After years of political pushback and
considerable parliamentary scrutiny, the federal Liberal government's
Online Streaming Act known as Bill C-11 passed the Senate and has become
law.
Thursday evening, Bill C-11 cleared its final legislative hurdle in
the Senate, seeing senators agree to bill sponsor Canadian Heritage
Minister Pablo Rodriguez's take-some-and-leave-some approach to
amendments made by the upper chamber.
This clears the path for the contentious bill, focused on
substantively reforming the Broadcasting Act for the first time since
1991 to take into consideration online content, to come into effect.
After years of political pushback and considerable parliamentary
scrutiny, the federal Liberal government's Online Streaming Act known as
Bill C-11 passed the Senate and has become law.
Thursday evening, Bill C-11 cleared its final legislative hurdle in
the Senate, seeing senators agree to bill sponsor Canadian Heritage
Minister Pablo Rodriguez's take-some-and-leave-some approach to
amendments made by the upper chamber.
This clears the path for the contentious bill, focused on
substantively reforming the Broadcasting Act for the first time since
1991 to take into consideration online content, to come into effect.
Senators voting 52 to 16 on a motion informing the
House of Commons that the Senate agreed with the version of Bill C-11
the majority of MPs passed last month, made passing the bill possible.
The House was then informed of the Senate's decision, and royal assent
was granted by 6:55 p.m. ET.
Bill C-11 is aimed at ensuring increasingly popular and profitable
social media platforms and streaming services such as Netflix, Crave,
Spotify, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and YouTube are subjected to
Canadian content requirements and regulations comparable to traditional
broadcasters. The policy change comes with a requirement for these
platforms to spend millions investing in Canadian content and creators.
While the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, as well as many in the "CanCon"
music, film, and television industries, have backed Bill C-11, alarms
have been sounded by critics that the Liberal proposal could have
knock-on effects for content creators and what everyday users see
online, due to provisions that would require platforms to promote
Canadian content.
In their efforts to lobby against this bill, some of the tech
companies have gone to great lengths, such as YouTube, which ran an
online campaign warning users who earn money from making videos about
how the legislation could impact their livelihoods. The Conservatives,
arguing that the legislation will have the impact of censoring what
Canadians see online, led the charge against Bill C-11 inside
Parliament.
As a result of this divide, this piece of legislation has been under
the parliamentary microscope in both the House and Senate for more than a
year, following a failed attempt prior to the last election.
Between the more than 100 amendments contemplated by the House of
Commons, and the longest study ever conducted by a Senate committee, the
minister responsible for Bill C-11 has repeatedly emphasized the
important contributions of parliamentarians to the final wording of the
legislation, while asserting that the time had come to "move on."
"Today, we are standing up for our stories, our artists, our
producers and our creators. We're standing up so that Canadians have
even more opportunities to see themselves in what they watch and listen
to," said Rodriguez, reacting to the bill's passage in a statement.
"With this legislation, we are ensuring that Canada's incredible
talent has a bigger and brighter stage online. They tell our stories,
they make our voices heard, they contribute to our economy, and they
make our culture what it is: strong, diverse and unique," the minister
said.
Over the last two weeks, the Senate has been mired in a largely
procedural battle over whether to assert itself and insist on the
substantive amendments made by the upper chamber that were rejected by
the majority of MPs.
Attempts to have the Senate stand its ground on certain amendments
were unsuccessful, seeing the majority of senators vote against related
motions on Wednesday evening. Though, the passed motion was amended to
note the Liberals gave a "public assurance" that Bill C-11 "will not
apply to user-generated digital content."
A key sticking point raised in the numerous hours of debate recently
held was the Senate's attempt to instill further protections for
individual content creators in Bill C-11.
The government asserted that the existing safeguards in the bill were
sufficient and rejected this amendment on the basis that it would
impact the government's ability to "publicly consult on, and issue, a
policy direction to the CRTC to appropriately scope the regulation of
social media services."
While the Conservatives have pledged to repeal Bill C-11 should they
form government, for now, seeing the Online Streaming Act become law is a
long-awaited political victory for the Liberals.
Complicating the back and forth between those who think Bill C-11's
critics were doing the bidding of big tech, and those who fear the
legislation's free speech implications, is that a lot is being left to
the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
as the regulatory body to determine how the new rules will be enforced.
Now that Bill C-11 has passed, that regulatory work can begin.
The next step will be for the CRTC to get to work on drafting the
policy framework for how the broadcasting and communications regulator
will implement the new powers Bill C-11 grants, informed by a federal
policy directive as well as public consultations.
The draft federal policy direction will be published in the Canada
Gazette, for the public, artists, digital creators, and businesses to
read and provide feedback on. The draft will then be updated and
re-published, taking into consideration what the government hears. The
CRTC will also give notice about its consultation plans, regarding how
it intends to enforce Bill C-11. This will include multiple public
proceedings.
It is expected that the consultations will be where stakeholders with
outstanding concerns about the bill turn next. Marking Bill C-11's
passage, internet advocacy organization OpenMedia accused the Senate of
backing down and letting a version of the bill become law that is
"largely unchanged" from the initial version tabled in Parliament in
February 2022.
"Make no mistake: the fight isn’t over yet. While legal protection of
our content was the best option, Heritage Minister Rodriguez can still
issue a clear policy direction to the CRTC that tells them our user
content should not be regulated in practice, and our choices must be
respected. That's where the fight will go next," said OpenMedia
campaigns director Matt Hatfield.
In an email to CTV News, TikTok spokesperson Danielle Morgan said
that they plan to keep fighting for the interests of Canadian
digital-first creators to be able to "create content for global
audiences without being subject to gatekeepers or encumbered by
regulatory red tape."
Remarking on the passage of Bill C-11, pro-Canadian broadcasting
organization FRIENDS called it "one of the most epic Canadian stories
ever told."
"While we wholeheartedly applaud the House and the Senate for the
leading roles they have played in this suspense-filled drama, there is
still work to be done before the credits roll on Bill C-11," said
FRIENDS executive director Marla Boltman in a statement, indicating
plans to push the CRTC to make sure the standards are equal for Canadian
broadcasters and streaming giants' Canadian content requirements, or
decades of "carefully crafted cultural policy" meant to protect Canadian
talent could be undermined.
Also flagging concerns about the legislation as drafted leading to a
two-tier system, the Canadian Media Producers Association said that it
still welcomes the bill and expressed gratitude for Rodriguez' "heroic
efforts" in securing its passage.
"We are on the precipice of a pivotal moment in Canadian broadcasting
history. It took 30 years before the Broadcasting Act was updated.
Since we don’t know when this opportunity will present itself again,
it’s important that we get it right,” said the CMPA’s president and CEO
Reynolds Mastin in a statement.
It remains to be seen what the timeline will be for Bill C-11's policy changes to come into effect.
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