By Len St-Aubin, pictured above, an independent internet and telecoms consultant whose clients have included streamers, carriers, government, and not-for-profits. Formerly he was director general of telecommunications policy at Industry Canada and a member of the policy teams that developed both the 1991 Broadcasting Act and the 1993 Telecommunications Act. The opinions expressed in the following are his alone.
On February 14, Quebec’s National Assembly unanimously passed a motion demanding 11th hour amendments to bill C-11, the federal government’s proposed update of the Broadcasting Act, called the Online Streaming Act. Yet in May 2021, the assembly had unanimously passed a…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – As bill C-11 faces a final vote in the House of Commons this week, “it’s unclear as to how it will work in practice” and whether streaming giants will be able to “simply repurpose” already made Canadian programming to qualify as Canadian content and how they would pay their fair share toward broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) that require private broadcasters to make a contribution of at least 5% of their broadcast revenues to CanCon and production, according to CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Catherine Tait.
The Senate’s passing of the Online Streaming Act last week was…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – As bill C-11 returns to the House of Commons after passing the Senate late Thursday, the industry affected by the online streaming legislation has called on the federal government to ensure the establishment of equal treatment between foreign and Canadian companies toward Canadian content requirements.
“We are very concerned that a provision, which remains in the bill, creates a two-tier system that will hold foreign streamers to a lower standard than Canadian companies,” said the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) in a statement today. “This will result in foreign streamers using fewer Canadian creators in the…
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By Richard Stursberg, pictured above, ex-head of Telefilm, English services at the CBC, and Chair of the Canadian Television Fund.
The debate about how to define Canadian content in the future has begun. The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has launched a consultation on the subject. The passage of bill C-11 will require the CRTC to do the same thing.
In a recent article for Cartt.ca, the distinguished communications lawyer, Doug Barrett, argued for the maintenance of the existing definition of Canadian content based on the citizenship of the key members of the creative team. The points system, as…
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By Bronwyn Howell, a fellow at think tank American Enterprise Institute with a PhD in economics and public policy, an MBA, and a BA in operations research, all from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She has undertaken contract work for Telus.
Canada and Australia are similar in many ways, but one area of significant difference is mobile telecommunications. While both countries share similar geographic and demographic features – vast territories very sparsely populated on average, yet highly-urbanised first-world economies, so likely face similar telecommunications costs and demands, Canada has fared less well in comparison to…
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MONTREAL AND TORONTO – CBC/Radio-Canada’s media solutions division announced today the appointment of Hisham Ghostine as general manager and chief revenue officer for CBC and Radio-Canada Media Solutions.
Ghostine will oversee all teams associated with the public broadcaster’s self-generated revenue, including advertising, distribution and content-licensing streams, the CBC said in a press release. He will start on April 3 and work between Montreal and Toronto.
Ghostine will replace Donald Lizotte, who after spending three-and-a-half years in the position will be stepping down for retirement on March 31.
Ghostine was appointed as executive director of sales, marketing and Olympics in May 2021 and…
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By Connie Thiessen
TORONTO — The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has appointed two new directors to its senior management team.
Natalie Clancy takes on the role of Director of public affairs and communications, while Linda Noelle Bush moves into the position of director of the Performers’ Rights Society and the ACTRA Recording Artists’ Collecting Society.
Clancy joins ACTRA from Unifor where she served as director of communications for the past five years. She previously spent more than 25 years…
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By Connie Thiessen
Michelle van Beusekom has been named the new president and CEO of British Columbia public broadcaster, Knowledge Network.
Van Beusekom has had a more than 25-year career in broadcasting and film production, including stints with the National Film Board (NFB) as Head of English Language Production, Executive Director of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), and as a senior advisor working behind-the-scenes of the launch of Inuktut language broadcaster, Uvagut TV. She’s also held management roles with Women’s Television Network and the CBC.
“After an extensive search, we are thrilled to have Michelle join the Knowledge family,” said Satwinder Bains, board char of the Knowledge Network Corporation, in…
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HALIFAX – Media company WildBrain has announced that its director of development in animation Todd Brian passed away on December 28 at 59 after a short illness.
“Hugely respected with great affection by all who knew him, particularly for his love of life and laughter as well as his outstanding creative talent, he will be greatly missed by his WildBrain family and the entertainment community of which he was such an integral part,” a WildBrain statement said.
“As a development executive, Todd’s deep creative instincts, production experience and collaborative spirit saw him nurture a slate of standout WildBrain projects which serve…
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OTTAWA — Former CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein was appointed last week to the Order of Canada, announced the Governor General of Canada.
He was recognized for “his distinguished and multifaceted career in law and federal public service,” which includes being the chair of the CRTC from 2007 to 2012.
He is listed on his LinkedIn page as an arbitrator for mediation firm JAMS.
A lawyer by training, von Finckenstein was a judge on the Federal Court from 2003 to 2007, commissioner of competition from 1997 to 2003, and before that assistant deputy attorney general in the Justice Department,…
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