); requiring “digital streaming giants to reinvest a significant portion of Canadian gross revenues” (Conservative); making sure that “Netflix, Facebook, Google and other digital media…
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WINNIPEG and TORONTO — The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) announced today a new broadcast special, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, produced in collaboration with Insight Productions, will air on APTN and CBC/Radio-Canada on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET.
“In recognition of the new federal statutory holiday, also known as Orange Shirt Day, this unique one-hour, commercial-free primetime special honours the stories and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples affected by the tragedies of the residential school system in Canada, with musical tributes and ceremonies in Indigenous communities across the land,” reads a press release.
The special will…
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By Denis Carmel
CARTT.CA HAS LEARNED large Canadian broadcasting and telecommunication enterprises collected significant amounts from the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) in 2020 and will likely receive more for 2021.
The following companies have, according to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), received subsidies:
BCE: $122.9 million
Québecor: $3.1 million
Rogers: $90.5 million
Telus: $38.6 million
Stingray: $25.2 million
Corus: $34.9 million
Pelmorex: $6.3 million*
According to the administer these programs, “a Canadian employer who has seen a drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of its…
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Conservatives release 83-page electoral platform
By Denis Carmel
The recently announced federal election officially signals the death of Bill C-10.
In dissolving the House of Commons, any “incomplete business is terminated, including government and private members’ bills,” reads the House of Commons website.
This includes Bill C-10, the legislation intended to modernize the Broadcasting Act.
So much work for nothing is distressing but it also illustrates the difficulty of legislating in today’s world, especially with a minority government.
Assuming a new government reintroduces the same bill or a new one, they will have to start from scratch. So those 159 witnesses, 55 briefs tabled, 28 meetings…
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GATINEAU — The Government of Canada announced today it is seeking input from the public and other stakeholders on the best approach to ensuring fair revenue sharing between digital platforms and Canadian news media.
Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault also released a discussion paper today that highlights perspectives raised in the government’s initial engagement on the issue.
Earlier this year, the Department of Canadian Heritage sent out a questionnaire to a number of publishers, broadcasters, platforms, academics, unions, journalist associations and organizations, asking for feedback on two proposed approaches to how the revenues of digital platforms could be shared…
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GATINEAU, QC – The federal government launched a public consultation today into its proposed approach for addressing harmful content online, which includes a last resort mechanism that would allow for court orders to be used to require telecommunication service providers to block repeatedly offending sites.
The consultation is part of the government’s commitment “to taking concrete action to combat serious forms of harmful online content, specifically hate speech, terrorist content, content that incites violence, child sexual exploitation content and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images,” according to a government press release.
The public is being asked to consider and comment on a…
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GATINEAU — Canada’s minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault, and France’s minister of culture, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, signed a new film and television co-production agreement during a videoconference today.
Canada and France are frequent co-production partners, having co-produced almost 100 projects between 2015 and 2020.
The new agreement replaces the two co-production agreements currently in force, which were signed in 1983, covering cinematographic works and television works, respectively. Today’s agreement covers all audiovisual works, whether they are intended for distribution in cinemas, on television or through on-demand media platforms, says a Canadian Heritage press release.
“To be recognized as a co-production under this…
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NEW YORK — Canadian kids entertainment company WildBrain announced today former DreamWorks and Disney executive Tim Erickson (above) has been appointed executive vice-president of brand for Peanuts Worldwide, which is majority owned by WildBrain.
“Working together with the family of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, WildBrain’s content and management teams and brand co-owners Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Erickson will be responsible for sustaining a strategy true to the great heritage of the Peanuts brand — opening new licensing, partnership and retail opportunities, supporting brand marketing, and leveraging new content launches — all to expand the global presence of the Peanuts brand…
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