By Greg O’Brien
THE PRIOR ITERATIONS OF our Broadcasting Act are carefully written, specific, documents.
The first, passed in 1968, was an Act meant to, among other things, “safeguard, enrich and strengthen the nation of Canada from sea to sea,” as quoted in the History of Canadian Broadcasting. That version of the Act also established the CRTC, empowering it with the responsibility to make sure the system stays under Canadian ownership and control.
American companies who had ownership positions in our broadcasters and then-nascent cable companies were forced to divest (down to a maximum of 20% ownership, but many left completely)….
Continue Reading
Two top bureaucrats retiring at Canadian Heritage
By Denis Carmel
NO, BILL C-10 WON’T lead to the sale of Canadian broadcasters to foreign interests, Department of Canadian Heritage officials told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Monday morning.
The bill, as proposed, contemplates the removal of the portion of the Broadcasting Act which says companies in the system must be majority Canadian-owned and -controlled, which has raised opposition from some quarters. When asked Monday during the committee meeting into C-10, the bill which would amend the Act, by Edmonton-Strathcona MP Heather McPherson if this means Canadian broadcasters could be sold off to…
Continue Reading
By Steve Faguy
Kiss. Boom. Jack. Fresh. Jewel. Virgin. Country. Real Country. Pure Country. Hit Country. K-Rock. B. Q. O. X. Mix. Moose. Drive. Énergie. Rythme. Rouge. Plaisir.
They’re all brands used by Canada’s largest broadcasting companies for multiple radio stations in their groups. Some are generic enough they’re even used by multiple stations of different companies.
But these days, rather than some common brands being coincidental, they’re being planned. Bit by bit, national brands are replacing what had been individual stations’ identities. In January, Bell Media turned 10 of its adult contemporary stations, including heritage brands like Majic 100 in Ottawa…
Continue Reading
By Len St-Aubin
IN THE GUISE OF “broadcasting policy”, Bill C-10, An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, is really about promoting Canadian content in online media. To do that, it would expand the Broadcasting Act to capture virtually all online (internet) audio and video.
My previous articles discussed how Bill C-10 and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s forecast Cancon contributions risk highly problematic outcomes for Canadian broadcasting, for the internet in Canada and for Canadians. A third proposed an alternative approach.
This article returns to the impact on private sector television and revisits potential outcomes in light of market…
Continue Reading
53% of funds went to companies owned by diverse groups
MONTREAL — Telefilm Canada revealed today almost $30 million was disbursed through the Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund – Telefilm Allocation, with more than half of funding going to companies that are majority-owned by an underrepresented group.
Telefilm’s relief funding for the audiovisual industry was included as part of the federal government’s Covid-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations.
Overall, Telefilm disbursed $29,654,492 in emergency funding to 549 companies in total, with 471 organizations allocated funding in Phase 1 of the program and an additional 81 in Phase 2.
Companies that…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL — Following the Department of Canadian Heritage’s announcement last month that the Short-Term Compensation Fund (STCF) for Canadian audiovisual productions is being extended until March 2022, Telefilm Canada today announced the new opening date for applications is March 4, 2021 for coverage starting on or after April 1, 2021.
“Producers who have already applied to the STCF for a project that begins shooting before March 31, 2021 and extends beyond that date must reapply for the portion that takes place after March 31, 2021,” reads Telefilm’s industry advisory. “This measure has been put in place to allow all…
Continue Reading
Real battles will come in front of the CRTC
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – It was likely not done by design, but the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage could not have lined a more diverse set of individuals and groups as it did on its Friday, February 26 meeting to talk about Bill C-10, the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act.
Author and former CBC English services chief Richard Stursberg, Corus Entertainment, SOCAN, Rogers Communications, Netflix and two community television association groups.
Most, even including Netflix, support Bill C-10 and wish for speedy adoption (the real battles will come in front of the…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – On Monday, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage continued its study of Bill C-10, which would amend the Broadcasting Act, and heard from representatives of the Canadian Media Production Association, Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO, Erin Haskett, chair of the board and Damon D’Oliveira, vice-chair.
CMPA began by endorsing the bill, but with needed changes. “(1) empowering the CRTC to ensure fair deals between streaming services or broadcasters with independent producers through codes of practice; and (2) ensuring that Canadians continue to own Canadian content,” Haskett said.
The CMPA has proposed codes of practices or terms of trade to…
Continue Reading
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Last week, Conservative Senator Claude Carignan introduced Bill S-225, an Act to amend the Copyright Act (remuneration for journalistic works) to deal with the issue of the web giants like Facebook and Google sharing news stories without compensation for the journalists.
This would be done by amending the Act to include journalistic works under the realm of works covered by the Act – meaning compensation would have to be paid to a collective to be created, like the music business has with SOCAN.
This comes on the heels of Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault saying the federal…
Continue Reading
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Bill C-10 passed second reading unanimously last Tuesday and was officially referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for study, which of course, has already begun.
The prior two meetings on the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act were, for all intents and purposes, labelled a pre-study of the legislation, in order to get a heard start hearing witnesses before the bill was approved in second reading.
So, officially, the meeting last Friday was the first meeting to officially look at the legislation.
However, the committee chair informed members and witnesses at the start of the meeting…
Continue Reading
