Concerns about IP ownership and changes to the definition of Canadian content were top of mind in Ottawa as the Canadian Media Producers Association’s annual Prime Time conference went into full swing on Thursday (Feb. 2).

The conference, which runs from Feb. 1 to 3, took place a stone’s throw away from where the Senate was completing its lengthy debate on Bill C-11, created to modernize the Broadcasting Act. The bill passed its third reading in the Senate on Thursday evening, and is now headed back to the House of Commons to review the 26 amendments from the Senate.

The potential impact of the bill took precedence during Prime Time sessions, including an opening keynote from CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin (pictured). He took the opportunity to add to mounting criticism of a potential “two-tiered system” due to a clause in C-11 that sets different rules between Canadian broadcasters and foreign streamers in terms of the use of Canadian creative talent.

Mastin moderated the first panel discussion of the conference, which speculated on what Canada’s industry might look like in 2030. A rosy outlook included a host of “future-facing” Canadian companies able to serve multiple functions as a producer or a distributor or broadcaster, as well as a well-funded CBC, according to Blue Ant Media co-founder and CEO Michael MacMillan.

Barbara Williams, EVP at CBC, and Jeanette Patell, head of government affairs and public policy at YouTube Canada, both emphasized the importance of flexible business models in order to adapt to shifting audience demand, with Williams adding that the future will hopefully see more consumer trust in news and media.

Justin Stockman, VP, content development and programming at Bell Media, said Bill C-11 opens up an opportunity for more money to enter the system and fund Canadian content, if the drafted policies do enough to protect Canadian-owned and -controlled IP. On the flip side, Stockman warned of the potential dangers if new regulations are more lenient for foreign-owned undertakings.

“We could see Canadian dollars being controlled by a non-Canadian majority, and what happens to the IP at that point? What happens to the distribution opportunities if a piece of content is commissioned by a non-Canadian? It’s Canadian-ish. Then it’s immediately sold in every territory on its first investment,” he said.

Stockman added that if streaming services will be subjected to Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) requirements under CRTC regulation, what is considered domestic content will need to be carefully monitored.

“There’s a world where, if Netflix decided to do another season of The Umbrella Academy, which is a big, expensive show, a couple of tweaks — where there is already a Canadian lead [Elliot Page] and Canadian producers involved — and that could be their CPE for the year. It’s not Cancon in its current form, and if they were going to do it anyway, all of those dollars just left the system [rather than] making real Cancon.”

MacMillan spoke with Playback Daily following the panel about how regulation of foreign-owned companies must be carefully considered when it comes to contributions to the system. “What I would not want to see happen is that the streamers say, ‘OK, we’re going to contribute,’ and we put the money into a separate pot… they then take the money back out into their own pocket. That’s not really changing anything,” he says.

He says the current system where broadcasters contribute to “common pots,” such as the Canada Media Fund, could still work with the addition of streamers, and it would ensure that the funds are funnelled to producers of Canadian programs.

The topic of redefining Canadian content came up later in the day during a session with Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She emphasized that Prime Video is supportive of a modernized system and has done a lot of work to put mechanisms in place to operate in Canada and work with local producers.

That work has led to Canadian originals such as The Kids in the Hall (Project 10 Productions), The Lake (Amaze) and LOL: Last One Laughing Canada (Insight Productions). However, there are concerns over the level of regulation put on streaming services.

“The reality is very few of the series that we’re making are considered Canadian content, if you take the [standard definition] word-for-word and apply it,” she told moderator maxine bailey, executive director of the Canadian Film Centre. “That’s a challenge for us because we want to continue to invest, but we need a modernized, flexible definition to do that, which accounts for the different business model we have.”

Minister for Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez reaffirmed in his appearance at Prime Time that the government plans to modernize the definition of Cancon, but the CMPA’s Mastin tells Playback Daily any change to the definition would be “a huge step backwards.”

“When it comes to meeting Canadian content obligations, [foreign streamers] are going to need to find a way to be a little more Canadian,” he said. “And what they’re going to discover is that that’s actually to their benefit, because it means distinct Canadian voices by Canadian creators, working with great Canadian production companies, are going to supply them with content that they never otherwise would’ve expected, and which will resonate not only here, but globally.”