M inister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez pressed an urgency to modernize the Broadcasting Act to senators as Bill C-11 moves to its clause-by-clause review.

Rodriguez (pictured) appeared as a witness to the Senate Standing Committee for Transport and Communications on Tuesday (Nov. 22) alongside associate assistant deputy minister Thomas Owen Ripley; Amy Awad, senior director, marketplace and legislative policy; and Charles Kouri, policy and research analyst, marketplace and legislative policy.

The Heritage Minister addressed ongoing concerns about user-generated content on social media as it pertains to the bill, telling senators that the department is “open to criticism,” but “we’re not open to doing nothing because status quo is not an option.”

Bill C-11 — also known as the Online Streaming Act — was tabled to give the CRTC the ability to bring foreign-owned online undertakings into Canada’s regulatory system, such as Netflix and Disney+. However, much of the discussion has been around how the bill may lead to a direct impact on users on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.

Several senators emphasized the possibility of amendments to the bill to reassure that digital content creators won’t be subject to regulation, with senator Jim Quinn calling for “checks and balances” within C-11.

Rodriguez would not commit to agreeing to any amendments regarding section 4.2 — which outlines certain instances where online programs on social media platforms can be regulated — such as removing the mention of programs that “directly or indirectly generates revenues,” but said he would be open to discussions once specific amendments are tabled. Both Rodriguez and Ripley said the requirements around social media services are focused on the platforms, not the content generated by individual users.

“This is not intended to result in a negative impact for [platforms],” said Ripley, adding that the CRTC will undergo public consultations with all affected parties to determine how to fairly regulate digital platforms if the bill is passed.

The committee also touched on industry concerns about Section 3(1)(f), which says foreign undertakings should “make greatest practicable use of Canadian creative and other human resources” in the production of Canadian programming. The Writers Guild of Canada has warned the amendment creates a “two-tiered system” and allows foreign-owned streaming companies to hire fewer Canadian creatives.

Ripley told the committee that the language was intended to “create flexibility” within the bill, noting that the government has an obligation to account for potential discrimination in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Those same sensitivities toward CUSMA were brought up in discussion around carriage concerns, where the CRTC would not be given the ability to set terms and conditions for online undertakings like Netflix to provide access to channels such as APTN or AMI-tv. Several parties, including the CRTC, have called for an amendment to ensure channels can fairly negotiate carriage agreements.

Ripley said the government’s stance was that carriage deals for online undertakings “do not need the same degree of economic regulatory tools” as traditional broadcasters.

Senators also questioned whether the bill will simply bring modern businesses into an old regulatory model. Ripley said the framework is a matter of making sure the CRTC is “looking at treatment of comparable business models in equitable ways,” adding that “Canadian broadcasters face a competitive disadvantage in that they are subject to supporting Canadian cultural objectives, whereas streaming services are not.”

The clause-by-clause review of C-11 will get underway on Wednesday (Nov. 23), where senators will begin to propose potential amendments to the bill.