C-10 “needs a stake through the heart”, says Senator as bill moves to committee

Senators are in no rush to push the revised Broadcasting Act into law after it moved to adopt it at second reading and referred it to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications. Debate on Bill C-10 at the Senate began last Wednesday and resumed during Monday and Tuesday’s sittings. The bill passed second reading with opposition however, after it passed, there was unanimous support to send it to committee for review before it went to third reading. Critics’ main gripe with the bill is the inclusion of social media, although the Liberal government successfully passed amendments that would limit CRTC regulation to discoverability requirements, financial reporting and contributions. Senator David Richards, with Canadian Senators Group, said during Tuesday’s debate that the bill “risked conformity of thought.” “I will always and forever stand against any bill that subjects freedom of expression to governmental oversight. And I implore others to do the same because I don't think this bill needs amendment. I think however, it needs a stake through the heart,” he said. Senator Leo Housakos, with the Conservative Senators Group, called the bill Monday an “oversimplification of not only the legislation, but also the problem it seeks to remedy.” His main concern is that the bill is taking legislation and tools from the 1990s, which were meant to regulate a small number of licensed broadcasters, and applying it to the internet which is infinite. He said the definition of online undertakings was “so vague that it could include everything from Amazon Prime, to anyone with a web with a website and a podcast.” Senators with the Independent Senators Group were more open to passing the bill for second reading. Patricia Bovie noted on Tuesday the bill was “complex” but called the overhaul of the 30-year-old legislation overdue and necessary to financially support artists. She added that many Canadian artists have been creating content throughout the pandemic which “have given us solace, inspiration, connections, and hope” while “earning nothing as the internet platforms don't pay.” “I do not believe this bill deprives freedom of expression. I think change of anything in our lives as human beings, created a fear or concern. I believe our artists and Canadian society stands up for freedom of expression and freedom of speech. And I think if you go back over those prior decades, you'll see those fears were expressed before and did not come to reality,” she said. On Monday, Senator Donna Dasko, with the Independent Senators Group, laid out some questions the committee needed to answer such as “whether and how the internet should be regulated and whether this really is the best way to do that; whether Canadian consumers will be left with less choice after these changes are implemented; the future of Canadian content requirements and how they might change going forward; and the future of Canadian ownership of broadcast companies, and whether any of this will assist traditional broadcasters to survive.” There are currently no meetings scheduled for the Transport and Communications committee, raising the question of whether or not the bill may die in the Senate as government officials wrap up for the summer with a potential election on the horizon. Bill C-10 is the only House of Commons bill of interest to the broadcasting and telecom sectors that is in front of the Senate for debate as it prepares to adjourn for the summer. However, senators are also keeping their eyes on Bill C-36, a law against online hatred, tabled Wednesday in the House of Commons by Minister of Justice David Lametti, minutes before the House adjourned until the Fall. During the Senate’s Question period on Monday, Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, with the Independent Senators Group said “many” victims of porn sites expressed disappointed by the bill because it did not act against non-consensual publication of pornographic images and child pornography. She said Canaidan Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault “refused to do this after the wake of the Pornhub scandal.” “It is up to the government and not the victims to have these troubling images removed from the internet. Why is this not in the bill?” she asked, while also noting that it has been six months since the Pornhub scandal and there are still no criminal charges laid. Senator Marc Gold, of the Independent Senators Group, said the government had a number of priorities that it wanted to move forward and this bill was meant to protect Canadians against online prejudice and hatred. He added that Guilbeault is working on a bill that would require online platforms to take responsibility to remove illegal and harmful images, including child exploitation content. — Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

C-10 “needs a stake through the heart”, says Senator as bill moves to committee

Broadcast | June 29, 2021

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