TORONTO — ACTRA, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) are adding their voices to the chorus of content creators who are calling for Bill C-10, which aims to amend the Broadcasting Act, to be passed.
“Following a week of debate amongst Canadian Heritage Committee members about Bill C-10, an Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, ACTRA is now urging all parties to put politics aside and pass Bill C-10,” reads a press release released today by ACTRA.
“The Broadcasting Act in its current form is outdated. It does not…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On Monday, the Members of the Heritage Committee approved a motion they had voted down previously as the Liberals on the committee compromised and opened the meeting with a proposal to back down and wait on hearing from the Justice Minister.
When a firestorm erupted after the removal by the Liberals of Section 4.1, which exempted social media platforms from Bill C-10, the legislation intended to modernize the Broadcasting Act, the Conservatives proposed to suspend the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill until a new Charter statement from the Justice Minister could be produced. Such a…
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OTTAWA — Today, the department of Canadian Heritage launched the new Canadian Artists and Content Creators Economic Survey, designed to help create an updated portrait of the artistic and creative community in Canada in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All Canadian artists and content creators are invited to take part, to help shed light on their experiences working and earning a living in a pre- and post-Covid-19 world,” reads the press release from Canadian Heritage.
“The data gathered through this survey will inform current and future Canadian Heritage policies and programs, ensuring the department continues to be responsive to the realities…
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Second Charter review stalled by Conservative filibustering
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Fraught by fears of stifling constitutionally protected freedoms, Bill C-10 could undergo a second review to ensure that the proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act are compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
At the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Friday, Liberal member Anthony Housefather presented a motion that would ask Justice Minister David Lametti “to provide a revised Charter statement on Bill C-10, as soon as possible, focusing on whether the committee’s changes to the bill related to programs uploaded by users of social…
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Resumption of clause-by-clause consideration met by stalling tactics
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In a quickly scheduled evening meeting the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage resumed its review of the content of individual sections of Bill C-10, which aims to amend the Broadcasting Act.
Right away the committee went back to the discussion over whether the amended bill complies with the Charter of Rights.
The first hour featured an overlong speech (a classic filibuster) from Conservative MP Rachel Harder, about the importance of the Charter of Rights compliance for the bill being studied. She may have a point, but the stalling tactic angered…
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MONTREAL and WINNIPEG – The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, said this week it “deplores” the delay of the clause-by-clause study of Bill C-10 to amend the Broadcasting Act.
The coalition which includes creative associations such as ADISQ, ACTRA, CMPA, SOCAN and WGC, among others, “urges all members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage committee to agree to resume the study of the bill promptly,” reads its press release.
“Without a rapid resumption of this work, the entire fate of Bill C-10 is at stake. And without the immediate implementation of this bill, the entire Canadian cultural…
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By Brad Danks and Luc Perreault
AS WE WRITE, BILL C-10, An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, is stalled in committee at clause-by-clause review. Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage are asking the bill to be suspended pending a Charter analysis from the Department of Justice and an appearance from the Ministers of Justice and Canadian Heritage.
They say that an amendment made to the bill – removing a social media exclusion in proposed section 4.1 – is a substantial change and Canadians’ freedom of expression is at stake.
The Liberals say they are prepared to request a…
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By Howard Law
UNTIL LAST WEEK, PARLIAMENT’S Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was plodding through the clause-by-clause review of Bill C-10 with no tasty headlines. Perhaps the bill’s revamp of the Broadcasting Act, which would sweep in Netflix, isn’t controversial anymore.
Of course, federal political partisanship is inevitable, as Canadian as bad weather.
And so, we now have the Conservatives’ faux controversy over free expression on social media platforms. In an e-mail blast from CPC MPs across the country, they made their case:
“Recently, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-10 – a bill that would regulate social media websites like Facebook, YouTube, and…
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By Denis Carmel
AT THE START OF THE first Heritage Committee meeting to consider amendments to Bill C-10, the chair of the Committee, Liberal MP Scott Simms, said: “Buckle up, folks. This is the fundamental core of parliamentary democracy at its best. It’s going to be an exciting time—so exciting that we’ll probably sell the story rights to Netflix.”
He was joking but the hearing had a discoverability problem: they were held at lunch time on Mondays and in the afternoons on Fridays.
So, on Thursday evening, after going a little viral this past week, the committee will convene from 6:30…
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TORONTO — Asian Television Network International (ATN) appears to have high hopes the federal government’s Copyright Act review, launched April 14, will put an end to the piracy of television and movie content in Canada.
ATN, Canada’s largest South Asian broadcaster, has long blamed content piracy for its declining revenues (which we’ve reported on numerous times, including here, here, here and here).
Last Thursday, in a press release titled “Purging the Piracy Parasite – ATN Applauds Government Initiative”, the broadcaster says it is “encouraged” by the copyright legislation review and public consultation process announced jointly…
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