If it doesn’t pass and there’s no election, it will continue in the fall
By Bill Roberts
AT MOMENTS HE LOOKED a bit like that deer in the proverbial headlights.
Minister Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, was in virtual conversation with Prem Gill, CEO of Creative B.C. on Thursday at the virtual Banff World Media Fest.
It was also somewhat of a hot seat.
“Look, I’ve been minister for 20 months and 18 of those were under Covid… it’s been a steep learning curve,” shared Guilbeault as he acknowledged his baptism by flamethrower at the Ministry.
And with Bill C-10, “we’ve had 120 amendments…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink said today it will present a special day of programming on its local community stations on June 21st celebrating the cultures and contributions of our First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada, which will begin with a moment of recognition in honour of Canada’s residential school children.
“We are so pleased to share this meaningful and important programming in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day,” said Deborah Shaffner, CEO of Eastlink in the press release.
“We hope our viewers will be inspired by the beauty and resiliency of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and communities while taking the opportunity…
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By Bill Roberts
THE LAST TIME I REALLY thought hard about Netflix was back in 2017, when then-Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly drew back the curtain on a commitment by Netflix to spend $500 million over five years to make original Canadian screen content.
I think it was part of a Chateau Laurier “Creative Canada” roadmap reveal by Joly, and I don’t think the fawning has stopped since. But, since 2017 there sure has been some incredible programming on this streamer, and during our extended pandemic it remains a more pleasant alternative to divorce.
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and chief content officer of Netflix…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In a meeting hastily scheduled Wednesday afternoon for Wednesday afternoon and evening, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage held a four hour meeting on Bill C-10 with almost no notice. Yes, FOUR hours.
We looked at the committee’s web page at 2:30 this afternoon and found no meetings scheduled. It was set for 4:30, then 4:45 and when the chair of the committee, Liberal MP Scott Simms, appeared at 4:51, he seemed a little peeved (as were we). He said that he tries to give as much notice before meetings, but said the whips of the…
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CAB says Bill C-10 delays creating “domino effect” pushing back promised legislation to help news outlets
TORONTO and OTTAWA — News Media Canada, representing hundreds of print and digital news outlets in every province and territory, today issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to act immediately on its commitment to support local journalists.
The letter, signed by News Media Canada chair Jamie Irving, was published today by news organizations across the country, including The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The Hamilton Spectator, The National Post, Le Journal de Montréal, The Edmonton Journal and…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – A couple of hours before the House of Commons held a vote confirming the time which the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage can study Bill C-10 will now be limited, the committee held its Monday meeting and continued to spin its wheels.
Nominally, Monday’s meeting was scheduled as a return to clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, but the committee first voted unanimously against a Green Party amendment which was discussed for two hours last Friday, and then defeated an NDP motion to continue meetings into the summer.
That motion, by NDP member Heather MacPherson, proposed to hold…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Friday morning, the C-10 drama was transported to the floor of the House of Commons as the Liberal government has had enough of the bill’s delay and so had announced it would introduce a motion to limit the time allocated to debating the new legislation meant to update the Broadcasting Act.
Normally, this measure is applied to House of Commons work only, but it can be applied to Committee work. However, it is exceedingly rare to use it to limit the time of committee work.
So, Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of…
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An open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Dear Prime Minister,
We are Canadian broadcasting, telecommunications, and entertainment lawyers, with decades of experience advising clients on the rules and regulations that govern the Canadian broadcasting system.
We feel compelled to write this open letter in an effort to dispel certain misleading statements that are being disseminated relating to Bill C-10, specifically how it could impact the way in which Canadians use the Internet.
The Broadcasting Act (the “Act”) was last updated three decades ago at a time when smartphones and Internet-based media streaming services like Netflix or media sharing platforms like YouTube didn’t…
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USING GOOGLE’S OFFICIAL CANADA blog, Jeanette Patell, head of public policy for YouTube Canada, posted a statement today about Bill C-10, the bill which would modernize the Broadcasting Act, in which she says the company supports the federal government’s goal of modernizing broadcasting and promoting Canadian artists, but adds concern about the potential negative impact of such legislation on YouTube’s Canadian creators.
In the blog post, titled “A Note on Bill C-10: Standing with Canadian creators and their fans”, Patell writes: “Making sure that people can find and enjoy all of this quality Canadian content is a big priority…
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OTTAWA — The Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC) announced today it has selected 21 stations across Canada that will receive funding through the federal government’s Local Journalism Initiative.
Funded by Canadian Heritage, the Local Journalism Initiative supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities in Canada. The initiative supports the salaries of journalists hired by eligible Canadian media organizations and provides up to $37,500 per successful applicant.
The content created through this initiative will be accessible to all Canadians and media outlets free of charge through the program’s national distribution centre. (Examples of…
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