By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Bill C-10, also known as the Broadcasting Modernization Act, even though it was not voted upon in second reading, will get a head start with the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Cartt.ca has learned.
Although, the committee will not be discussing the bill itself, members will discuss the subject matter of the bill when they reconvene at the end of January, and prior to second reading.
“In its meeting on December 7, 2020, the committee agreed to conduct a study of the subject matter of C-10. Therefore, the committee could begin receiving testimony on this subject…
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TORONTO — A group of more than 500 current and former employees of CBC/Radio-Canada who oppose the public broadcaster’s Tandem sponsored-content initiative today launched a social media campaign and website where they’ve published an open letter to Canadians to amplify their efforts to stop paid content on the CBC.
In the letter on the website (www.stoppaidcontentoncbc.ca), the group of mostly journalists asks for the Canadian public’s support in demanding CBC put an end to Tandem, the broadcaster’s new marketing division which was launched in September.
The open letter is signed by current CBC journalists, including Carol Off, Michael…
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WINNIPEG — Indigenous broadcaster APTN today announced it will broadcast a special winter edition of APTN Indigenous Day Live (IDL), in a belated celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day which is held on June 21 each year.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, APTN’s planned series of events in June were postponed, and now APTN will broadcast the first-ever APTN Indigenous Day Live Winter Solstice programming from December 21 to 25 in five one-hour shows.
To create the IDL Winter Solstice celebrations, APTN recorded some of Canada’s best talent in the fall of 2020. Hosted by Earl Wood and Janelle Wookey, the…
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TORONTO — ACTRA Toronto announced yesterday it has hired Jenn Paul (above) in the newly created role of industry relations specialist: anti-Black racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Paul comes to ACTRA Toronto with a variety of industry experience, including producing, distributing and marketing ACTRA productions. She is a producer of Sharon Lewis’s CSA-nominated Brown Girl Begins, and also a producer of four short films and a commercial under her production shingle Token Creative, which has two anthology series in development, including one on mental health.
Most recently, Paul was an integrated producer with Livewire Communications. Previously, she was with Bell Media…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In our last story about Bill C-10, the long-awaited Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault wanted to proceed quickly to and through second reading. Passage from second reading is normally a prerequisite before a bill goes to the Heritage Committee for study.
That was two weeks ago. Word is that debate could resume Friday, December 4, along with Bill C-11 on Privacy Protection.
Considering the House will break for the Holidays on December 11, there is slight chance the Committee will start sitting this year, possibly with government presenting the bill to…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Foreign-based vendors with no physical presence in Canada do not have to charge Canadians GST/HST on sales of digital products or services — like mobile apps, online video gaming (not to mention purchases within apps and games) and video and music streaming. Nor do they pay taxes on earnings from Canadian consumers.
In today’s economic statement from the federal government, however, foreign-based vendors selling digital products or services to consumers in Canada (such as Netflix, Spotify and others) will be required to register for, collect and remit the GST/HST on their taxable sales to Canadian consumers.
The…
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By Doug Barrett
FOR SOMEONE AS QUEASY as me worrying major chunks of the Canadian broadcasting system might end up in the hands of foreign owners, Denis Carmel’s article (Will Bill C-10 do away with Canadian Ownership?) last week was not particularly reassuring.
Mr. Carmel quoted a statement provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage which said:
“The Bill makes no changes regarding the requirements for Canadian ownership and control of traditional broadcasters. The CRTC will continue to license traditional broadcasters. Only Canadian individuals, companies and organizations, as defined in the Direction to the CRTC on the Ineligibility of Non-Canadians, will…
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Not so fast, say opposition members
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In second reading debate Wednesday and Thursday, on Bill C-10, the amendments to the Broadcasting Act, many issues were debated but we noted that the minister of Canadian Heritage wanted to proceed rapidly.
“Divisions only benefit large multi-billion dollar companies, not our constituents. That is why I am urging all members of the House to work together constructively and ensure that this important bill passes through second reading hastily, so that the committee can start doing its important work to amend, improve and move forward,” said Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.
He got…
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By Denis Carmel
WHEN BILL C-10 WAS TABLED by Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault on November 3, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting noted some amendments to the Broadcasting Act could, as a consequence, wipe out foreign ownership restrictions on broadcasters.
Friends said it is “concerned by the fact that multiple sections of the Broadcasting Act have been repealed or amended to remove protections for Canadian culture… It also removes language that the broadcasting system should be owned and controlled by Canadians, opening the door to foreign companies to buy up what’s left of Canada’s traditional broadcasting system.”
So, we asked the department of Canadian…
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“Just marketing for now,” says Pruneau
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – The monetization of next-generation mobile wireless technology will depend on what it’s used for and, currently, it’s about bringing customer defections under control, Quebecor executives said Thursday.
“I think because it’s just marketing for now, it’s just a question of reducing or stabilizing churn,” Jean François Pruneau, president of Videotron, said on the company’s third-quarter conference call last week. “But we’re going to have to see more user cases on the residential front or on the business front to be able to see real, true monetization plans from us and from…
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