C-11 heads to Senate, over Conservative objections, after passing third reading in the House of Commons

With the NDP and the Bloc Québécois supporting the Liberals, the House of Commons has adopted Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, at third reading, despite a request by the Conservative Party to have it read in six months' time. The Conservative Party’s motion was shot down Tuesday in the House of Commons 209 to 116 while the bill passed third reading with 208 to 117 votes. In a statement provided to the Wire Report, Friends executive director Marla Boltman said the Canadian broadcasting advocacy group is “very pleased” with the outcome. “In a sector increasingly dominated by foreign entities like Netflix, Google, Amazon, it is crucial that the Broadcasting Act continues to prioritize Canadian interests,” she stated. “Requiring contributions from foreign tech giants will level the playing field between Canadian broadcasters and foreign platforms – it will send a message to the world that Canada is open for business but there are no more free rides – if you benefit from our Canadian broadcasting system, you must contribute to it.” Last week, the House of Commons Heritage Committee sat from 11 a.m. until past midnight to complete a clause-by-clause review of 172 pages of amendments, more than 100 of which were passed. Monday, Conservative MP Blake Richards brought forward the motion to postpone third reading by six months, arguing that the Liberals move to shorten the study of the bill and the clause-by-clause review was “stifling freedom of speech by curtailing parliamentary process.” “I would say that bypassing debate and rushing through an unprecedented bill is an insult to Canadians, and it only allows the government to avoid accountability. Parliament has a democratic responsibility to thoroughly examine the implications of internet regulation, and Canadians deserve to know the truth about this deeply flawed bill,” he stated. Tuesday morning before the House of Commons passed the bill, Canada research chair in internet and e-commerce law Michael Geist brought forward the same concerns to the Senate’s Transport and Communications committee as it began a pre-study of the bill. “The House of Commons committee review was inadequate, in my view, and the review that this committee is likely to be asked to undertake is therefore essential,” he told the Senators. Geist said that “fitting in the equivalent of five weeks” of hearings in the span of a few days excluded many voices such as Indigenous perspectives from APTN, community radio, and online platforms such as TikTok and Spotify AB. Geist reiterated his previous concerns regarding the regulation of user-generated content and the “overbroad regulatory approach” in the bill, the former of which has raised the most contention throughout the bill’s lifespan, as well as its predecessor bill, C-10. “More than a third of the witnesses who appeared before the House committee raised this as a concern, representing the overwhelming majority of comments on the issue. That included digital first creators, experts, industry associations and internet platforms,” he told the committee. Geist added that CRTC chair Ian Scott confirmed to the Heritage committee that the bill, as it currently stands, would allow the commission to capture individual users creating content. Former CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said that he is “sure” Scott has no intention of regulating user-generated content. He said he “assumes” that the only reason it is included in the bill is “just in case the internet evolves into something” unforeseen. “‘It would be nice to have the powers, we won't use them, but it's there and we can… exercise the direction given from the ministers.’ That, I would assume, is the rationale behind it,” he said. The former CRTC chair said he does not agree with the way the bill was constructed and advocated for a "more targeted legislation” that deals with the specific problems of online streamers rather than “potentially encompassing any transmission” of audio or visual content. He said that the section dealing with user-generated content should be amended to state that the bill’s regulations apply only to online undertakings which have paid subscribers or have embedded advertising and that transmit both their own commercial content and user generated content. He added that it should also include a provision that the bill must not affect any user-generated content. He said the bill's wording, that online undertakings “contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy of the act,” is too vague and will give the commission “vast” powers. He added that the wording will be burdensome for the regulator because every stakeholder will come to the CRTC requesting exemption from the bill. He recommended that the Senate amend the act to stipulate that it only applies to online undertakings which have more than 100,000 Canadian subscribers and generate more than $100 million in Canadian revenues. “Consequently, narrowing the power would allow the CRTC to make good, timely and targeted decisions. The goal is of course to protect and strengthen Canadian Broadcasting and foster Canadian production,” he said. On the discoverability issue, von Finckenstein recommended amending the act to state that the CRTC “shall not compel any broadcasting undertaking to change the methods by which they ascertain viewers’ choice” but that it may “require online broadcasting undertakings to offer Canadian program alternatives as an addition to viewers’ choice.” Geist said the Heritage committee found support for the discoverability requirements because it only heard from major players in the industry who are concerned about their business models and competition. He argued that ordinary Canadians largely oppose the requirements. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

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C-11 heads to Senate, over Conservative objections, after passing third reading in the House of Commons

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