By Ahmad Hathout
A new bill that would force the CRTC to “consult” with the provincial governments on matters affecting French-speaking markets is drawing concern from regulatory authorities both in its legal terminology and the precedent it could set for a tribunal freshly saddled with increased responsibilities.
The private member’s bill C-354, which passed second reading in the House and is in the committee stage, would amend the CRTC Act to add to section 12 a paragraph that would require it to “consult with the Government of Quebec or the governments of the other provinces, as the case…
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By Howard Law, author of Canada vs. California, and MediaPolicy.ca
Last week the CRTC released its anticipated “Phase One” ruling on the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11. The headline was the $200 million price tag put on Canadian content contributions assessed by the commission on large foreign online audio and audio-visual streamers operating in Canada.
Following the commission’s decision, many industry players and public policy commentators were quick to declare victory or disaster, something we can expect in a regulatory drama that never quits.
This drama is chronicled in my book, Canada vs California: How…
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Canadian Heritage has announced the appointment of Marc Beaudet to the board of directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the re-appointment of Marie Wilson and Guillaume Aniorté, all for five-year terms expiring May 23, 2029.
Beaudet is being appointed in place of François R. Roy, whose term expired recently.
Currently senior vice president of studio operations at Montreal-based Cloud Imperium Games (CIG), Beaudet is the former co-founder and CEO of digital platform developer Turbulent, which was acquired by CIG in July 2023.
Beaudet was one of nine appointees to an independent advisory committee created in June…
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Canada and the government of Quebec announced Monday they are co-organizing the inaugural meeting of the UNESCO Group of Experts on the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment, which is being held in Québec City from May 28 to 30.
Composed of 18 independent experts from around the world, the group has a mandate to reflect on the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (known as the 2005 Convention) in the digital age and make recommendations to parties who ratified…
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By Connie Thiessen
Independent ethnic community television producers have launched the “This Show is Made with Zero Support from the Government” campaign, saying third-language programming is in jeopardy without more funding.
A number of shows broadcast on Rogers Sports & Media multicultural broadcaster OMNI TV began airing the public service announcements last week, which warn viewers that without support, multicultural voices could start disappearing from the airwaves, urging their audiences to contact their local Member of Parliament.
The producers say advertising revenues are insufficient to maintain quality programming and the campaign has been launched out of frustration with government inaction.
“Politicians and government…
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Canadian Heritage has announced the appointment of Sylvain Lafrance as chairperson of Telefilm Canada. In addition, Deborah MacPherson and Claude Doucet have been appointed as members of Telefilm’s board of directors.
The five-year terms of all three appointees began May 9.
An expert in the fields of media management and communications, Lafrance worked at CBC/Radio-Canada for more than three decades. Before leaving the national public broadcaster in 2011, he held the position of executive vice president of French services, where he led the integration of the Crown corporation’s radio,…
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While visiting the University of British Columbia (UBC) on Wednesday, Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge announced $129,375 in funding for UBC’s Municipal Mis/Disinformation project, which responds to the problem of online climate misinformation and disinformation at the local level.
The project is receiving the funding through the federal government’s Digital Citizen Contribution Program, which supports the priorities of the Digital Citizen Initiative by providing financial assistance to Canadian researchers and civil society organizations that promote a healthy information ecosystem and help Canadians and the government understand online disinformation and its…
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Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge announced Monday the appointment of an advisory committee that will provide policy advice on the role, mission and governance of Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada.
The committee composed of seven experts and specialists will be tasked with providing advice “on how to strengthen and renew the public broadcaster so it can continue to fulfill its important social, cultural and democratic functions,” says a Heritage press release.
“CBC/Radio-Canada is a cornerstone of Canadian culture,” St-Onge said in a statement. “For almost 90 years, our public broadcaster has been a…
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Canadian Heritage announced via X on Thursday that Claire Anderson has been reappointed as CRTC commissioner for British Columbia and Yukon for a second five-year term.
The official order in council dated May 3 says her reappointment is effective Aug. 26, 2024.
A citizen of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and based in Whitehorse, Anderson is the first Indigenous woman and first Yukon resident to be appointed as a CRTC commissioner. Her original appointment started in August 2019.
Called to the Yukon bar in 2014, Anderson started…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – The head of CBC came to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Tuesday proudly declaring that the public broadcaster’s “financial outlook has improved” since last December when it announced plans to cut 600 jobs to offset an estimated shortfall of $125 million, and had been reduced to about $20 million, resulting in no need for further payroll cuts to balance the books at CBC/Radio Canada.
But several members of the committee, which has been scrutinizing the employment reduction at the English-French broadcaster, were more focused on…
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