Proposes new agency to battle billion-dollar problem
OTTAWA – FairPlay Canada, a new coalition of Canadian artists, content creators, unions, guilds, producers, performers, broadcasters, distributors, and exhibitors is has filed an application with the CRTC urging the Regulator to have Canadian ISPs shut down access to websites which enable content piracy.
According to the coalition, the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Canadians who work in the creative sector (songwriters, set builders, TV writers, makeup artists, reporters, as well as cable technicians, engineers and customer service reps) are at risk as a result of increasing online piracy…
Continue Reading
Q HOST TOM POWER is a good interviewer. But even he can’t penetrate Heritage Minster Mélanie Joly’s ability to avoid giving a direct answer to a direct question.
The Minister appeared on CBC’s Q last week (screen-capped at right) to talk about the #MeToo movement (she was in Toronto to meet with a number of groups on that topic) as well as discuss Canadian content in the new, digital era. We’ll pick up the chat at the 6:40 mark.
After mentioning Netflix’s planned $500 million investment in making content in Canada, which was the centrepiece of Minister…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Broadcast and music industry veteran and philanthropist Gary Slaight will receive the 2018 Humanitarian Award at this year’s Juno Awards.
Given out annually, the Humanitarian Award celebrates and recognizes the philanthropic efforts made by Canadian artists or industry leaders who have made a positive impact on social welfare worldwide. It will be presented at the Juno Gala Dinner & Awards on March 24, 2018 in Vancouver.
Slaight personifies the essence of the award through his devotion to Canadian music and emerging Canadian artists as well as his philanthropic support of health care, social service, culture and at-risk youth at…
Continue Reading
A curious omission, though
OTTAWA – Just before the federal government shuts down for the holidays, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and Innovation Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains co-signed a mandate letter for the committee about to begin the process of reviewing the Copyright Act.
“While often underappreciated, the Copyright Act impacts Canadians every day, shaping what we see and hear, and enhancing our systems for the creation and use of content,” wrote the minsters to the chairman of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, which will lead the statutory review in the new year.
The letter asks the…
Continue Reading
Search continues for new CEO
GATINEAU – Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly named five new directors to the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors on Tuesday.
The new members are:
− Harley Finkelstein (Ontario), mandate effective immediately
Mr. Finkelstein is an entrepreneur, lawyer and chief of operations for Shopify. He is a member of C100's board of directors and advises Felicis Ventures, which makes him involved in two organizations that promote innovation. He was also one of the dragons on CBC's Next Gen Den. Mr. Finkelstein was a recipient of the Order of Ottawa in 2016 and recently received Canada's Top 40 Under 40 award.
− René…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canada’s Copyright Act should enable creators to get paid properly and on time as well as promote discoverability and Canada’s culture and heritage, say ISED Minister Navdeep Bains and Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly.
Copyright is a major driver of the Canadian economy, with core copyright-based industries representing an estimated contribution of $50 billion to the GDP and accounting for 483,000 jobs in 2015, reads the joint statement issued following the adoption of a motion put forward in Parliament to review the 2012 Act next year.
“In order to thrive in the digital economy, we need to support both creators and…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL — “I’ve gotten such great press lately,” Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly joked to break the ice in a speech Friday to Montreal’s board of trade. But despite mounting pressure, especially in Quebec, to impose sales taxes on foreign over-the-top services like Netflix, Joly had no new announcements to make, sticking to repeating the promises made in the Creative Canada plan released in September.
“I hear you,” she told the crowd present, including board president Michel Leblanc, who said during his introduction that he expected Joly to explain the government’s position on this issue. She repeated several times that she’s…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Toronto-based lawyer Monique Lafontaine has been named the CRTC’s new Commissioner for Ontario.
Wednesday’s announcement by Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says that Lafontaine (pictured) brings over 17 years' experience in entertainment and communications law to the role, and that her areas of specialization include television, radio, new media regulation, program licencing and affiliation agreements, stakeholder relations, and anti-spam and privacy legislation.
Lafontaine, who is fluently bilingual, will begin her five-year post on January 2nd, 2018. According to her LinkedIn profile, she held senior roles at ZoomerMedia, the Directors Guild of Canada and law firm McCarthy Tétrault before opening her own communications and entertainment…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canada’s move to take on the presidency of international French-language television network TV5 could prove to be a boon for Canadian content creators.
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said Friday that Canada is taking over the presidency of TV5 from Switzerland and will hold it for the next two years, starting in January 2018. Canada will also host the conference of responsible ministers and the annual meeting of senior officials.
Managed by two television channel providers, TV5Monde and TV5 Québec Canada, TV5 is the largest French-language television network in the world. TV5Monde operates TV5 signals worldwide (with the exception…
Continue Reading
Former Google exec is accelerating weather company’s transition, expansion
WHEN PELMOREX FOUNDER Pierre Morrissette trolled the executive ranks for someone new to take his place atop the company which owns and operates The Weather Network and MétéoMédia, he cast a far longer line than into the pool of TV people.
This past summer, Pelmorex surprised many by hiring Sam Sebastian away from his gig as vice-president and managing director of Google’s Canadian operations. The official announcement of his hiring, however, wasn’t a simple “welcome aboard”, but instead made it clear he will be driving an aggressive company aimed towards international expansion…
Continue Reading
