The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has set the date for its public hearing on Canadian and Indigenous audio content to Sept. 18.

The hearing, “The Path Forward – Supporting Canadian and Indigenous audio content,” was originally scheduled for June 18 but had to be postponed due to the federal election. The Sept. 18 hearing is the third of three proceedings aimed at modernizing the Broadcasting Act. The other two proceedings on the audiovisual sector and broadcasting system had their new dates announced on March 31.

The proceedings for the Sept. 18 hearing aim to review the regulatory tools used by the CRTC to support the creation, presentation and discoverability of Canadian and Indigenous music and audio content. That includes exploring the definition of Canadian musical selection content requirements and the contributions made to the content.

Additionally, the CRTC has extended the deadlines for the filing of interventions and replies. The intervention deadline is now May 5 and the reply deadline is May 29. Those that have already sent in an intervention can refile or update their submissions.

For the hearing, the CRTC is seeking comments on topics including a renewed contribution framework for Canadian and Indigenous audio content, as well as other content such as news and the potential use and impacts of AI.

The CRTC has also added its report, Industry Discussions on Canadian Content Definitions for the Audio Sector, to the public record for the hearing. The report summarizes the results of discussion sessions with members of the Canadian audio industry to hear their concerns and opinions regarding the definitions of Cancon in the audio sector.

On March 23, Prime Minister Mark Carney called for a federal election. As per the caretaker convention, during an election period, as Parliament is dissolved and the current government cannot assume it will remain in power, the government must exercise restraint to respect the people’s democratic will. Voting for the federal election is set for April 28.

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