The heads of CBC/Radio-Canada, Bell Media and Rogers Sports & Media argued that Canada is well-poised to grow on the global stage on day two of the Banff World Media Festival.

The State of the Nation panel began with a keynote from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) chairperson and CEO Vicky Eatrides, touching on the Cancon definition hearing last month and the market dynamic hearing that will launch next week.

In her keynote, Eatrides said “key decisions” from those hearings will be issued starting in the fall. “Once the policy decisions are in place, we will move quickly to set conditions of service for the major players, those that are shaping and benefiting the most from Canada’s broadcasting system,” she said. “These conditions will bring certainty regarding Canadian programming investments, while ensuring the system continues to support Canadian content, stories and culture.”

While many await the new conditions with bated breath, Canada’s media leaders are moving forward with or without new regulation. During the panel, CBC president and CEO Marie-Phillippe Bouchard (pictured far left) disagreed with the notion that the current definition of Canadian content has limited the system, noting that the pubcaster’s dramas and comedies in the last five years have all had international financing, all while achieving 10/10 in the Cancon point system.

“We can come to [an] agreement with international partners. They are vital, because they do bring support financially, and they also bring exposure,” said Bouchard during the panel, moderated by CPAC anchor Michael Serapio (pictured far right). “This content has been extremely successful internationally, so it is doable within that framework, and we shouldn’t be fearful that holding the line will somehow take us out of the international market. It does not.”

Bell Media president Sean Cohan (pictured centre left) later echoed Bouchard’s comment, arguing that Canada needs to “go on the offensive” and “market the Canadian creative brand around the world.” He pointed to BANFF’s inaugural country of honour, South Korea, as a key example of how a country can successfully export its creative culture with the popularity of K-pop and K-drama.

“We need to step to the table with global partners,” said Cohan, “and be ambitious, not limit ourselves, and lead the conversation with those folks with, ‘I’ve got a great story.'”

When the conversation turned to the regulatory system, Rogers Sports & Media president Colette Watson (pictured centre right) called for a “more malleable box” to play in, and emphasized that “we shouldn’t try to jam square pegs in round holes” when it comes to the different roles each media company fulfills in the Canadian screen ecosystem. “If one company decides it’s going to double down on on drama — great. If another company doubles down on news or lifestyle, great,” she said.

At the same time, Watson argued regulation needs to reflect the ever-evolving, fast-paced market. She pointed to the recent departure of Troy Reeb as co-CEO of Corus Entertainment and the CRTC’s policy decision around local news funding as examples of how things are changing from week to week.

Meanwhile, Bouchard is looking forward to a regulatory system that has moved into the 21st century, one that “understands that we are dealing with an audience that’s very sophisticated, that has access to world content and wants to consume Canadian content.”

For Watson, part of the new regulation could involve opening up more opportunities for broadcasters around ownership of Canadian IP, advocating for becoming “a true partner at the table.”

She also hoped Rogers would “stop being seen as bad because we’re big,” stressing the opposite is true in comparison to companies such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix. “We’ve been a little polite and not tooting our own horns as to what a great Canadian company we are, and why we belong,” said Watson. “And I think that ends.”

Cohan spoke to some of the regulatory misunderstandings that have hounded Canada in the past. He described a former, unnamed executive – who he said is no longer in the role – who referred to Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) as a tax.

“Canadian content in all of its forms is what differentiates us and is our competitive advantage versus the global giants,” said Cohan. “Not only is [CPE] not a tax, it’s actually the element or the ingredient in the mix that drives all of our success.”

With files from Kelly Townsend

Photo by Kristian Bogner